In this story of the Old West, we find Suzannah Calhoun at a dance given by her sister and her husband. She meets U.S. Marshall Jedidiah Brown. Sparks fly between them, but neither of them seems too keen on each other. I must say that the first few pages of this book almost made me put it down without reading it. I was not impressed with the standard romance descriptions of the two persons, Susanna and Jedidiah (sinewy arms, strong, aristocratic cheekbones, sun-streaked tawny hair and sun-darkened skin, etc.) I really hoped that these cliché-type phrases were not going to be prevalent throughout the book. I was pleasantly surprised as I read further. I was not subjected to this schmaltzy rhetoric throughout the rest of the text.
Susannah seems to get herself into a lot of trouble, the worst being charged with the murder of her boss, who was not a nice man. Of course she had been seen with him and from there the story takes off. Susannah's sister and husband seek out Marshall Brown to escort Susannah to Denver to be tried for them murder of this man, whose brother is a U.S. senator. The senator is determined to see Susannah hanged for killing his nephew. She is not guilty, but is still pursued by the decedent's brother who just wants to hang Susannah and get it over with and not waiting for a trial.
Along the way, Jedidiah tries to keep Susannah from harm and deliver her safely to the Marshall in Denver to await trial for murder. The escapades along the way form the remainder of this story and bring lots of interesting dialogue to the characters. Of course, they fall in love and it remains to be seen whether or not we end up reading about a wedding or a hanging.
I think you will like this book despite the shaky (to my mind) beginning. I would recommend this book to all.
