The Rustler: A Stone Creek Novel
by Linda Lael Miller
Published by HQN Books (October 1 release)
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Reviewed by Linda Lee
Wyatt Yarbro needs to get out of the outlaw business. He knows it can be done as his brother Rowdy used to be in the family business, and is now the marshall of Stone Creek. Settling down with a wife and children in a community of friends has a strong allure, but can he do it? Will the town accept more than one outlaw turned upright citizen? A close brush with death in a cattle stampede helps him decide to attempt righteous living.
Sarah Tamlin is playing the organ for a tent revival when Wyatt first sets eyes on her. Immediately taken with the banker’s daughter, little does he know she has many secrets of her own. She’s told so many lies it’s a chore just keeping them straight. Her world could come undone with the visit of an old beau and his son. Her strong attraction for the marshall’s brother will all be for naught if he discovers the truth about her.
Miller’s characters are like fleshly neighbors. You discover things about their past, and you come to have expectations. Based at the turn of the last century doesn’t change how you interact with them. One things all have in common is secrets. Those past indiscretions don’t stop them from living good lives and dreaming of the best for themselves and their loved ones. Forgiveness, especially of oneself, is hard to come by, but powerful when applied. You find yourself rooting for the redemption of both major and minor characters, bankers, saloon girls, outlaws and children. Add to this congregation a wounded horse and sick dog, and the humaneness of these sinners becomes all the more evident.
The love story between Wyatt and Sarah isn’t your typical tale of bad man redeemed by attractive spinster. Their thoughts and actions ring true and you want love to conquer all, but it appears it might not. There are outlaws, grudges, blackmail and explosions standing in the way. Still, as with all of Miller’s books, you expect and hope for the best. Linda Lael Miller is a good judge of horseflesh, and an astute student of human nature.
Armchair Interviews says: Miller seems to understand her characters’ thoughts and state of mind while fulfilling her reader’s expectations. She doesn’t disappoint.