Publisher: Berkley
Published: April
7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0425277430
Genre: Historical
Western romance
Format: Print
Obtained via: Publisher
Reviewed by
name and email address: Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com
On his way back to Stonechurch, a mining
town more or less owned by Ramsey Stonechurch, Quill McKenna stopped off for a
little food, a little drink and a little female companionship. What he finds at Mrs. Fry’s house of
ill-repute is a woman who he simply cannot stop thinking about. Turns out that woman is the rather well-known
and somewhat feared bounty hunter, Calico Nash.
Calico is at Mrs. Fry’s to do a job—and it’s not necessarily one that
has her tumbling into bed with the gentlemen who come to call. She’s there as the bounty hunter she is. But she also raises Quill’s protective
instincts. So much so that he almost
comes between her and her bounty.
A few months later, in addition to
protecting his employer, Ramsey Stonechurch, the mine owner’s daughter, Ann, is
threatened. Deciding that he needs help
protecting the Stonechurches, Quill sets his sights on hiring Calico. Calico agrees to help—and for more reasons
than the money protecting Ann.
While a few more attempts or threats are
directed at Ramsey, all begins to see quiet around the Stonechurch home. During the lull in protecting the family Quill
and Calico begin to probe beneath the surface of what is going on around them—Ramsey’s
attraction to Calico and Ann’s to Quill.
But that dims in the light of Calico and Quill’s attraction to each
other.
But that lull is not meant to last. Another attempt is made on Ramsey’s life—one much
closer to home that any could have anticipated.
And while things at the mine have taken a downturn, evidence of
something deeper surfaces. Can Quill and
Calico find the killer before he finds them?
It has been way too long since I read a Jo
Goodman book. She’s one of the authors I’ve
historically turned to when looking for a good western romance and she does not
disappoint. In her latest, THIS GUN FOR HIRE she delivers not only
a sweet romance, but an absorbing mystery.
At first I thought there was going to be the standard “pampered daughter
falls for hired gun” story that would have some good romance and a little
adventure. It was a treat to meet Calico
Nash in the first few pages. The
character has a great personality and some wonderful depth. Even though she struggles a bit with the
constraints of a woman of her time, she also has a marvellously depicted
independent spirit. She’s very likeable.
Something else I liked was that her role as a bounty hunter is simply another facet
of her character. It’s not an over the
top depiction with a swagger, cigar and other forced traits – it’s just who she
is and for the most part she is comfortable with the elements of that role.
Quill is also wonderfully multi-layered. A combination of a minister’s son and a fast
gun could have turned into a caricature.
It did not. Instead Goodman
reveals the many layers to this character making him more and more likeable. He draws on his family’s way of being, but is
also his own man.
What I struggled with in the book was the
dialogue. Every character spoke perfect
English. Nary a contraction was to be
found and I just can’t believe every person in 1888 spoke with such perfect
grammar. There were points where if I
wasn’t tracking every character I would have lost who was speaking because they
all spoke the same in the same perfect manner.
While I figured out who was trying to kill
Ramsey and how pretty early on, it didn’t take away from how Quill and Calico
would solve the mystery and while the ending was somewhat predictable, it was
well done.
This is an objective review and an endorsement of this
book.
No comments:
Post a Comment