The Hudson Collection by Jocelyn Green: Book Review

*Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.








Step into the beguiling world of 1926 New York and discover the power of resilience, friendship, and love from award-winning author Jocelyn Green.

Elsa Reisner's lifelong dream of working as an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History is fading as the job begins to drain her passion. But fate takes an unexpected turn when she is assigned to catalog the bequest of a recently deceased patron whose Gothic country mansion holds secrets and treasures waiting to be discovered.

As Elsa delves into her task, she forms an unlikely bond with the estate's delightful gardener and her daughter, as well as an architectural salvage dealer who still bears scars from the Great War. Together, they embark on a thrilling treasure hunt for a missing relic intended to safeguard the servants' futures before the estate is sold. At the same time, Elsa's body seems to betray her with new symptoms from a childhood disease that isn't through with her yet.

With the brooding veteran and her handsome colleague joining the search, Elsa must navigate the tangled web of secrets and hidden motives along with the changing state of her health. As her deadline looms ever closer, will she be able to secure a new life for her friends before the estate slips from their grasp?



Jocelyn Green is a former journalist who puts her investigative skills to work in writing both nonfiction and historical fiction to inspire faith and courage.

Her books have finaled in the Christy Awards and Inspirational Readers Choice Awards, and have won gold from the Military Writers Society of America and the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association.

Complex and nuanced characters, rich historical detail and twisting plots make her novels immersive experiences. Her fiction has been praised by Historical Novel Society, Romantic Times, Library Journal, historians specializing in her novels’ time periods, as well as popular and acclaimed authors Laura Frantz, Lori Benton, Jody Hedlund, Sarah Sundin, Joanne Bischof, Julie Lessman, and more.

Jocelyn loves Broadway musicals, the color red, Toblerone chocolate bars, Mexican food, and well-done documentaries. She lives in Iowa with her husband, two children, and two cats she should have named Catticus Finch and Purrman Meowville.
Visit her at jocelyngreen.com, and receive a free gift when joining her e-newsletter mailing list at jocelyngreen.com/subscribe.

The Hudson Collection is the second book in the On Central Park series but can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone if you haven't read the first book.

This book was so beautifully written. We've got history, romance, mystery and a beautiful message of faith all weaved together beautifully to create a story that kept my attention from start to finish. Elsa is an ornithologist (a scientist who studies birds), which I thought was really interesting and definitely outside the typical careers we often see in historical fiction. Her position at the American Museum of Natural History leads her to a mansion where she's tasked with cataloging a bird collection and ends up befriending the gardener and her daughter... and being caught up in a bit of a mystery too... These characters were so perfectly written, and I couldn't help but be drawn into their stories.

The talk of eugenics was admittedly very hard to read about, particularly as a mom of an autistic child and someone who has their own share of physical and mental health struggles... but it led to a very beautiful message about being just as God created us to be that I really appreciated.

If you're looking for a wonderful historical read, this is definitely one worth checking out.




Get your copy: https://amzn.to/4bl3w0y