Having read all the Virgin River books, I am now reading my way through the Grace Valley trilogy by the amazing Robyn Carr. Deep in the Valley begins the series with a cast of interesting characters in the small community of Grace Valley, a fictional Northern California town.

Dr. June Hudson, a thirty-seven-year-old and daughter of Elmer Hudson, the town’s recently retired doctor, has taken over the practice. She is dedicated to the community and her profession but has concerns about her spinsterhood and the fact that her biological clock is ticking. Nevertheless, she works long hours and encounters numerous emergencies as a matter of course. When she solicits help from the medical community, handsome Dr. John Stone from Sausalito applies and she’s not sure the impeccably dressed yuppie will work out, even though his qualifications are a perfect fit. He persuades her to give him a six-month trial. Despite her reservations, Stone works extremely well at the clinic.

Several cases demand their attention. There’s Vietnam vet Clarence Mull and his horrifically damaged wife Jurea whose son was stepped on by a jenny, then young Justine who has been compromised by a lecherous minister, not to mention lesser problems involving a quirky aunt who writes grisly murder mysteries, a threesome with secrets and the return of an old flame of June’s who is now divorced. While the townspeople have a field day matchmaking, June finds her own romance with Jim Post, an elusive DEA agent she cannot tell anyone about.

June’s best friend is Sheriff Tom Toopeek, a Cherokee and Oklahoma transplant she went to school with. Fans of Ms. Carr’s Virgin River series will remember Tom from Promise Canyon, and Virgin River readers will be treated to appearances from June and Dr. Stone in several of those books.

Ms. Carr has a wonderful ability to create warm and interesting characters, and Deep in the Valley is no exception. I couldn’t wait to start book two in the series.