Julie Klassen kertoo monipolvisen tarinan majatalon pitäjistä Englannin maaseudulla postia ja matkustajia kuljettavan vaunureitin varrella: The innkeeper of Ivy Hill (Bethany House, 2016; ISBN 9781441230621).
Romaani on hidasliikkeinen, mietiskelevä, ja loppua kohden tulee yhä ilmeisemmäksi että kyse on teossarjan alusta, sillä monen monta tarinaa saa alkunsa mutta pitkällekään ei vielä ehditä.
Klassen onnistuu mainiosti kuvaamaan arjen aherrusta, vaikkakin monessa kohdessa tuntuu että tarinan käänteet ovat turhankin monipolvisia, ja esimerkiksi tahattomien väärinkäsitysten käyttö juonen elementtinä on lähellä saturoitumispistettä.
Teokselle on luvassa jatkoa romaaneissa The Ladies of Ivy Cottage ja The Bride of Ivy Green, mutta kumpaakaan ei ole kirjastosta vielä saatavissa.
On a rise overlooking the Wiltshire countryside stands the village of Ivy Hill. Its coaching inn, The Bell, is its lifeblood--along with the coach lines that stop there daily, bringing news, mail, travelers, and much-needed trade.
Jane Bell lives on the edge of the inn property. She had been a genteel lady until she married the charming innkeeper who promised she would never have to work in his family's inn. But when he dies under mysterious circumstances, Jane finds herself The Bell's owner, and worse, she has three months to pay a large loan or lose the place.
Feeling reluctant and ill-equipped, Jane is tempted to abandon her husband's legacy and return to her former life of ease. However, she soon realizes there is more at stake than her comfort. But who can she trust to help her? Her resentful mother-in-law? Her husband's brother, who wanted the inn for himself? Or the handsome newcomer with secret plans of his own...?
With pressure mounting from the bank, Jane struggles to win over naysayers and turn the place around. Can Jane bring new life to the inn, and to her heart as well?
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