A quick-paced, ultimately satisfying Western yarn.
The latest in Hamlett’s Western saga (John Lee Johnson and the Gunslingers, 2013, etc.) continues Johnson’s old-fashioned Western adventures fighting outlaws with trusted allies.
In 1864, Frank McGrew, a former brigadier general and Civil War hero, has been drummed out of the Union Army for extortion, murder, and other crimes, but thanks mostly to his rich father, he avoided real justice. Now he seeks revenge against the men he holds responsible for bringing him down, including lawman John Lee Johnson and Johnson’s friend Levi Brown. When Brown hears of McGrew’s revenge plan to arm hostile Native American tribes, he enlists Johnson and a simple-minded deserter named Mumford Dale Bradshaw to help. (Hamlett has a thoroughly enjoyable way with names.) Brown’s plan is to use Bradshaw as a decoy, with Johnson pretending to be Bradshaw; Johnson even fools Bradshaw’s blind uncle. What follows is a series of classic Western set pieces, including ambushes, stagecoach rides with dangerous men, and scenes of wrestling and befriending an honor-bound renegade Cheyenne man, Injun Joe. This straight-ahead adventure novel sometimes lacks nuance; for example, readers learn in an aside that the McGraw’s money comes, in part, from evilly selling shoddy weapons to the Union, and Injun Joe (real name: Kaneewah) tends to fit the “inscrutable” and “stoic” stereotype of the noble Native American. As in Hamlett’s other series installments, Johnson is so powerful and competent that readers may not feel much suspense regarding his safety. In fact, many characters remark on how secure Johnson is; as Brown notes, “Any man that goes after John Lee Johnson is a fool if John Lee Johnson knows he is coming,” and even hard-bitten outlaws refuse to tangle with him. But despite this lack of tension, it’s still gratifying to see the villains get their comeuppance. There are also some grace notes that keep the adventure from becoming formulaic, including Uncle Zed extolling the bathroom-related virtues of eating beans and the outlaw Doc Gragg gang having no Doc Gragg.
A quick-paced, ultimately satisfying Western yarn.Pub Date: Dec. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4582-1981-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: AbbottPress
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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Above-average formula fiction, making full display of the author’s strong suits: sense of place, compassion for characters...
Female rivalry is again the main preoccupation of Hannah’s latest Pacific Northwest sob saga (Firefly Lane, 2008, etc.).
At Water’s Edge, the family seat overlooking Hood Canal, Vivi Ann, youngest and prettiest of the Grey sisters and a champion horsewoman, has persuaded embittered patriarch Henry to turn the tumbledown ranch into a Western-style equestrian arena. Eldest sister Winona, a respected lawyer in the nearby village of Oyster Shores, hires taciturn ranch hand Dallas Raintree, a half-Native American. Middle sister Aurora, stay-at-home mother of twins, languishes in a dull marriage. Winona, overweight since adolescence, envies Vivi, whose looks get her everything she wants, especially men. Indeed, Winona’s childhood crush Luke recently proposed to Vivi. Despite Aurora’s urging (her principal role is as sisterly referee), Winona won’t tell Vivi she loves Luke. Yearning for Dallas, Vivi stands up Luke to fall into bed with the enigmatic, tattooed cowboy. Winona snitches to Luke: engagement off. Vivi marries Dallas over Henry’s objections. The love-match triumphs, and Dallas, though scarred by child abuse, is an exemplary father to son Noah. One Christmas Eve, the town floozy is raped and murdered. An eyewitness and forensic evidence incriminate Dallas. Winona refuses to represent him, consigning him to the inept services of a public defender. After a guilty verdict, he’s sentenced to life without parole. A decade later, Winona has reached an uneasy truce with Vivi, who’s still pining for Dallas. Noah is a sullen teen, Aurora a brittle but resigned divorcée. Noah learns about the Seattle Innocence Project. Could modern DNA testing methods exonerate Dallas? Will Aunt Winona redeem herself by reopening the case? The outcome, while predictable, is achieved with more suspense and less sentimental histrionics than usual for Hannah.
Above-average formula fiction, making full display of the author’s strong suits: sense of place, compassion for characters and understanding of family dynamics.Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-36410-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2008
There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.
Passion, friendship, heartbreak, and forgiveness ring true in Lovering's debut, the tale of a young woman's obsession with a man who's "good at being charming."
Long Island native Lucy Albright, starts her freshman year at Baird College in Southern California, intending to study English and journalism and become a travel writer. Stephen DeMarco, an upperclassman, is a political science major who plans to become a lawyer. Soon after they meet, Lucy tells Stephen an intensely personal story about the Unforgivable Thing, a betrayal that turned Lucy against her mother. Stephen pretends to listen to Lucy's painful disclosure, but all his thoughts are about her exposed black bra strap and her nipples pressing against her thin cotton T-shirt. It doesn't take Lucy long to realize Stephen's a "manipulative jerk" and she is "beyond pathetic" in her desire for him, but their lives are now intertwined. Their story takes seven years to unfold, but it's a fast-paced ride through hookups, breakups, and infidelities fueled by alcohol and cocaine and with oodles of sizzling sexual tension. "Lucy was an itch, a song stuck in your head or a movie you need to rewatch or a food you suddenly crave," Stephen says in one of his point-of-view chapters, which alternate with Lucy's. The ending is perfect, as Lucy figures out the dark secret Stephen has kept hidden and learns the difference between lustful addiction and mature love.
There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-6964-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
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