A lighthearted, engaging novel that fits squarely into the tradition of Westerns yet finds its own path to a more modern...
Outlaws are defeated and cowboys find true love in this third book in Spalsbury’s (The Hunted Return, 2012, etc.) Western series.
Spalsbury returns to 19th-century Montana for this story of classic Old West adventure with a dash of romance. Kay Cannon is on her way from New York to Montana as a mail-order bride for a cowboy named Sinful when she realizes two men are after her, looking to steal something they believe she possesses. She makes her way across the country, evading her pursuers, and lands in the company of Sinful’s colleague Doc Whitfield, just back from studying medicine in France. Whitfield saves Kay from the men chasing her—and from a number of other outlaws as well—and delivers her safely to Elk Forks, Montana, where she settles in among the characters who populate the town. When Kay is kidnapped by her pursuers, Doc, Sinful, Red, Big John and the sheriff ride through the mountains to save her. The strong cast of supporting characters, from gambler and revenge-seeker Mary Beth to Mrs. Bale—housekeeper, sharpshooter, and honorary grandmother—keeps the story vibrant, while the many plot threads eventually come together in a satisfying resolution. The long rides, gun-toting dames, quick draws and scruffy miners are all stock elements of Western fiction, but Spalsbury succeeds in blending them into a more modern portrait of the familiar tropes. These tough cowboys aren’t afraid to show their tears, for instance, and several members of the Blackfoot tribe also act as supporting characters. Although stereotypes occasionally arise, the author manages a balanced, honest approach to a violent period in American history. Readers unfamiliar with the previous books in the series may find themselves lost at times, but on the whole, Spalsbury is effective at bringing in the necessary back story without overwhelming the reader.
A lighthearted, engaging novel that fits squarely into the tradition of Westerns yet finds its own path to a more modern audience.Pub Date: March 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1495231445
Page Count: 306
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
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