No Eye Can See »

Jane Kirkpatrick is the acclaimed author of two nonfiction books and six novels, including the award-winning A Sweetness to the Soul and book one in the Kinship and Courage series: All Together in One Place. She and her husband, Jerry, ranch 160 acres in eastern Oregon.

“Jane Kirkpatrick has, almost literally, created her own genre of fiction. Her books enfold…whisper, ‘Let me tell you about a woman who…’ They find a secret place in each of us and bring it gently to the surface.”
–Salem Statesman Journal

Suzanne felt the tears press at her eyes as the dream-state drifted away–taking with it the sight of the man she loved. Awake, she blinked back the tears. This was her life now. The sounds of the women and oxen, those were real. And the darkness–her darkness. She lay inside it, resigned. She was not a wife reaching out for her husband but a widow, a blind widow, wistful and full of desire.

FACING CHALLENGES AND LOSS, A COMMUNITY OF EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN FIGHT TO OVERCOME THE PAIN OF THE PAST – AND EMBRACE THE FUTURE.

When blind and widowed Suzanne Cullver reaches California with a group of women who have survived tragedy on the Oregon Trail, she sets her mind on doing for herself all that must be done. Though she cannot see, she rejects offers of assistance, unwittingly risking her children’s safety – and her own.

Her companions blindly falter as well, held hostage by their own pasts. As Suzanne attempts to control her life in Shasta City, Ruth defends against past errors, failing to see how she limits love. Meanwhile, Mazy’s vision seems to be permanently clouded by her late husband’s betrayal. But when a young stagedriver risks all for a Wintu Indian, his life becomes entangled with the turnaround women – and together they are changed forever as they discover that No Eye Can See all the good God has in store for those who love Him.

Publishers Weekly

Christian novelist Kirkpatrick follows her well-received All Together in One Place with this rich and engaging sequel that could easily stand alone. She picks up the story of 11 women who have banded together to travel west on the Oregon Trail after losing their menfolk. Kirkpatrick's gifts as a writer are most evident in the surprising complexity of her female characters and in her ability to weave historical details into her story without overwhelming it. The fascinating moments of daily routine on the trail and in California's mining towns fit effortlessly with the plot and include the varying experiences of different races (Chinese and Indian) as well as of men and women. The author brings her heroines alive with full complements of both endearing and frustrating qualities, keeping them on even footing with each other and leaving the reader unsure what they might do next. Kirkpatrick is convincingly insightful about the conflicting emotions these women experience during dramatic life changes, allowing them to struggle, change their minds, make mistakes and start over on different tracks. The novel's chief flaw is that the male characters are far less developed, especially the villainous Zane Randolph. He provides a gripping, driving tension to the novel, but he is too one-dimensionally evil. Even so, this second installment in the Kinship and Courage trilogy satisfies overall as entertainment, as historical fiction and as a thoughtful exploration of human character and community. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.