Customer Reviews

Fair Game (A Fair to Remember Series #2)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fair Game by Carol Cox is a great follow-up to Ticket to Tomorrow, the first in this excellent series. The author skillfully draws her readers back into the days of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, firmly establishing them in the world of Dinah Mayhew and her handsome and charming evangelist friend, Seth Howell, while also plunking them down in the seedy underworld of forced prostitution, kidnapping, and even murder. A great read with a skillful twist!

Dinah Mayhew never realized life in the big city could be so interesting. She's come to Chicago to work at the World's Columbian Exposition, and she's never seen so many people in her life, all of them in a hurry. She has a nice place to live, an agreeable landlady, and has just met Seth Howell, a very handsoem man. Life is good. But there's a darker side to Chicago. Young women are disappearing off the streets, never to be seen again. When Gladys, Dinah's disagreeable cousin disappears, she feels she owes her aunt and uncle something for raising her. Dinah sets out to solve the mystery. Soon she and Seth are tangled in an underground web of evil. Can they find the missing women without losing their own lives?

Carol Cox makes the Columbia Exposition come alive. Her characters are strong and memorable, and Fair Game is an exciting blend of history, suspense, and romance. every bit as good as her Ticket to Tomorrow.

World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago, Illinois, attracts the attention of Dinah Mayhew, who lives in Nebraska. Dinah has lived with her Uncle Everett, Aunt Dora, and cousin Gladys ever since her mother has died and her father had left. Through the invitation of her father, who is employed by the fair, Dinah seeks employment, and also so she can be reunited with her father. Dinah stays at Mrs. Purvis' boarding house, and on her first night there, she is invited to attend a tent revival. They both attend the revival and Dinah feels the calling of God to help with the area's young girls. She signs up with Rev. Seth Howell to teach them Bible stories and how to be a Christian, no matter their circumstances.

Rev. Seth Howell is not sure Dinah Mayhew can handle a group of lower-class girls, but through his teachings he finds he was mistaken about her. As the work closely together, not only do they bond through friendship but through love, too. Things go good for Dinah until her cousin Gladys shows up. Gladys becomes a burden to Dinah when she mysteriously disappears and her beau isn't who he says he is. Not only is Gladys missing but also one of Dinah's young girls. As Seth and Dinah solve the mystery of Gladys and Marsha's disappearance, they become closer to discovering the truth about themselves as well as each other.

Dinah also finds out the truth of why her father left her with her uncle and aunt, and why he desperately wanted to reunite with her. Things do not go according to Dinah's plans and she must learn to cope with who her father really is, and that she can go through life as she did before, without him.

Author Cox can weave more webs than a spider can keep up. Each character has his or her own exciting adventure and the reader enjoys the quirks of each one.

Armchair Interviews says: Although this is a sequel to Ticket for Tomorrow, it's a stand-alone book.

Like A Ticket to Tomorrow before it, Fair Game centers around the World's Fair Exposition that came to Chicago in the early twentieth century. This story is about Dinah Mayhew, a young woman venturing out on her own after being raised by her aunt and uncle on their farm. Her mother died when she was very young and her father went off to make a living, leaving her to grow up alongside her horribly annoying cousin, Gladys.

Dinah has received a letter from her father, expressing his desire to see her. She thinks that now he is ready to be a part of her life and that she can live with him. She is able to secure a position running messages from different departments within the Fair. She has found boarding with our favorite landlady, Ms. Purvis (from Ticket to Tomorrow), who is still pounding the walls searching for her husband's hidden stash. (The only disappointment is that she no longer has Uncle Silas around to try to "woo".) Dinah soon meets Seth, a pastor who works with inner-city youth and she joins him in his ministry. The romance that develops between Dinah and Seth is sweet. Dinah is a heroine that is easy to identify and sympathesize with- young, innocent, and in many instances, painfully naive.

The little "mystery" that there is surrounds some curious kidnappings and disappearances of beautiful women and young girls. It is obvious early on, though, who the perpetrator is. Mrs. Purvis and her nosy neighbor, Ms. Biggs, are great sources of funny moments. I'd love to see Mrs. Purvis romance a willing gentlemen, though I'd almost pity him with her over-exertions to please others.

Overall an interesting read with some great historical details. Mystery or suspense fans may not be all that thrilled, because the mystery is really no mystery- you can see what is coming and who is behind it, you just don't know why. A worthy read, if just for the romance and silly-old woman-yenta-matchmaking Ms. Purvis!

