Fair Play: A Novel
To say that the residents of Chicago are not beating a path to the office of a woman doctor with a man’s name would definitely be an understatement. So when Bertha Palmer asks Billy Jack Tate if she would work at the infirmary at the Women’s Building at the Chicago World’s Fair, Billy doesn’t have to think twice. Not only will she get the chance to put her medical degree to good use but she will also have an opportunity to make some important connections that could help her finally launch her own practice. The one connection Billy didn’t plan on making, however, is with Hunter Scott, an old-school Texas Ranger working as a guard at the fair. Gist seamlessly incorporates fascinating historical details about the 1893 World’s Fair and Chicago into Fair Play, which not only tugs at readers’ heartstrings but also shows how the seeds of the national playground movement were sown. Fans of both faith-based historical romance and historical fiction will be delighted with this entertaining addition to Christy Award–winning Gist’s World’s Fair trilogy. --John Charles