Ticket to Tomorrow
by Carol Cox
Published by Barbour
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Reviewed by Sheryl Root
A book I finish in less than a day is one I've enjoyed, and Ticket to Tomorrow is one of those books. Set during the 1893 World's Fair, it's a perfect blend of mystery, romance and history.
Annie Trenton and Silas Crockett travel to the World's Fair to exhibit the Crockett-Trenton horseless carriage, invented by Silas and Annie's late husband Will. Their goal is to have enough interest generated by the carriage's exhibition to provide investors for mass production.
But when absent-minded Silas collides with a man at the train station and each mistakenly pick up the wrong bag, what begins as a minor inconvenience ends up drawing Annie into an international plot to overthrow a government.
If that wasn't enough trouble in Annie's life, she finds more from Will's estranged family. Annie had hoped this trip to Chicago would be an opportunity to meet and be reconciled with them. Instead his family, who had cut Will out of their lives when he chose to pursue his "silly" inventions rather than the family business, sees the financial potential for the horseless carriage and threatens Annie with a lawsuit if she doesn't sign over her shares in the carriage to them.
During all her difficulties Annie finds herself turning to Silas' nephew, Nick Rutherford, for friendship. Nick, a rider in Wild Bill Cody's Wild West Show, is drawn to the beautiful widow. And Annie, who never thought she could find love again after Will's death, wonders if her growing feelings for Nick could really be a second chance for romance.
Carol Cox does a wonderful job drawing her readers in. Her characters become friends, her descriptions of the fair make you sure you have been there, and the situations Annie finds herself in make it hard to stop turning the pages. Annie's faith and Nick's gradual realization of his need for God are woven seamlessly into the storyline. Part of a series...I greatly look forward to coming back to the fair!
Armchair Interviews says: This is listed as part of a series, A Fair to Remember, worth watching for.