Waiting for the Rainbow
The opening pages of this novel start with the famous flood of 1889 sweeping away a couple of people, but that is just a prelude. The actual, full description of the Johnstown Flood takes place later in the book, and doesn’t disappoint, with its “disaster movie” rundown of the fate of the characters. Details about the events and causes leading up to the dam breaking are interesting and carefully woven into the lives of the townspeople.
While there are two main characters, Braedon and Charlotte, and their romantic relationship is the primary focus of the book, many secondary characters add to the appeal of the story. Particularly likable are the engineer who was called in, too late, to strengthen the dam, and the wheelchair-confined wealthy matron who survives the flood while her chair does not. This book has traditional values of personal responsibility and accountability upheld throughout the book, with few sex scenes, so why the somewhat lurid cover art was chosen is a mystery.
