Critical Praise for
HANNAH ALEXANDERâS Novels
SILENT PLEDGE
âI found a gaggle of caring, interesting people who stole my heart with their struggles and made me cheer with their triumphs. Bravo!â
âLisa Samson
SOLEMN OATH
âSolemn Oath absolutely hit the ball out of the park. Hannah Alexander is going to have a hard time writing fast enough to keep up with reader demand.â
âDebi Stack
SACRED TRUST
âAlexander is great at drawing the reader into her story line and keeping them hooked until the resolution of the plot.â
â Christian Retailing
A KILLING FROST
âRunning dialogue and a few twists will keep romantic suspense fans coming back for more.â
âPublishers Weekly
DOUBLE BLIND
âNative American culture clashes with Christian principles in the freshly original plot.â
â Romantic Times BOOKreviews
GRAVE RISK
âThe latest in Alexanderâs Hideaway series is filled with mystery and intrigue. Readers familiar with the series will appreciate how the author keeps the characters fresh and appealing.â
â Romantic Times BOOKreviews
In memory of our beloved cousin,
Mark Mercer Patterson, December 24, 1954 to April 14, 2000. Cherylâs childhood playmate and defender. May his courage and tender heart live on in the character of Clarence Knight.
O dira Bagby sat on the edge of her great-granddaughterâs twin-size bed, soaking a thin washrag with water from an old mixing bowl. She squeezed out the excess and applied the rag to Crystalâs hot tummy. Odira winced every time seven-year-old Crystal coughed.
The hoarse crackle and wheeze sounded loud in their small three-room apartment, and the little girl bent double with the effort to breathe. Her pale, blue-veined face was flushed, and her mouth opened wide as she gasped for breath. The sound of her struggle was worse than a nightmare. Odira caught herself automatically trying to breathe harder and heavier, as if she could take in extra air for Crystal.
The room smelled like Vicks, even though Odira knew that rubbing the ointment on Crystalâs bony chest probably wouldnât help. Itâd never helped before, except to ease Odiraâs arthritis for a while and make her feel as though she was at least doing something. Her hands always stayed sore and swollen from the thumping she did on Crystalâs back and chest. Crystal had cystic fibrosis.
âGramma,â Crystal whispered, stiffening her neck to push the bare sound from her throat. She reached up and pressed her hand against her chest. âHurts.â
âI know, little âun.â Odira felt the tears in her eyes that Crystal never cried. âWeâll get help.â Heaving herself up, she lumbered the few feet across the room to her own bed.
She peered at the numbers on the secondhand alarm clock. It was almost midnight on a Saturday night. What was she supposed to do? Crystalâs mom had disappeared last yearâand Odira didnât know who the daddy was. The grandma, Odiraâs sweet Millie, was dead. The grandpa âdidnât want nothinâ to doâ with the whole mess. There was nobody else.
Bedsprings cried out in alarm as Odira sat down and picked up the receiver of her phone. She leaned forward and peered at the list of emergency numbers on the bedside stand. There was no E.R. in Knolls since the explosion last fall. Odira couldnât afford a car on her social security, so she couldnât drive Crystal to another E.R. She didnât want to wait.
She did all she knew to do. She dialed the home number of Dr. Mercy Richmond.
Buck Oppenheimer woke to silent winter darkness in the bedroom he shared with his wife, Kendra. The room felt like the inside of the unheated toolshed out back, and for a moment he wondered if the pilot light in the central heating system had gone out again.
But as he listened to small sounds gradually creep to him through the house, he heard the furnace popping, and he felt warm air coming from the vent on his side of the bed.
So why was it so cold?
He listened for the soft sigh of his wifeâs breathing but didnât hear anything. He reached toward her and felt the emptiness of icy sheets.
âKendra? Honey?â
He didnât hear any sounds coming from the bathroom and no sound of drawers clattering or silverware clinking in the kitchenâsometimes when Kendra couldnât sleep sheâd go in and make some toast.