Admirand's second frontier romance (after The
\t\t Marshal's Destiny) features clever and well-crafted plot lines, but
\t\t the delivery lacks credibility and zip. Irish emigré James Ryan is a
\t\t Colorado rancher in the 1880s. Successful and respected, he's also using an
\t\t alias while hiding out from a Texas murder charge. After catching young Mick
\t\t O'Toole on his ranch with a gang of cattle rustlers, James takes the boy and
\t\t his sick mother in. Bridget O'Toole is sure she's a widow, having been deserted
\t\t by her husband 12 years earlier. James and Bridget, both proud and fiercely
\t\t independent, are soon in love, not knowing that her husband is still very much
\t\t alive and leading a gang of outlaws to the town. Conflict, lust, guilt,
\t\t uncertainty and the little games lovers play to disguise their feelings are all
\t\t here, but the sex is muted and clichéd, two massive gunfights raise
\t\t little dust, and the final showdown is predictable and offstage.
\t\t (Feb.)
