The Lightkeeper's Ball by Colleen Coble opens at the turn of the 20th century in New York. Olivia Stewart and her mother receive news that Olivia's sister, Eleanor, has died before her arranged marriage with Harrison Bennett takes place. The marriage between the two families will benefit both and the elder Mr. Bennett will not consider fulfilling his end of the bargain if there is no daughter to marry. The Stewart's money has all but disappeared through the years and the Bennetts are quite wealthy. Can Olivia step into her sister's place and rescue the family by marrying Harrison?
The perplexing events surrounding Eleanor's death leave the family baffled. Eleanor drowned and yet she was terrified of water. What would have convinced Eleanor to have been anywhere close to water? Olivia intends to find out before committing to the arranged marriage.
Olivia travels west to Mercy Falls assuming the name of Lady Devonworth, to discover what happened to her dear sister. She strongly suspects that the young Harrison Bennett had something to do with her untimely death. However, before she can even set foot into Mercy Falls, someone pushes her overboard and she is rescued by none other than Harrison. Olivia seeks shelter in the coastal lighthouse and develops a quick friendship with the tenants, Katie and Will Jersperson and their daughter Jennie.
Within days, another tragic event takes place when the lighthouse tumbles in a fierce storm. Olivia welcomes the Jespersons into her home for as long as it takes to rebuild the lighthouse. However, there is no money to rebuild. Olivia determines to help and decides a Lightkeeper's ball is just the thing. She will invite her set of friends who think nothing of traveling the 3,000 miles to a party during the social season.
Can Olivia get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her sister's death? Is Harrison who he appears to be? Could Harrison even consider a marriage with Olivia when he finds out she is Eleanor's sister? Will Olivia find the faith that seems to be missing her in life?
The Lightkeeper's Ball is the third in the Mercy Falls series. Even though it is a series, I found that the author made it very easy to pick up the characters and dive right in to their lives and the sequence of events made me want to keep reading until the very end. The book can easily stand alone. I also found a lot of myself in Olivia--not so much the conventional lady but interested in things that many "ladies" would not have bothered with nor been interested in during her time period. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
This book is available on christianbook.com and on Amazon.com.
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