In Her Sister's Footsteps is book 38 in the Tales From Grace Chapel Inn series about three sisters who run a bed-and-breakfast from their maternal ancestors' Victorian house in the village of Acorn Hill, Pennsylvania. Their late father, Daniel Howard, had been the pastor of nearby Grace Chapel, hence the name.

Widowed Mrs. Louise Howard Smith teaches piano as well as keeping the inn's books. Alice Howard is a part-time nurse. Divorced Jane Howard was a professional chef in San Francisco. She does the cooking and gardening. They share in housekeeping tasks.

These books have a formula: there will be a main problem and one or more problems for subplots. Guests and/or townspeople will be involved. Faith will play a part in resolving the problems.

The main problem this time is Jane falling and tearing a calf muscle. She'll have to be on crutches for three weeks. Alice isn't a cook and Louise is only so-so. Enter Saul 'Salty' Loughry, uncle to supporting character Hope Collins, the waitress at the Coffee Shop. Salty happens to be a retired U.S. Navy cook. Better yet, Saul wants to brush up on his piano-playing skills for a veterans talent show back home in Ohio. He'll trade cooking for lessons from Louise.

We get to follow Jane's difficulties in getting around on crutches and her frustration in not being able to do what she loves. I had no sympathy whatsoever with Jane's experience in one of those electric shopping carts in chapter ten. I have old-accidents damage to both feet and I consider those carts a godsend. Yes, they can be tricky to navigate at first (or still, when displays are too close together), but they certainly save my feet. As for Jane being ignored by other shoppers, I don't always have to ask for help -- other shoppers often volunteer to get something off the shelves for me.

Jane can't handle the bookkeeping that Louise does so well. (I guess Jane used a bookkeeper when she had her own restaurant in San Francisco.)

Salty wants to practice singing a World War I song his granddad wrote more than practicing the piano. At least he's more motivated than little Nina, Louise's reluctant student.

Jane was supposed to line up workers for the highway cleanup project and pitch in. Dignified and proper Louise gets to take Jane's place.

Mr. Bert Frame, a new guest, keeps unintentionally creating problems at the inn. (It doesn't seem as if this man should be allowed to travel anywhere without his wife.) Poor Alice is stuck being the inn enforcer and having to deal with righting those problems.

Pity guest Emily Cleary, who isn't sure if she wants to marry her friend Harry or not. Well, Alice has a sympathetic shoulder to offer.

Don't expect to see Aunt Ethel poking her nose in because she's visiting her son. That means her friend, the bossy Florence Simpson, gets to be Poker-in-Chief. Oh, joy...

NOTES:

Chapter 1 explains about R.I.C.E., an acronym for a common injury treatment.

Chapter 2. It's interesting that Florence mentions having had bunion surgery here because she definitely has a bunion in book 47, Keeping the Faith.

Chapter 3. Alice refers to Salty as Hope's cousin.

Chapter 4 gives some tips on selecting produce when Salty helps Alice with grocery shopping.

See chapter 5 for the chorus of the song Salty's granddad wrote.

There are explanations about 'doughboy,' a term used for soldiers during World War I, in chapter 8.

Chapter 10: I suppose the Biblical Job gets his reputation for patience because he nerve actually cursed God after so many terrible things happened to him, but he sure complains a lot.

See chapter 11 for information about the Pennsylvania 'Dutch' as well as an art show.

Chapter 13 offers information about trash and recycling.

Chapter 14 has an interesting method for getting a child to want to play the piano.

This is another good, but not outstanding (in my opinion) entry in a gentle series.

The recipe for this book is Salty's Special Hot Clam Dip.

Cat lovers: Wendell, the Howard's big, gray tabby, makes an appearance. ( )

Another installment in the Grace Chapel Inn series, in which everyone seems like family or neighbors. This volume seemed to have better writing than some of the novels, which are written by different authors. In this story, Jane (the chef) suffers an injury, and each of the sisters takes on new roles and responsibilities. As always, the reader meets new guests who become friends by the end of the story. The touch of humor and low-key spirituality add spice and interest to the story. ( )