Set in rural Yorkshire at the turn of the nineteenth century, Harriet Grace is a young woman with a secret. Harriet discovers that her grandfather, a signal operator on the railway, is going blind and can no longer operate the signals. Having spent many years watching her grandfather work the signals, and being a dab hand at Morse Code, Harriet doesn’t want her grandfather to lose the only job he has. She convinces him to let her do his job for him, and ably takes over, taking the messages and changing the points that allow the trains to be on the right track and go safely on their way.
Her grandfather is only eighteen months from retirement, and she is set to marry her sweetheart, the Baron Ned Hainsworth, the orphaned heir to ruined Hainsworth Hall. All is going to plan until fate intervenes. Her grandmother dies, and her grandfather’s blindness is discovered, resulting in Harriet being called before a Board of Trade inquiry to explain her actions.
The family is forced to leave their home and live in York, where everything changes. Harriet intercepts a strange message during a chance visit back to the signal box which catapults her into a mystery, a shameful secret that threatens her life and the life of the man she loves.
I found the storytelling to be a little disjointed in parts, but mostly enjoyable. The cast of characters are believable for the time period the story is set in. The story line is interesting enough and keeps the reader engaged enough to want to reach the conclusion, although at some stages, the pace seems to slow too much. Dialogue is engaging though, and again, relevant to the time period. The book is well edited with only minor errors, and certainly no more than in any other book on the market. Overall, I enjoyed the story, and am happy to award this book 4 stars.