When Dinah Mayhew leaves her aunt and uncle's farm for the exciting city of Chicago, she anticipates the excitement of the World's Fair and reconciliation with her estranged father. What she does not expect is the way her heart is affected by Seth Howell and the religious work he is part of. When people she is involved with start literally disappearing, Dinah finds no help from the local police. She finds a helper and a confidante in Seth, but she is unsure if he returns her growing attraction. As she grows deeper in her faith, she must learn to trust God even during the dark times.

Fair Game by Carol Cox is a mixture of romance, mystery and intrigue. There is also some suspense towards the end, though personally, I think a little more of suspense would have benefited the story. I found that I liked the character of Dinah, but she seemed ridiculously innocent. Not that an innocent-type character is a bad thing, but the problem for me was that she did not seem believable. Aside from that, the story is good. But it is still the type of book that I recommend renting from the library before buying.

She's young. She's beautiful. She's innocent. She's completely unprepared for the streets of lower-end Chicago in 1893.

Dinah Mayhew arrives in the big city, having taken a job within the offices of the World's Fair. She's seeking excitement and the father who disappeared from her life years earlier. Dinah finds all that - and more, in the person of Seth Howell, a handsome and dedicated young minister. To her own surprise, Dinah finds herself involved in Seth's ministry to the lower class of the city, and their relationship soon becomes more than either of them expected.

But then Dinah's obnoxious cousin Gladys arrives in town, and promptly gets involved with a dangerous con man. When she disappears, Seth and Dinah find themselves in the role of reluctant sleuths, attempting to save the girl from death ... or worse.

Carol Cox's Fair Game is a wonderful peek into the inner workings of the historical World's Fair. I came into "A Fair to Remember" one book behind, and found many delightful little nuggets of faith, a generous helping of intrigue, two heart's worth of love - and a novel full of tightly written prose and skillfully woven story line. If Book Two is any indication, I don't want to miss the rest of this series.

Fair Game is an intriguing tale. While it had some slow spots, overall it was a fascinating story and I enjoyed it. Though labeled a romantic mystery, Fair Game contained quite a bit of suspense--especially toward the end. I knew who the creepy man was and what he was doing and I wanted to protect Dinah from him. The romance between Dinah and Seth was sweet, and at times rather emotionally intense. The subplot of her father's rejection of her really drew their hearts together and touched mine.

I loved Seth from the beginning, but as I got to know him better I loved him even more for being so heroic. Great romance, riveting suspense. Wonderful historical fiction. I enjoyed it almost as much as the first book in the series. If not for the slow spots I would have enjoyed it even more, but they weren't significant enough to keep me from finishing the story.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (5/07)

After Dinah Mayhew's mother dies, her father drops her off at her aunt and uncle's. There she suffers feelings of abandonment and abuse at the hands of her cousin Gladys. When she receives a letter from her father asking her to join him she heads to Chicago expecting to reunite with him. She rents a room from Mrs. Purvis, the owner of a boarding house. Mrs. Purvis considers herself quite a successful matchmaker. Just as Dinah and Mrs. Purvis are getting to know one another Seth Howell rings the doorbell. He is passing out flyers inviting people to a church service. Dinah is immediately struck by his good looks. Both she and Mrs. Purvis attend the service. Upon hearing the need for a woman to teach a Bible class for girls, Dinah volunteers. At first the girls are skeptical, but they come to realize that Dinah does care about them. Seth is impressed with her love for the Lord. He soon realizes that she is the helpmate she's been praying for. Dinah writes home to her aunt and uncle telling them the wonders of the World's Fair, where she is working. Gladys is intrigued by her letters which help her to talk her parents into allowing her to come to Chicago to get a job. She meets a man that is kidnapping young women and selling them. Gladys' willful actions not only endanger her, but also place Dinah at risk.

"Fair Game" by Carol Cox is a delightful, sweet, love story. The plot is interesting and filled with tidbits of history. I felt as though I were being led into another era. I can only imagine the awe the 1893 visitors' felt when they walked the grounds of the World's Fair. It is rare to find a woman like Dinah today. Her character is refreshingly naive and unsoiled. Seth was strong and yet gentle. Ms. Cox successfully presents love and romance in the manner where it holds true meaning. I enjoyed this book and intend to look for more tales by Carol Cox. Fans of light suspense and Christian romance will enjoy this book.

Received book free of charge.