The Scoundrel

March 1, 2006
No one is more surprised than blacksmith Daniel McCabe when a delivery turns out to be a boy. The eight-year-old hellion proves to be too much for Daniel, who decides that a wife would solve all his problems. Daniel's longtime friend, local schoolmarm Sarah Crabtree, fits the bill nicely. However, there is a bit of disagreement as to what Sarah's role should be. Daniel is looking for a chaste relationship with a woman who is a mother, housekeeper, and cook. Sarah, who's been secretly in love with Daniel forever, is looking for romance, courtship, and a real marriage. There's lots of Plumley's trademark humor in this Old West tale of first-comes-marriage. Sarah's unconventional family (introduced in " The Matchmaker," 2003), especially her sister Grace, a die-hard, antimale suffragist, enhances the story and adds to the fun. Readers who enjoy humorous romances of the Old West by Geralyn Dawson, Georgina Gentry, and Nancy J. Parra will be roped in by this one, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)