Texas Vigilante

Simple.

Miss Ellie reforms some misguided men into model citizens. She has some help this time.

I had read the previous novel, so I had an idea what to expect and I was not only not disappointed (and to a great extent, not surprised) but I was also rewarded by some new twists and turns beyond my expectations.

This novel, like its predecessor, presents a very strong Texas woman as the main character. She is self assured, self confident, and self controlled … and she is strong enough to not only take on the running of her ranch but also the running down of those who cause harm to those she cares about. She is an unusual character, at least in my reading, in that, in the first place, she is a woman and, in the second place, she doesn’t feel any need to wait for men to step up and take care of problems. That being said, there are some scarily unrealistic aspects to her character, although they are essential to the novel as it is written. For instance, she is definitely stronger willed and more decisive than virtually every male character in the book and defintely more intelligent than most of them … in other words, she comes across as an extremely early modern-day woman who dominates the men around her.

The setting for this novel is in the “Texas HIll Country”, which is part of what caused me to read the first novel. I am not a native Texan but I have lived in the Texas Hill Country long enough to recognize most of the references to the countryside that are worked into the novel … and worked in quite naturally and accurately. I felt like I could picture exactly where the action was happening … and it made it all the more fun to read.

As one might expect, the plot revolves around a conflict introduced by “bad guys” who commit a horrendous act that invoces the wrath of the main character. The build up to the crime is very well handled and the whole opening plot is very believable. The crime itself has an emotional twist that results in the reader rooting for the success of the hunt for these men. Once the hunt begins, there are, of course, twists and turns in the plot and the periodic surprises for the reader but the hunt steadily closes in on the quarry. When the action starts, though, it is like a West Texas shoot out in that it happens quite quickly but with unexpected pauses for a breath that only result in more breathless action.

I found myself having a hard time putting this book down because I kept wanting to read “just one more” sentence/paragraph/page. I can heartily recommend this book, preferably after readin the first book in the series and if you can handle the nature of life in the novel’s time period.

I love westerns…not this one, or this author. Sorry

I enjoyed the story. It is refreshing to have a strong female lead where the author is not trying to shove an agenda on the readers. The heroine is strong because she has to be, not because she is trying to prove something. I recommend this book.