The Listening Sky

When town manager T.C. Kilkenny advertises for women to work in Timbertown, Wyo., he hopes to marry them off to his lumberjacks. To his surprise, he finds himself falling in love with strong-minded Jane Love, who is running from a dark secret and a mysterious tormentor. As a bevy of colorful men and women pair off, veteran western romance novelist Garlock (Almost Eden) balances humor and danger with a masterful hand in this fast-paced, warmhearted story. Touches of frontier crudity and realistic dialogue help create a full-bodied portrait of the formation of a community in the Old West of the 1880s. The characters and their zest for life will linger in the reader's mind. (Apr.)