In A Reason to Believe, Maureen McKade takes a gritty story and somehow manages to make her characters’ rough world beautiful. I am a sucker for stories of love overcoming despair, and this tale of two tortured souls learning to love and trust again drew me in completely. Though uneven in spots, McKade’s latest is heartwarming without being treacly and I found it well worth reading.

Dulcie McDaniel has lived through hell. Desperate to escape her alcoholic father and small town, she married the wrong man. Her unhappy marriage left her with the daughter she adores, but otherwise she has little to show for her sacrifice. Now a widow, Dulcie endured a terrible journey home, only to find more problems waiting there. Shunned by the townspeople, Dulcie is desperate to keep the family farm going against the odds. When a drifter passes by and offers to work in return for his keep, Dulcie decides to take a chance and allow him to stay in her barn.

The drifter is no ordinary stranger. Instead, Rye Forrester has come to town to call upon the widow of the man with whom he served in the military and for whose death he feels responsible. Somehow, instead of seeking forgiveness, he finds himself working for his keep – and keeping his secrets from Dulcie. Rye is understanding of Dulcie’s wariness and patiently proves himself to be a decent man, demanding little more than meals on the porch and a place to sleep in the barn.

Dulcie gradually comes to trust Rye and the transformation that this brings both for her and her young daughter is quite heartwarming. Life is a struggle for Dulcie, but Rye makes things easier. The many little ways in which Rye makes everyone’s lives better are some of the most romantic and tender moments in the book. In romances, we often see how much the hero and heroine lust after each other, but it is harder to see how they truly care for one another. Rye and Dulcie desire each other, but there is affection as well as passion.

My one major problem with this book lies in the suspense subplot. In the early chapters of the novel, we learn that the townspeople blame Dulcie’s father for the murder of a local man. Dulcie is convinced of her father’s innocence, and her quest for justice at times intrudes upon the main story. Given the low page count of this book, there simply is not enough space to adequately develop both the relationship and the murder mystery. The result is that the relationship sometimes feels rushed and the mystery tacked on. Quite honestly, I enjoyed the love story and much of the backstory involving the town and its citizens, but I just couldn’t make myself care about the murder plot.

Even with some rough pacing, A Reason to Believe has some truly heartwarming moments. I appreciated both the strength and the true decency of the hero, and found myself really hoping that things would turn out well for the main characters. Those who enjoy Westerns or Americana will likely enjoy this book, and I intend to seek out the other books in this series.