Path of the Sun

Fresh from the 1880s New York financial arena, and during a Philadelphia visit to his redoubtable grandmother, young Zack Horton is enlisted in the work of visionary railroad baron James Hill, who wants to claim statehood for territories in the West and Northwest. Others recruited by the wily Hill include Zack's boyhood friend Del Cummins, who manages the railroad owned by Zack and his grandmother, and beautiful suffragette and businesswoman Leah Page. The mutual attraction between Leah and Zack grows as they lobby for statehood, moving among historical and fictional characters on a hard, sometimes dangerous campaign trail. Dempsey ( What Law There Was ) has thoroughly researched his novel, which includes some interesting and lesser-known bits of Americana, and the denouement delivers on the heavily foreshadowed romance of Leah and Zack. The book is badly marred, however, by Dempsey's simplistic narrative, wooden style and flat characterizations. ( Dec. )