When Mountains Move

In 1943, Millie Reynolds becomes the wife of veterinarian Bump Anderson and the two head from Mississippi to the Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains to start up a ranch for Cauy Tucker. Millie carries the secret of the trauma that concluded Into the Free, even as it shadows her newly married life. Millie’s grandmother Oka will join the couple, and Fortner, the man whose family owned the land that Millie and Bump now occupy, is a mystery to some, a threat to others. Then there’s Kat, who’s got eyes for Bump—and maybe claws out, too, to hook him. Millie faces choices as her past threatens to overwhelm the future. Cantrell set the bar high with Into the Free, which won the Christian Fiction Christy Awards Book of the Year. The narration of her follow-up is less lyrical, but the plotting is assured, and supporting characters Oka and Fortner ring fascinating and true, even as Kat seems less convincing. Millie’s voice remains the center of new emotional dynamics, and it will linger with readers after they close the book. Agent: Greg Johnson, WordServe Literary Group. (Sept.)