NO SAFE HARBOR by Elizabeth Ludwig

I thoroughly enjoyed this story about love and betrayal, faith and fear, set against the Irish factions fighting each other in 1896 New York.

No Safe Harbor is one of those books that make me as a fellow writer of historical fiction want to give up; Ludwig’s attention to detail is so well done, her knowledge of 1896 New York so intimate, that I know I can never measure up.

What makes me despair as a writer brings delight to the reader. Any book is as good as its plot, and Ludwig has created a zinger, one that pits Protestant against Catholic (Ireland), brother against sister, father against son. The characters’ faith does not come easily. And for this first of a series, I can’t wait to learn more about the residents of Miss Amelia’s boarding house.