Irish lawyer Patrick O’Neill is representing thug-turned-author Mick Malone to ensure Malone’s memoir is published. The Blackstone family don’t want the memoir published, because it will discuss the kidnapping and murder of three-year-old William Blackstone.

Widow Gwen Blackstone Kellermann lives in the grounds of Blackstone College, the university her father founded. But the university replies on substantial donations from the family bank, and her uncle is threatening to stop funding unless Gwen can stop the memoir’s publication.

I’ve always enjoyed the way Elizabeth Camden has been able to take lesser-known historical events and turn them into fascinating and unique novels.

Her novels usually manage to engage me from the first page, but this one took a little longer to get going. Initially, it looked like being a fairly standard rich “old-money” meets poor immigrant Irish … something I’ve read before.

But the story changed at around the one-quarter mark when we (and Patrick) realise Mick Malone’s memoir isn’t the point. Yes, the story is an opposites-attract romance. Instead, the backdrop is the upcoming creation of US Steel, a merger which formed the world’s largest corporation, controlling around two-thirds of US steel production. It’s also about what really happened to William Blackstone.

Carved in Stone by Elizabeth Camden is yet another brilliant Christian historical romance from one of the top writers in the genre. #BookReview #ChristianFiction Click To Tweet

Once I understood what the story was about, I was hooked. The combination of excellent characters, romance, mystery, and suspense made it hard for me to stop reading (so I didn’t).

The story took several unexpected plot turns, and it delivered on all of them.

Elizabeth Camden’s previous novels have shone light into seemingly boring topics such as geography, public health, and food safety. Carved in Stone is set against high finance, big corporations, and labour unions. It also touches on the all-too-current scientific problem of vaccines (and funding), and how what looks like an instant miracle cure is actually the product of years (or decades) of hard work.

Carved in Stone is the first book in Elizabeth Camden’s new Blackstone Legacy series, and I’m looking forward to seeing which of Gwen’s many cousins is the focus of the next novel. This is a must-read for Elizabeth Camden fans, and recommended for anyone who likes historical accuracy in their historical fiction.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Elizabeth Camden

Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida.

Find Elizabeth Camden online at:

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About Carved in Stone

Her gilded world holds a deeply hidden secret.

After years of tragedy, Gwen Kellerman now lives a quiet life as a botanist at an idyllic New York college. She largely ignores her status as heiress to the infamous Blackstone dynasty and hopes to keep her family’s heartbreak and scandal behind her.

Patrick O’Neill survived a hardscrabble youth to become a lawyer for the downtrodden Irish immigrants in his community. He’s proud of his work, even though he struggles to afford his ramshackle law office. All that changes when he accepts a case that is sure to emphasize the Blackstones’ legacy of greed and corruption by resurrecting a thirty-year-old mystery.

Little does Patrick suspect that the Blackstones will launch their most sympathetic family member to derail him. Gwen is tasked with getting Patrick to drop the case, but the old mystery takes a shocking twist neither of them saw coming. Now, as they navigate a burgeoning attraction and growing danger, Patrick and Gwen will be forced to decide if the risk to the life they’ve always held dear is worth the reward.

You can find Carved in Stone online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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