When the Waters Came by Candice Sue Patterson - A Book Review

  

I read the second book in Barbour Publishing's A Day to Remember series, and was so touched by it that I had to go back and read the first book in the series, When the Waters Came. Like the second book, When the Waters Came had me searching online for the details of the disaster, this one a flood that struck Johnstown, Pennsylvania on May 31, 1889. The story includes several historical characters including Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross and Doctor Hamilton, Surgeon General of the United States along with Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie, members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Many blamed the club and its members for the collapse of its dam that caused the flood. The two central fictional characters are Annamae Worthington, A Red Cross nurse, and Pastor Monty Childs. The themes of struggling with why God allows such devastation, the harm in holding grudges and seeking vengeance, and forgiveness of those deemed responsible are key to this disaster story as well as to current disasters and the daily misfortunes of life.

I highly recommend When the Waters Came, and am grateful to have received a complimentary copy from Barbour Publishing via NetGalley without obligation. This is a well-researched novel with authentic sounding dialogue, and writing that evokes vivid mental images.