N.E. Brown S.L. Jenkins - Galveston, 1900, Indignities, The Affirmation

Galveston, 1900, Indignities, The Affirmation by N.E. Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the final book in the Galveston series by N.E. Brown and S.L. Jenkins.

The authors are a mother-daughter duo who have crafted these books together. The mother, Brown, did all the research and the daughter, Jenkins, did the writing. Together they have turned out four highly readable books.

The books are not merely frothy romances. Catherine Merit has to face a lot of dark happenings in her life. She was abducted by David Brooks, a thorough criminal who killed Catherine's mother.  She had lived a terrible life with him, being raped and beaten repeatedly.

Starting from her first Thanksgiving in Galveston, U.S.A., Catherine faces a series of setbacks that prevent her from having a happy life.

In the last book, Catherine is recovering from an attempt to rape her. She killed the man Joe Brady, who was trying to have his way with her. The local main man, Micheal Atwood has a thing for her and Catherine finds it hard to cope with his forced attentions.

Catherine finds love slipping away from her once more and seems resigned to spending the rest of life alone. But there is a handsome new stranger in her life. But will he stay with her once her finds out about her past?

This novel is as gripping and free flowing as the rest in the series. My only grouse was that the story moved away from Galveston. The lovely seashore city does feature in this book, but not as prominently as I had hoped.

View all my reviews

N.E. Brown, S.L. Jenkins - Galveston: 1900: Indignities, Atonement

Galveston, 1900,Indignities, The Atonement, Book Three by N.E. Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The adventures of Catherine Merit continue in the third book in the series. Catherine is heartbroken over the death of her first husband, and is equally devastated when her second husband, Alex Cooper is shot in the head and loses his memory.

Their marriage is annulled but not before Catherine finds herself with child again. She has 3 children, all from different fathers. And she is barely 21.

She cannot sit and mope over the nasty hand fate has dealt her. She starts working at the hospital and meets the handsome doctor Samuel. Is Samuel the right person for her or is she doomed to spending time alone?

Some ghosts from her past life chase her out of Galveston. She finds herself in Rosenberg, Texas. She sets up a private practice there and tries to rebuild her life in a country house with her children.

The novel is as gripping as the first too. The story moves at a fast pace. I was so into the story, that I bought the kindle edition of the books practically back to back.

View all my reviews

N.E. Brown S.L. Jenkins - Galveston 1900 : Indignities, The Aftermath

Galveston, 1900,Indignities, The Aftermath, Book Two by N.E. Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first of the The Galveston Quartet consists of Galveston 1900 : Indignities, The Arrival which I have reviewed earlier. The second in the series is Galveston 1900 : Indignities, The Aftermath.

During the climatic portion of the first book, it is the devastating storm of 1900 that changes the tranquil world of Catherine Merit. She has come through a lot of struggles.

Catherine had arrived in Galveston, Texas as a young girl of sixteen from Sandgate, England. She had accompanied her mother to USA after the rest of their family was wiped out in a tragic series of illnesses and accidents.

Soon Catherine finds herself in St. Mary’s orphanage when her mother is killed by David Brooks, a pathological serial killer. She is rescued from the orphanage and looks forward to a happy married life with John Merit. But David Brooks is now fixated on Catherine and will not rest until he has kidnapped and ravaged her.

Aftermath brings Catherine to Beaumont, Texas. Her life with John Merit was ruined when the storm freed David Brooks from the prison. He returns to kidnap Catherine again. This time he takes her far away and threatens her with bodily harm to her and others if she dares escape.

Is Catherine doomed to spend her life as a captive of the psychopathic David Brooks? Or will the kind Alex Cooper, who has taken a shine to Catherine, do something to rescue her?

When the novel started, the first chapter or so was a bit of a drag. This was because it was a recapitulation of the previous book. Once the story got into its stride it was again a smooth eventful read, just like the preceding book in the series, The Arrival.

The book is beautifully researched and depicts the way of life a hundred years ago in the fast developing State of Texas in the USA. From the clothes the women wore, the way they traveled (by a buggy mostly), the way policing was done, how basic the methods of criminal investigation were, the way people lived, their dependence on churches. All these details make the turn of the previous century come alive.

The story is very compelling and it keeps you turning pages. The writing is superb. The prose is clean and uncluttered and simple. I can’t wait to order the rest of the books and read them up.

View all my reviews

N.E. Brown, S.L. Jenkins - Galveston: 1900: Indignities, Book One: The Arrival

Galveston: 1900: Indignities, Book One: The Arrival by N.E. Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reading books is hobby that is good for the mind. Alas, it is not really good for the body. I tend to lie supine on a bed, or curled up in a chair, glued to a book, eyes darting along the sentences, hands turning pages. Over the time, the eyes feel the strain and I am constrained to wearing thicker glasses. The wee print that was a cakewalk when I was 15 or 20 now looks blurred. I replace books on library shelves with a sigh when I see that the print is too small for me to read.

A Kindle helps. I can enlarge the font and read comfortably. There is one more advantage to owning a Kindle that I just discovered. Buying a book is much simpler now. As an avid book lover, I have often chased books that I wanted to read and find that they were simply not available to me.

Yes, that happens quite often. At one time, I wanted to buy a book called 'Jane Austen Book Club'. I searched high and low in the bookshops close to me, I scoured the libraries around, all without luck. I managed to lay my hands on it, by ordering it in a bookstore. But I had to pay a high price for it, as it was shipped specially for me.

I read about Galveston: 1900: Indignities on a book site which carried an excerpt from it. I found it an intriguing read. My interest was piqued even more as I had visited Galveston on my recent trip to USA. The book was not available easily in paperback for me here in India.

However, a recent gift of Kindle by my daughter suddenly made reading this book possible. The kindle edition was delivered instantly to my reader. A lot of people like to deride the modern way of life, citing that the earlier days were simpler and nicer. Yes, in some ways the early days were nice, the life was slower. But surely technology has made our life richer now. This is one example. In early days I would have sighed and never managed to read this book. But now, I could.

The story is about Catherine Eastman who was born in Sandgate, England. She was brought to USA by her mother, Anne Eastman, when Catherine was 15 years old. A series of tragedies had wiped the rest of their family off. Anne Eastman wanted to make a fresh start in a new place. Her mother was a skilled seamstress and hoped to make her living by it. After a rough sea-voyage, the mother and daughter arrived in Galveston and took their bearings. Anne sought work as an assistant seamstress in The Grande Opera House. Unfortunately, she also meets David Brooke there.

David Brooke is a serial killer and born criminal. He spots the beautiful Anne Eastman and is instantly smitten by her. But the aloof widow does not encourage him. This makes him obsess all the more about her. This obsession proves fatal to Anne. It also alters the course of life of Catherine.

The book is a romance, no doubt. But being set in 1898, it is a historical fiction. It is also placed close to the devastating storm of 1900 that hit Galveston. The historical facts provide a fillip to the story. The narration is so effective, that you actually feel you are witnessing those events of far away times. This engrossing tale keeps you turning pages. I was able to read the entire book in the space of a day!

The story of Catherine Eastman is told in a series of novels. Four have been printed already, and I am on to the next one in the series, Galveston :1900: Indignities - The Aftermath.

The research for the book is done by N.E. Brown and is so well written by her daughter S.L. Jenkins. Do pick up this excellent romance from Amazon.


View all my reviews