Friday, November 20, 2009

The Sheriff's Surrender-Susan Page Davis

The Sheriff's Surrender
Susan Page Davis
Barbour, Dec 2009, $10.97
ISBN 9781602605626

In 1885 in Fergus, Idaho, single Gert Dooley has taken care of her brother the widower Hiram for years. However, she gets back in return the use of guns as he is the town’s gunsmith. In fact she can outshoot any man in town, which alienates many of the males and is secretly applauded by the females.

When a killer arrives in Fergus, Gert thinks it is time for women to learn to protect themselves rather than depend on men who may not be at their side when they need help. She forms the Ladies’ Shooting Club, who has women signing up while men complain that it is unnatural for females to shoot guns as they might hurt themselves. As she continues her mentoring, Gert and the new sheriff Ethan Chapman are attracted to each other. He likes her grit and is unashamed about her shooting skills being superior to his while she is stunned as love is something she has never felt before.

The Sheriff’s Surrender is an enjoyable historical romance starring a wonderful heroine and the law enforcement official who loves her. The story line is a bit thin as the killer takes a back seat to Gert’s activities while readers will think of wider possibilities. However, Susan Page Davis’ version of Annie Get Your Gun is fun to read as the men in late nineteenth century Idaho are irate and ashamed that a girl can outshoot them and to their chagrin teaching their women to do so too.

Harriet Klausner

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