When Hope Calls

"Elaine Stock's The Last Secret Kept is a captivating and profoundly moving book that explores complex and universal themes such as guilt, forgiveness, and human nature." -The Historical Fiction CompanyFrom the author of the Amazon Bestseller Resilient Women of WWII Trilogy.If love is the only true gift, why doesn't everyone grab hold and never let go?Fanny may be a small-town defense attorney in upstate New York alongside Lake Ontario, but it's 1961 with growing opportunities for women. She's not about to listen to naysayers who encourage her to marry and to stay at home and raise a family. Fanny meets Gina, whose husband Kenny is pinned by society as a lesser man because of his limited intelligence. When Kenny is accused of murder, Fanny takes on the case. Gina hopes for her grandmother's support, but a hidden act of betrayal during the WWII years when Gina and her grandmother lived in Berlin, Germany, threatens to unsettle Gina and destabilize the case Fanny is building on behalf of Kenny.Set against the backdrop of the construction of the Berlin Wall, The Last Secret Kept explores the beauty of individualism while demolishing the invisible walls built between ourselves and our loved ones.

As a young girl, Lillian Walsh lost both her parents and a younger sister. Now in her twenties, after enduring the death of her adoptive mother, Lillian must find her place in the world. Just as her adoptive father is leaving for an extended trip to his native Wales, a lawyer appears at the door to inform Lillian that she has inherited a small estate from her birth parents--and that the sister she had long believed dead is likely alive. When she discovers that her sister, Grace, is living in a city not far away, Lillian rushes to a reunion, fearful that the years of separation will make it hard to reconnect. When the two sisters meet, Grace is not at all what Lillian expected to find. Though her circumstances have been difficult, Grace has big dreams. Can Lillian set aside her own plans to join her sister in an adventure that will surely change them both?

So much has been accomplished. Lillian Walsh has stepped out courageously beyond what she'd ever dreamed of being able to achieve. She and her newly rediscovered sister, Grace, have settled three children from England into new Canadian homes and are prepared to place two more just after the New Year, when it happens-another painful disruption. A white lie the sisters used to protect some orphans has resulted in an official complaint and a letter revoking the sisters' permission to manage their little children's home. And unexpectedly, Walter, the young man who has won Lillian's heart, departs for a job in the oil industry without leaving any hope for their future, making her confused and lonely. With more children on their way from England needing caring homes, Lillian and Grace must use every ounce of gumption to keep their mission alive. But when startling information about the past surfaces and a new arrival comes via suspicious circumstances, they'll have to decide what is worth fighting for and what is better left in God's hands.

Lillian Walsh and Grace Bennett have learned so much already about caring for children in distress. It hasn't been an easy task, but suddenly they discover that two of their kids have run away. And, inexplicably, Lemuel has gone with them. Concerned for the trio's safety, the sisters will do all they can to try to find the children. But the runaways are not the only ones, who've put the future of their children's home in question. Father is finally home again-and Delyth has come with him. Lillian herself is faced with choosing between her dreams with fiancé Walter and her commitment to her sister. Steady Ben Waldin is keen to find where his family settled in Canada and to give little Janie a place to permanently call home. Just where that search will take him and what it will require may be more than he's ready for. As they all struggle to determine their paths forward, each begins to realize that sometimes loving well means making difficult choices.