This is simply one of the best books I have ever read. It has everything - sense of place, character description, twists and turns, hope, despair, more hope and more despair. Community, friendship, family.... and a story that you can't let go of until you've finished the last page and even more. I was totally immersed and I felt I was there for every minute of it. Kudos to the author for such a gripping tale.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I absolutely loved it and it will stay with me for a very long time.

I really feel that this book is going to emerge as a hidden gem. If you are a farmer; if you are a farmer's wife; if you grew up on a farm; if you wanted to grow up on a farm; if you live in a rural community where farming is its backbone, you're going to want to read this book.

The setting is rural Kansas. It's the 1980s when new requirements for agricultural loans became mandatory. The old fashioned handshake for a man's word was no longer the standard. Compliances with government programs became the must.

The Barretts (Iron and Mary) married when they were 17, raised three children, now own over 3,000 acres, and are known as rural royalty in their small Kansas town. The new rating for agricultural loans turns their lives, their family's lives, and their farm upside down.

The novel pits a small town bank president against his lifelong friend. It also illustrates a generational struggle with fathers and sons (for both the farmer and the banker). It's a tribute to rural families who weathered agricultural disasters. It's real and relevant, and the author (who is also a historian) does an excellent job of making her characters jump off of the page.

This novel releases July 1, 2024. If you grew up on or near a farming community, I think you'd like it. I took a chance on requesting this from NetGalley because unlike many I request, this one only had one previous reader with one review (which was a 5 star). I am interested to see how its reviews increase as it becomes closer to publication and after its release. I am rating it 4.5.

I liked the way the author was so knowledgeable and had done so much research on her topic. She was able to explain the restrictions and implications of the constraints imposed on the families due to the new regulations by the FDIC. She had been a member on the Interfaith Rural Life Committee of Western Kansas, so she used that insight and included it in the book. Her husband owned a livestock truckline and had a large loan at a failed back that fell under the FDIC. That also gave great insight for her topic and plot. She interviewed several bankers and had a small town Kansas retired bank president vet her material. All of this understanding and perception added in Hinger's story and the reader's ability to comprehend the farmers' extreme times. The author's plotline of the son and the new bank officers really piqued interest in the book. also, giving it dual antagonists.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bison Books for the opportunity to preview this novel uncovering an important part of rural, American history.

Mary's Place is a heartfelt read for fans of emotional family dramas. Set in the 1980s in rural Kansas, this story follows a family as they struggle to keep their way of life going. For generations, farmers in Kansas have taken care of themselves by using their lands, but when an agricultural loan devastates one family, the ripples from the aftermath affect everyone around.

Charlotte Hinger captures the varied emotions of the characters and this story very well, and the family at the heart of this story is one that you will find yourself growing more attached to with each page that you turn.

This book was so deep in family that one just feels like you are a part of it. The dynamics between all of the characters are without question so well developed and selective it was inevitable to get attached to them. Iron the stallion of the family, Mary, her tenacity to keep the family together and save all of their hard work. I've never thought much about agriculture and how it works, but Charlotte did such an amazing job at highlighting the ups and the downs. I gave it three stars because it was just a tad bit slow for me. Overall, I would recommend if it were a genre that interests you.

This is my first book I have read by Charlotte Hinger and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I come from a family of farmers and I couldn’t get enough. I think even if you don’t come from a farming background, you would enjoy this book.

She explains things and has such knowledge when reading you know she has done lots of research and knows her stuff!

This story took place in the 1980s in a small county town in Kansas. Where everyone knows everyone. Mary and Iron owned a farm and have a few thousand acres. At the bank in town where they handle all of their business loans and what not, is where Iron’s friend, that he has known all his life, is president. Things start to take a turn. Mary and Iron aren’t sure who they can trust in town and even side eyeing family members. Everything turned upside down in a blink of an eye. This book had me staying up late and wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Definitely going to gift this book to a couple family members who grew up in the farm life in the 1980s and I know would enjoy this book.

Thank you Net Galley and University of Nebraska Press for a review copy of this wonderful book.

I am well-acquainted with Charlotte Hinger through her Lottie Albright mysteries which are also set in western Kansas. This author has a talent for giving readers a strong sense of place, a compelling story, and fully fleshed characters. When I saw Mary's Place, I knew I had to read it, and I'm certainly glad I did.

Although this book is listed as historical fiction, it reads like a thriller. I immediately found myself in farm country and felt as though I'd known Mary and Iron Barrett my whole life. When the bank they'd always done business with is restructured, their lives are turned upside down, and the two soon learn that the government doesn't seem to care what happens to them as long as the bureaucrats get their pound of flesh.

I worried about Mary and Iron when I wasn't reading the book. Members of their own family couldn't be trusted. Some of the bureaucrats were secretly trying to feather their own nests. Every step Mary and Iron took was treacherous, and I needed to know-- I had to know-- if, and how, they were going to survive.

If you like being fully invested in a book to the point where you worry about the fate of its characters, Mary's Place is the book for you. It's a perfect slice of history that reads like a first-class thriller. I loved it.

Wow! I don't even know how to review this other than to say you need to read it, connect with it, and remember the hard things our families have endured.