Saturday 20 April 2013

Lonesome Ranger by Sally Quilford


Grab your e reader and a cup of tea, put your feet up and let Sally Quilford whisk you back to the days of the old West.  To the town of Ocasa to be precise, where the sun beats down relentlessly, the nearby orange groves abound with fruit and where the neighbours gossip about each other incessantly.  Feel the trepidation of demure Victorian miss Connie Ruddick, arriving fresh from an English village at this far away place and feel her curiosity as she gets to grips with the various cultural differences - the gentlemanly English reverend for example and his Catholic wife of Hispanic origin on one hand  The bunch of bandits living in the hills and bombing the local roalroad on the  other.  Feel her dilemma as a case of mistaken identity leaves her feeling like a fraud.  And feel her confusion as the local rancher, the aloof Nate Truman finds a place in her heart.

A wonderfully comforting and romantic read, which brought me back to the Sunday afternoons of my childhood, watching romantic westerns starring the likes of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.  Sally's an able storyteller who always delivers a feelgood read. So make sure you pick this one up!  And no excuses that you're not into westerns either!  If you're not, it's high time you discovered this wonderfully  unique genre in films and literature!