Description:
“His
partner’s grisly death destroyed Texas Ranger Quinn Barclay.
Cashiered for drunkenness and refusal to follow orders, he sets out
to fulfill his partner’s dying request, armed only with a saloon
girl’s name.
Sister María Tomás thought she wanted to become a nun, but five years as a postulant have convinced her childhood dreams aren’t always meant to be. At last ready to relinquish the temporary vows she never should have made, she begs the only man she trusts to collect her from a mission in the middle of nowhere.
When the ex-Ranger’s quest collides with the ex-nun’s plea in a burned-out border town, unexpected love blooms among shared memories of the dead man who was a brother to them both.
Too bad he was also the only man who could have warned them about the carnage to come.”
Sister María Tomás thought she wanted to become a nun, but five years as a postulant have convinced her childhood dreams aren’t always meant to be. At last ready to relinquish the temporary vows she never should have made, she begs the only man she trusts to collect her from a mission in the middle of nowhere.
When the ex-Ranger’s quest collides with the ex-nun’s plea in a burned-out border town, unexpected love blooms among shared memories of the dead man who was a brother to them both.
Too bad he was also the only man who could have warned them about the carnage to come.”
Author:
Kathleen
Rice Adams: “Descended from a long line of Texas ranchers,
preachers, and teachers on one side and Kentucky horse thieves and
moonshiners on the other, award-winning author Kathleen Rice Adams
had no choice but to become an outlaw. Maybe that's why in her
stories, even the good guys wear black hats.
For the
past thirty years, she's stayed two steps ahead of a lynch mob as an
award-winning journalist. She also has ghost-written or edited
several nonfiction books.
A Texan to
the bone, when Kathleen's not being a nuisance she bows to the whims
of the Hole in the Web Gang -- a herd of tiny but enthusiastic
outlaws with four legs.”
For more
please visit Ms. Adams’ website.
Appraisal:
I enjoy a
little cowboy action occasionally. The
Second-Best Ranger in Texas
filled the bill nicely. The characters are well developed and
realistic. Quinn is trying to deal with his best friend’s death
through whisky. After losing his position as a Texas Ranger, Quinn is now on a mission to carry out the promise to his dying friend. The
message is cryptic; all he has is the first name of a woman and the
name of the town to find her.
Upon
arriving in San Miguel all Quinn finds is a burned up town with only two buildings remaining: the saloon, thank God, and a mission at the edge of town. The mission houses a few nuns, orphans, and injured
survivors. Quinn figures if Dulce had ever been in San Miguel it is
likely she disappeared with everyone else when the town burned to the
ground.
The story
unfolds at a nice pace as Quinn does all he can to assist the nuns by
burying their dead and helping them relocate to another mission. Ms.
Adams does an excellent job capturing the flavor of the town and the
essence of her characters with her excellent prose. The characters
practically walk off the page and into your heart. This includes
Quinn’s horse, Bulls-eye. I can highly recommend this novelette for
a quick pick-me-up read.
FYI:
The
Second-Best Ranger in Texas
was the winner of the 2015 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker best short
fiction award.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 9-10,000 words
2 comments:
Thank you so much for the lovely review, ?wazithinkin. (Yes, I realize it's not politic to engage a reviewer about his or her review, but I can be rebellious that way. ;-) I do think reviewers don't receive nearly enough gratitude for the time and energy they expend. Please know you're appreciated.)
Love your nickname, BTW. Very clever!
Best,
Kathleen
Thank you for dropping in and commenting, Ms. Adams. It is appreciated, and you are welcome.
I have to credit my grand kids for my moniker. I earned it the hard way. :)
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