The Sheriff's Surrender by Susan Page Davis

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Sheriff’s Surrender
(Barbour Books - December 1, 2009)
by
Susan Page Davis


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I've always loved reading, history, and horses. These things come together in several of my historical books. My young adult novel, Sarah's Long Ride, also spotlights horses and the rugged sport of endurance riding, as does the contemporary romance Trail to Justice. I took a vocational course in horseshoeing after earning a bachelor's degree in history. I don't shoe horses anymore, but the experience has come in handy in writing my books.

Another longtime hobby of mine is genealogy, which has led me down many fascinating paths. I'm proud to be a DAR member! Some of Jim's and my quirkier ancestors have inspired fictional characters

For many years I worked for the Central Maine Morning Sentinel as a freelancer, covering local government, school board meetings, business news, fires, auto accidents, and other local events, including a murder trial. I've also written many profiles and features for the newspaper and its special sections. This experience was a great help in developing fictional characters and writing realistic scenes. I also published nonfiction articles in several magazines and had several short stories appear in Woman's World, Grit, and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

My husband, Jim, and I moved to his birth state, Oregon, for a while after we were married, but decided to move back to Maine and be near my family. We're so glad we did. It allowed our six children to grow up feeling close to their cousins and grandparents, and some of Jim's family have even moved to Maine!



ABOUT THE BOOK:

Gert Dooley can shoot the tail feathers off a jay at a hundred yards, but she wants Ethan Chapman to see she's more than a crack shot with a firearm. When the sheriff of Fergus, Idaho, is murdered and Ethan is named his replacement, Gert decides she has to do whatever she can to help him protect the citizenry. So she starts the Ladies Shooting Club. But when one of their numbers is murdered, these ladies are called on for more than target shooting and praying. Can Gert and the ladies of Fergus find the murderer before he strikes again?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Sheriff’s Surrender , go HERE.

My thoughts:

I really, really, REALLY liked this book. I'm counting this as one of my favorite books of 2009. If you like historical fiction with a light touch of mystery, humor, and romance, then this is a book you need to read.

Gert Dooley, spunky gal that she is, also shows us a tender side of herself as she, along with proprietess Libby Adams, and newly arrived minister's wife, Apphia Benton, befriend ladies from all reaches of society. Under Gert's tutelage, the group becomes the Ladies' Shooting Club, who do their best to help rookie sheriff Ethan Chapman maintain law and order and sniff out crime in Fergus, Idaho.

There were parts of this book that made me laugh and parts that made me tear up. And while I did figure out who the villian was about halfway through, instead of skipping to the end to find out if my assumptions were true (or to see what the motive was), The Sheriff's Surrender was so engaging I didn't skip a page.

Another part of this book I enjoyed was the connection that Gert had with her brother Hiram, and how that connection made them able to communicate on a whole different level. I can't wait to get a hold of The Gunsmith's Gallantry (due out June 2010), because I know with the introduction to Hiram in this book, his story will be just as good as Gert's.