THE MAN FROM STONE CREEK

Author: Linda Lael Miller ISBN: 0373771150 6/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: HQN
Time Period: 1903

There was trouble in Haven, Arizona, and Ranger Sam O'Ballivan was determined to sort it all out. Badge and gun hidden, he arrived posing as the new schoolteacher, and his first order of business was to bring the rough ranchers' children under control. To that end, he called on Maddie Chancelor, the local postmistress, whose younger brother was in firm need of discipline. Sam wasn't sure what to expect—but it was definitely not this graceful woman whose prim, proper stance was so at odds with the fire in her eyes. Working undercover to capture a dangerous band of rustlers and train robbers was a job that had always kept him apart from other people. He was a man with his heart firmly in check—until Maddie. Now she was unwittingly tempting him down a path he'd sworn he'd never travel.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Linda Lael Miller does it again with THE MAN FROM STONE CREEK. I have read a lot of books, and believe me when I say that no one does a Western like she does. THE MAN FROM STONE CREEK has a little bit of everything that I love—damsels in distress, hot heroes on horseback, and a nasty villain to keep things intriguing.

Our heroine, Maddie Chancelor, is about as plucky as they come. She runs a mercantile, is a single woman raising her brother on her own, and she sleeps with a shotgun by the door. She is strong, beautiful and determined that no one is going to take advantage of her or her brother, Terran. Maddie has definitely seen some hard times, but they have only made her stronger. She is no shrinking violet, our Maddie, and one look at her and Sam O'Ballivan knows that he has got to have her.

Sam O'Ballivan is the kind of man that a woman could fall in love with without ever having to speak to him. His presence is all that is required for woman to drool and fall at his feet. He is tall, strapping and handsome, and he has no qualms about being a tough guy when he has to be. He also has a sensitive side and a conscience, both of which speak to Maddie.

THE MAN FROM STONE CREEK is a great read from start to finish. Maddie and Sam's love is strong and powerful, and I felt privileged to be taken into their little world with this author. In true Linda Lael Miller style, this book has you burning the candle at both ends just to see how it will all work out.

Kristal Gorman