Mail Order Husband
Lauri RobinsonHistorical romance
Available from The Wild Rose Press
ISBN: 1-60154-062-0
May 2007
| This book is a very romantic, yet suspenseful, tale of a woman who, when her father died, was left with a ranch to run, but was given absolutely no authority by the men in the area. The fact that a neighbor, Luke James, was determined to marry her and take over her ranch not only disgusted her, but terrified her; constantly, horrible things were happening to her cattle and her ranch and Penny Jordan needed a man! Penny did not want a man, but she needed one desperately. Finally, in anguish, she sent a telegram to her best friend, Candice Berlin-Owens, in Philadelphia, PA. It said, “In desperate need stop please send husband stop.”
Candice had a brother-in-law whose wife and unborn child did not survive birth; he was grieving and drinking himself to death. Because he would not agree to go, Candice and her husband devised a plan for them to be married by proxy; she then drugged Jace with opium and took him to the Dakota Territory. It was five days after his arrival before he was aware of where he was. He walked onto the porch in time to see Luke James assaulting his ‘wife.’ Ms. Lauri Robinson has written a well developed plot with strong characters. There are several with stories of their own; however, they all blended well with this unusual couple. He became part of the household of Penny’s step mother, Singing Dove, who was a healer, Mary Alice, her deceased brother’s sister, and Sam, a former slave, now Penny’s right-hand-man. The Copper Cow was the ranch owned by the Jordan’s; however, the Cattleman’s Association denied Penny the right to attend meetings. There is a constant undercurrent of danger, but there are also some poignant moments which made me shed a few tears. This book is a great read and I was not ready for it to end. I envision this book will be a keeper for many bookshelves; I highly recommend that you read it!
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Reviewer: Brenda Talley |
