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“There’s no place like home.” I know all of us Kansans get a bit tired of hearing quotes from the Wizard of Oz, but some of them are just plain true. I read Snow Melts in Spring mostly because it takes place nearby, in the area of the world I love more than any other. It’s set in a small town in the Flint Hills and K-State Vet School makes many appearances.

Mattie Evans is a veterinarian struggling to establish her practice after a series of patients that died of unexplained causes. Her staunchest supporter, John McCray asks her to save his son’s horse after a horrible accident. John’s son Gil has been away in California playing pro football for several years. The news of the accident draws him back home to tend to his horse and face painful memories from his past.

Mattie and Gil work together in the midst of many trials, forging a bond of love and faith that is tested when it is time for him to return to his “normal” life. Vogts tells an inspirational story with a backdrop of beautiful grasses and rolling hills.