Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Legacy-Diane Amos.

The Legacy
Diane Amos.
Five Star, Nov 2009, $25.95
ISBN 9781594148156

In 1887, Bostonian businessman Jeremiah T. Dalton leaves the east coast for Lowdown, Texas to say his good bye to his dying father Noah. Father and son were estranged for years. Jeremiah’s ranch foreman, Abigail “Abby” Wilcox loathes the easterner for not having time for his kind father until he is on his deathbed.

The will is a bit of a surprise to both Jeremiah and Abby though reflecting on his father, the Bostonian knows it figures. Jeremiah must reside on Dalton Ranch for six months and learn ranching from Abby if he is to inherit. If he fails the test, his dad’s estate will be divided between Abby, Pedro the cook, Uncle Mort, and Whip the ranch hand. Jeremiah considers returning home to his fiancĂ©e Evelyn DuBlois and forfeiting the estate, but his attraction to the foreman and her precocious daughter Calreissa has him considering a try at ranching. He is stunned when Brahmin Evelyn arrives in Texas.

This is an entertaining late nineteenth century Americana romantic suspense as someone wants Jeremiah dead. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the city slicker arrives in aptly named Lowdown and never slows down as he confronts the ghosts of his past. Although the support cast is stereotyped from Hollywood westerns, fans will enjoy the romance between the slick easterner and his foreman.

Harriet Klausner

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