cover image French Creek

French Creek

Marsha Landreth. M. Evans and Company, $16.95 (170pp) ISBN 978-0-87131-696-7

Set in the Wyoming Territory during the post-Civil War years, when the conflict between cattlemen and homesteaders was at its bloodiest, this first novel is marred by cliched plot, character and dialogue, gratuitous violence and abrupt, often confusing transitions. The story centers around Molly Stewart, who has traveled with her twin brother Cameron from Atlanta to Wyoming to solicit financial help for the struggling family business from their Aunt Alma, whom they believe to be the owner of the Rocking J cattle ranch. In fact, Alma is the local madam, a secret she hopes to keep from her niece and nephew by enlisting Ned Lawson, foreman of the Rocking J, in an elaborate charade. Meanwhile Cameron maneuvers to marry off Molly to Page, the evil cattle boss who has hired a band of Texas gunslingers to clear the area of homesteading. Events follow a predictable course: Ned and Molly bashfully fall in love; Molly is rescued from Page's clutches in the nick of time; Aunt Alma assumes ownership of the Rocking J. The romance has its happy ending, but the showdown between the good guys and the gunslingers belies any notion of justice, closing the novel on a pessimistic note. (Jan.)