Historical \ Fiction Christian \ Fiction

Expected publication August 12, 2025 by Tyndale

About the book:

Galveston, Texas. September 1900. Only months ago, Kathleen McDaniel returned from finishing school in Switzerland to her family home in New York’s Hudson Valley with a future of promise and privilege set before her. But one horrific event shattered her picturesque life. Now she has fled as far as the train line and a pocketful of money would take her, finding refuge at the St. Mary’s Orphan Asylum on Galveston Island, where she helps the nuns care for their young charges and prays her past will not find her. Despite her tenuous standing at the orphanage—and the grief and betrayal that drove her from home—Kathleen slowly begins to make friends. There is Emily, the novice nun she rooms with; Maggie, the tempestuous young girl who only bonds with Kathleen; and Matthew, a kind, handsome man recently employed by Isaac Cline at Galveston’s office of the US Weather Bureau.

Then in one fateful day, Kathleen’s fragile new life begins to crack as it becomes clear that she can’t run far enough to escape the reach of her former life. Meanwhile, as troubling news about a storm crossing the Gulf from Cuba swirls in the Weather Bureau offices, Matthew holds fast to Cline’s belief that no hurricane can touch Galveston. But as darkness falls on the island, Kathleen must gather her courage and reach for a strength beyond her own if she—and those she loves—are to survive.

My thoughts:

Last Light over Galveston is a story of perseverance during the historic, deadly and catastrophic hurricane in Galveston, Texas in September of 1900. This story also touches on human greed, selfishness, and cruelty at the expense of others that people tend to look down on in life. What is even more maddening is how the people involved justified their corrupt actions. Jennifer Wright does a marvelous job at showing the realities of life that is too often overlooked in my opinion.

The main character Kathleen McDaniel is a person who -at all odds- breaks away from the cruelty of her situation in life and on doing so finds herself in greater danger as the storm hits land. I was completely immersed in her plight and I felt as I if was right beside her going through what she was going through.

I did know about this hurricane prior to reading this book but I didn’t know all the details and how bad it actually was. Once I finished this story, I did a bit of research and I was really struck more so on Wrights depiction of the storm and the period in which the events took place.

The author does a brilliant job at pulling in her readers and I highly recommend this story to all and I want to encourage everyone who read the book to embrace the message of this story with an open heart.

I rate this book five stars and my gratitude and thanks to the publisher for an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

Stephanie