Heather Conrad has a plan -- a business plan -- that she
plans to finish while house-sitting for her ex-boss. When
she arrives in Racine, Wisconsin, at the old Victorian
home, she learns she is also going to be nanny to her ex-
boss's seven-year-old daughter, Iizzy. Heather doesn't mind
because Iizzy is a very well-behaved, although precocious,
child who is easy to get along with. As Heather and Iizzy
leave the house to go to a local coffee shop, Heather
notices someone taking pictures of them from across the
street. At the coffee shop, Iizzy begins talking to Ryan
Tobin, a very friendly security guard who is instantly
attracted to Heather.
The old Victorian home proves to be a real mystery. Iizzy
gets lost in a dumbwaiter, and when Heather and Ryan rescue
her, they discover secret doors leading to rooms no one
knew existed. Some of the rooms are filled with treasures
from the past that hold mysteries all their own. But when
mysterious people begin showing up asking Heather
questions, she fears something is awry. Ryan fears for
Heather and Iizzy's safety. A dirty footprint on Iizzy's
windowsill is even more cause for concern. Is someone after
Heather, or is it Iizzy they want? Are the treasures found
in the house clues to what is happening?
Becky Melby has given us another wonderful story,
blending the past and present seamlessly in this delightful
inspirational novel. Her characters are believable,
sensitive and well-rounded. She merges a historical tale
from 1911/1912 with the present and also interjects the
adventures of "Magdelena Mouse" as the storyteller of the
plight of women and children as domestic and factory
workers on the precipice of women securing the right to
vote. This is book 3 in Melby's Lost Sanctuary series. I
have thoroughly enjoyed all three of them and recommend
them highly. They will bless your heart while warming your
spirit.
Follow grad student Heather Conrad into a forgotten past as
her house-sitting venture goes awry. Last minute changes
leave Heather in charge of her former boss’s lakeside
Victorian mansion and six-year-old daughter. But the
surprises have just begun. Soon startling discoveries
convince Heather that something just isn’t right around the
house. When she stumbles on a hidden stairway, the past
juts into the present—altering the course of Heather’s own
future.