Ballad Beauty

WESTERN:  Jenny McShanahan is heading out west to meet up with her father, Samuel, after a decade of being separated. Unbeknownst to her she is leading not one, but two men to the location of her felon father and the bounty he recently stole - bounty he means to give to her to build a life on. Noah Daniel Webster, a Texas Ranger, seeks Famous Sam McShan, notorious outlaw and modern day Robin Hood, for justice’s sake. Riley Withers seeks vengeance and wealth. The race is on, and the winner remains to be seen. 

From the start, the characters of Jenny and Noah are both striking and the epitome of determination in reaching their mutual destination. Mr. Withers is the poster boy for sleazy criminals. The contrast between the two men using Jenny to catch her father is dramatic, yet only one can succeed. Ms. Linwood does an exemplary job of keeping the final destination a secret until the very end, a refreshing change from predictable plots. Whether traveling the desert with Jenny and Noah or learning how vile Riley truly is, the reader is kept on their toes for the majority of the story. A tiny bit of redundancy causes a stumble, but the story then gallops forward promptly. Jenny’s feisty attitude is a soothing change from simpering women who deem that they must depend on a man to survive. If given her way she would run head on into a tangle with a viper in a heartbeat

Penelope Anne Bartotto