The Lumber Baron's Wife by Lynn Austin

The Lumber Baron's Wife
by Lynn Austin

ISBN-13: 9781496476388
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
Released: April 14, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
1873. After a devastating loss, Hannah Wagner never imagined she’d leave her comfortable home for the harsh, unfamiliar wilderness near Lake Michigan. But when Henry Abernathy, a friend of her husband, John, offers them a fresh start in a booming lumber town, where John’s skills as a doctor are sorely needed, Hannah reluctantly agrees. There, she meets Kate Abernathy, Henry’s spirited, much younger wife. Kate’s sharp tongue and outsider status have made her unwelcome among the town’s elite, and when she begins confiding in Hannah, it’s clear her marriage is not what it seems and that a secret from her past could destroy everything.

Present day. Ashley Gilbert never planned to settle in Michigan, but when her husband lands his dream job as a conservationist, she agrees to follow. While restoring their historic home—built in the 19th-century for a doctor and his wife—Ashley becomes captivated by its past and its connection to the nearby Abernathy mansion, now being transformed into a museum. While volunteering with the restoration, she stumbles upon the unsolved mystery of Kate Abernathy’s disappearance.


My Review:
The Lumber Baron's Wife is a split-time Christian fiction. In present day, Ashley moved so that her husband could have his dream job but lost her dream job in the process. The move highlighted all of the differences between Ashley and her husband, like she wanted to buy the well-kept 150-year-old house and he wanted a brand new build. When Ashley got pregnant, her husband pressured her to get an abortion because finances were tight and he didn't want kids yet. Even though they knew a couple who wanted to adopt a baby, the conflict was framed as: have an abortion or raise the baby themselves. Though likable, the two had such different interests that I wondered why they even got married.

In 1873-1875, Hannah's 3 young children died when their doctor father unintentionally exposed them to diphtheria. Afterward, few people wanted him as a doctor since he couldn't save his own children. (The death toll from diphtheria is higher in young children and in crowded, unsanitary, and malnourished situations. About 9 out of 100 symptomatic cases were fatal, and the bad epidemic in 1878 in Geneva had a mortality rate of 1.9 out of every 10 cases. So it would be disturbing that a well-to-do doctor lost all 3 of his children.) A lumber-baron friend asked the doctor to relocate to a booming lumber town, and they accepted to get a fresh start. Hannah's forced by events to get more involved with life again, including befriending the lumber baron's young, wild wife, Kate.

We get Kate's diary and so see how she struggled with becoming a 'proper' wealthy wife and her disbelief that God would just forgive her if she asked. She tried to earn His forgiveness. She recorded what happened to her in the diary, so Ashley's solving of the mystery was a matter of finding the diary.

The characters were complex, realistic people. Vivid historical and setting details were woven into the story, creating a distinct sense of the time and place. Hannah had to deal with her anger at God. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.