A fall of marigolds

*Starred Review* Taryn Michaels specializes in hard-to-find patterns at an Upper West Side fabric shop. She is haunted by her failure to find a match for a scarf covered in bright marigolds, the same scarf she was holding when the Twin Towers fell in 2001, killing her husband. Unbeknownst to Taryn, the scarf began its life in New York on Ellis Island in 1911, when a very recently widowed Welshman carried it into the scarlet-fever ward of nurse Clara Wood. Clara, like Taryn, is hiding out in her work, having witnessed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, watching the man she loved jump from an upper floor. When Clara discovers the terrible secret of the scarf's original owner, Lily, she must decide if she can accept the help of a handsome doctor and brave the ferry to Manhattan to find answers. Meissner's first mainstream women's fiction novel, after more than a dozen Christian-fiction titles, hits all of the right emotional notes without overdoing the two tragedies; instead, she seamlessly weaves a connection between two women whose broken hearts have left them in an in-between place. A good choice for Christian-fiction readers, for book groups, or for readers looking for a book of hope without schmaltz.--Maguire, Susan Copyright 2014 Booklist

A scarf ties together the stories of two women as they struggle with personal journeys 100 years apart in Meissner's historical novel (The Girl in the Glass, 2012, etc.). In 1911, Clara Wood witnesses the traumatic death of the man she loves in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and chooses to bury her grief and guilt while ministering to sick immigrants on Ellis Island. The hospital's remote and insulated from the rest of New York City, and she refuses travel to the mainland, even on her days off. Then an emigrant Welshman wrapped in his deceased wife's distinctive marigold scarf arrives, and Clara finds herself reaching beyond her normal duties to help the quarantined man. The truths she uncovers about his wife trigger reflections about ethical decisions and compel her to examine her own convictions about life and a person's capacity to love, as a colleague tries to help her. Gently interwoven into Clara's tale is the story of widow Taryn Michaels, whose life 100 years later in some ways parallels Clara's. Taryn works in a tony fabric shop, raises her daughter in the apartment above and does her best to avoid the overwhelming emotions she's felt since she stood across the street from the World Trade Center and witnessed the destruction as the first tower crumbled. A recently discovered photo from that day is published in a national magazine and now, 10 years after 9/11, Taryn is forced to relive the events and face the guilt she's harbored because she acceded to a customer's request and stopped by a hotel to pick up a marigold scarf, an action that delayed Taryn from joining her husband at Windows on the World for a celebration she'd planned. Meissner is a practiced writer whose two main characters cope with universal themes that many people deal with: loss, survivor's guilt, and permitting oneself to move on and achieve happiness again. Although their stories are unbalanced--Clara's account dominates the narrative--the author creates two sympathetic, relatable characters that readers will applaud. Touching and inspirational.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.