A Wanted Man

Rating:
Summary: The Hurried Ending Ruins the Romance. -- Grade: ** B- **
Review: A WANTED MAN is good western, but it perishes from exhaustion. Sigh, at first I had such high hopes, but by the end, the story's majesty was gone. Susan Kay Law is a very good author. She has the ability to sculpt a scene. She has the talent to develop likeable characters and she has the skill to unfold romance . . .

Laura Hamilton is a wonderful heroine. She is spunky, she is straightforward, she is trustworthy, and when she falls in love -- it is forever. Sam Duncan is Laura's forbidden dream. He is ruggedly handsome, he is rough around the edges, he is not the man her father would choose, but he is the man Laura Hamilton loves.

Sam Duncan has chosen to enter Laura's pristine world. He sees her as an end to his present problem. What he doesn't see is falling hopelessly in love with this delightful eastern heiress.

Yes, Susan Kay Law pens a good story. The primary romance develops brilliantly. The amorous affair unfolds gently and attractively. So what happened? The ending! This is where Law kicked the story into high gear. It became rushed and with this acceleration the romance slipped away. What a shame, for this book had such potential.

Effectively, the author even teased her reader with a wonderful budding secondary romance. Oh, how Ms. Law titillated with this overlapping fanciful love story . . . but regrettably she decided to toss this additional romance onto the back burner. Shamefully, the reader was left hanging, gasping, wondering what happened? Nevertheless, at the end, the author neatly ties up this loose end, by inserting two OBVIOUSLY arranged sentences. Yes, two brief sentences! How very unsatisfying! What a shame! But then the whole ending was awkward. Grade: B-

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

Rating:
Summary: fine western romance
Review: In 1884, the pampered daughter of a tycoon Laura Hamilton has finally escaped her gilded cage as she crosses the country by train to paint a panorama of the impact of the Union-Pacific on the nation. Although her father reluctantly allowed her to go, he provides her with an escort and bodyguards.

During a train robbery, Sam Duncan rescues Laura. Later he tells her that her father hired him as a bodyguard. Sam plans to use Laura to gain access to the heavily guarded Silver Spur Ranch in Utah where his only friend Haw Croaker is either dead or in trouble. However, as they journey west, the silver spooned heiress and the infamous gunslinger for hire fall in love. His quest comes first besides which he knows her father would never accept someone like him as a son-in-law even if he disavows the inheritance.

This western romance starring seemingly opposites is a solid tale that readers will appreciate. Laura is a delightful person though she seems too independent during her first breath of freedom (perhaps a reaction like the tune "how you're going to keep them down on the farm ..."). Sam is an enigmatic hero who at first brush would seem more like a villain as a gun for hire, but his ethical system makes him heroic. Fans will enjoy this twosome's impossible ride to love.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Cute and quick...(3 1/2 stars)
Review: Laura Hamilton is a pampered sheltered girl. Finally, at the age of 25, she is given permission to travel. While on a train to her destination she comes across the dark, dangerous, and oh so dashing Sam Duncan. Together Laura and Sam go on a wild journey and wind up falling in love along the way.
"A Wanted Man" started out very slowly and I wasnt sure if I was going to be able to read it to its finish, but it eventually picked up its pace and its characters became more enjoyable and well fleshed out as the story deepened. This is by no means a book that I would consider a keeper, but it was a fun book that I am glad I read.