Kathleen Ernst

Wisconsin widow Hanneke Bauer, a German immigrant, is a fervent abolitionist. After yearning to play an active role on the Underground Railroad, she agrees to help shepherd a Negro woman on her journey from slavery to freedom. Several Railroad conductors have recently been killed in southern Wisconsin, so she is acutely aware of the dangers she faces. Finding the latest victim's body is frightening, but does not deter her. She soon learns, however,...

Four months after her turbulent arrival, Pomeranian immigrant Hanneke Bauer is still struggling to feel at home on the Wisconsin farm she inherited from her husband. She does savor a growing friendship with tinsmith Karoline Ketzler, but that solace vanishes when Karoline's daughter Jacobine finds her father dead from a vicious attack. When the deputy sheriff's suspicions fall on Karoline, Hanneke employs her own talents to investigate the crime....

"When Pomeranian immigrant Hanneke Bauer reaches Wisconsin in 1855, she believes her dearest dreams are coming true. After reuniting with her husband Fridolin at his farm near Watertown, she will help create a true home. Instead, she receives the shocking news that he is dead. Hanneke quickly learns that Wisconsin life is not as bucolic as it seems. Alone and destitute, she is determined to discover the details of Fridolin's death. Her efforts prompt...

Trying to leave painful memories behind her, Chloe Ellefson is making a fresh start. She's the new collections curator at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum showcasing 1870's settlement life. On her first day, Chloe meets with an elderly woman who begs her to find a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl that had been donated to the museum years ago. But before Chloe can find the heirloom and return it to her, the woman dies in...

Caroline and her mother make a dangerous trip across Lake Ontario to visit her father, a prisoner of war at a British fort, but when her mother is not allowed to see her father it is up to Caroline to pass on a secret message to him.

While staying with her Aunt Millie in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky in the summer of 1934, Kit tries to discover who is sabotaging a visiting folklore researcher.

Kirsten, a young girl living on the Minnesota frontier, tries to learn the truth about what really happened to her friend and neighbor Erik Sandahl, who has disappeared and is widely believed to have run out on his promises and responsibilities.

"When offered a rare opportunity to help develop a fledgling historic site dedicated to Finnish American history and heritage, curator Chloe Ellefson journeys to the remote Northwoods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In addition to the consultant job, she's on a personal quest to learn about the enduring tradition of rag rug weaving. Encountering a dead body upon arrival, however, immediately puts that goal in jeopardy. Although suspicion soon falls...

Chloe discovers a body on a farm outside Green Bay while she's visiting a historic site and conferring with a friend about Belgian lacemaking.

Caroline knows that in order to fight the British, her village desperately needs its shipyards and supply boats and she will do whatever it takes to keep them out of enemy hands, then later, while helping on her uncle's farm, Caroline discovers that the war brings dangers there, too.