True to the Law

March 11, 2013
In this engrossing novel set in 1889 Wyoming, Goodman (A Place Called Home) delivers a lovable and feisty heroine and an upstanding lawman who find each other in highly unlikely circumstances. Gertrude “Tru” Morrow is bereft and at loose ends after the death of her wealthy employer, Charlotte Mackey, in Chicago. She takes a job as a schoolteacher in the tiny town of Bitter Springs, Wyo., but trouble follows her: Mrs. Mackey’s grandson, Andrew, thinks Tru stole from his grandmother and hires detective Cobb Bridger to find her. In the process of checking her out, Cobb falls hard for Tru, a minister’s daughter with a fondness for fine whiskey. All that remains is to figure out who’s lying to whom. Engaging characters and a well-plotted story will captivate the reader all the way to the satisfying conclusion. Agent: Pam Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Associates.

April 15, 2013

Like the rest of the townsfolk, new schoolteacher Gertrude "Tru" Morrow thinks Cobb Bridger is merely a gambling man just passing through windswept Bitter Springs, WY. But Cobb is on a mission--and Tru is his target. Hired to find her by a man who claims she is a thief, Cobb keeps his cards close to his vest as he comes to know and admire Tru and begins to question the real motives of his employer. A wary heroine with feminist sensibilities and secrets of her own; a savvy, admirable hero intent on learning the truth; and an abundance of engaging, beautifully realized secondary characters (young Finn Collins is especially endearing) keep the pages turning and the plot moving in unexpected ways. VERDICT Protagonists who spar animatedly, humor that lightens the story's darker aspects, and well-handled sexual tension combine in a compelling tale that shares a setting with the best-selling, West Virginia-based Goodman's The Last Renegade. Another winner.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.