Reviews

The Only Thing Necessary is a powerful journey through a difficult to digest, and often glossed over, historical era. The storyline was a masterful melding of action packed “life or death” situations, and quiet moments of beautifully simplistic human connection. The character development was natural and subtle, while also incredibly effective. The full gambit of human nature was on display in this story. From the purely evil or disgustingly indifferent, to the borderline saintly, and every shade in between. The attention to period-specific detail was fantastic, and really helped to illustrate how terribly “normalized” things were at the time. All-in-all a very worthwhile read with a cleverly powerful title!

The Only Thing Necessary is a refreshing novel. The humour and historical details make every page a pleasure to read. The characters come to life through the description and dialogue. It was a long book but I enjoyed it from start to finish. I hope there is a sequel so that I can find out what happens to the characters.

THE ONLY THING NECESSARY

A Tale from the Cameron Line

This gripping and well-researched historical fiction novel transports the reader back to the days of slavery in the old south when escaped slaves risked – and often lost their lives – in the attempt to gain their freedom. The author masterfully weaves the reader into the landscape, the lives and the escape of three slaves who make their bid for freedom, as they head north to Canada. So vividly is the story told that you will feel as if you too, are running for your life and alongside them. My heart was in my mouth every step of the way.

The tale also tells a lesser-known story of the underground railway leading up to – and through – Canada. So dangerous was this endeavour that crossing the border into Canada was no guarantee of freedom. Bounty-hunters were known to follow the escaped slaves across the border (who knew)? There was no guarantee of safe harbour for either the former slaves – nor sometimes for those who sheltered them. The underground railroad to – and within – Canada was not for the faint of heart, but demanded courage from all who participated.

The intensity of this tale was skillfully counterbalanced with intermittent comedic relief in the form of Mrs. Hedley (local town-gossip and arbiter of propriety), as well as a marine escapade involving the best of friends, a boat and some… liquid refreshments (ahem).

The finale involves a nail-biting boat-race to freedom in which the outcome cannot be predicted. I very nearly broke my reader’s discipline as I fought a battle to not skip to the last page to see the outcome! I was completely absorbed in the story – as far as I was concerned – I travelled every step of two the way with the book’s characters. I also learned about the role of Canada and the Canadians who played a vital role in the underground railway – I felt very proud of our early Canadian/Scottish heritage. Give yourself a gift and read this story!