Starred review from June 26, 2017
Anders’s engrossing third Blank Canvas contemporary (after By Her Touch) brings romance and suspense to the mountains outside Blackwood, Va. Young widow Abby Merkley belongs to the cultish Church of the Apocalyptic Faith—led by her stepfather, Isaiah—but she defies the church’s teachings to seek a job from her gruff, grape-growing, loner neighbor, Luc Stanek, whom she recognizes as a kindred spirit. Abby is willing to break multiple rules to acquire medicine for her young friend Sammy, who’s epileptic, but she can’t bring herself to tell Luc that she finds him attractive. When Isaiah announces his plan to marry her, Abby resists and is tortured by Isaiah’s devout followers, who brand her with hot irons. She successfully escapes to Luc’s farmhouse under the cover of a winter storm, and he shows her kindness and erotic passion—both of which are completely new to her. Wanting to protect Abby and help her heal, Luc reaches out to Sheriff Clay Navarro and dermatologist Georgette Hadley, whom Anders’s fans will enjoy meeting again. Anders excels at creating sympathetic characters who will win the reader’s heart. A nail-biting incursion into the cult to rescue children concludes this sterling tale of two lost souls finding true love. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary.