A well-developed romance wrapped in an engaging and fast-paced Western, complete with strong protagonists, colorful...
An Irishwoman encounters intrigue and the search for a lost treasure when she moves to the Arizona Territory in this debut novel.
Sarah Ryan is heartbroken after the death of her father. Instead of remaining in Ireland, she intends to move to America, where her sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Ben McAllister, live in the Arizona Territory with their son, Will. Upon arriving in Arizona, she finds her world shattered by another tragic loss—Mary and Ben. They were murdered on their ranch, Hermit’s Rest, leaving their son an orphan. Grief-stricken, she resolves to stay and help Will and the ranch hand, Jeremy, run Hermit’s Rest. When Texas Ranger L.T. McAllister, Ben’s brother, comes to town with a suspect in the murders, the townspeople anticipate a quick resolution to the case; but the arrest draws the ire of the sheriff, Grant Simpson. He is less concerned about maintaining law and order than he is about finding a treasure known as the Lost Adams Diggings. L.T.’s arrival threatens his ironclad grip on the town and his plans to locate the treasure. As Sarah and L.T. settle in to life at Hermit’s Rest, they discover a powerful, mutual attraction, but secrets from his past, and a dangerous enemy, put their lives in danger. Squires’ briskly paced romance crackles with energy thanks to well-drawn characters and settings. Sarah, a sympathetic heroine, discovers a fierce inner strength through helping Will and Jeremy run Hermit’s Rest. She has a strong romantic foil in L.T. Although he declines to discuss some aspects of his past, his rugged appearance and tough demeanor belie a kind heart and honorable sense of justice. They are surrounded by a colorful cast of supporting characters, including Jeremy, a longtime ranch hand at Hermit’s Rest who may hold the key to finding the lost treasure. Squires’ use of historical details bolsters her settings, particularly the depiction of everyday life in the Arizona Territory and the references to the Lost Adams Diggings.
Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63355-755-0
Page Count: 338
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
