Leigh Greenwood, The Mavericks

The Mavericks

Leigh Greenwood

Leisure, Dec 2005, $6.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0843952377

At the end of the Civil War the Maxwells adopted eleven orphans whom they showered with love and raised to respect others. Though all in this loving brood cherish one another, the two non-white children became best friends. For years, former slave Zeke and half Indian Hawk rode together with neither of them thinking of settling down, but now in their late thirties, they decide to end their wanderlust and raise quality horses to sell to ranchers.

As the Maxwell brothers escort mares in foal to their ranch, Josie, a black female, fires at Hawk. Zeke persuades Josie and her dance girl companions Suzette, Anna, and the ailing Laurie to stop shooting. Their wagon lost its linchpin stranding the helpless females until the siblings showed up. When Ben Norman arrives to take Anna with him as his wife, the ladies lose their driver and with the help of the guys take Laurie to her parents' spread. As Suzette and Hawk fall in love over horses, Zeke and Josie fall in love between jabs. However, while in loving denial, they deal with horse thieves, kidnappers, and an idiot sheriff.

Leigh Greenwood, known for his terrific western romances, returns to the Cowboys' saddle with a fantastic double love story. The character driven tale lassoes in readers from the moment Josie fires a shot at Hawk and never slows down until the final confrontation between her and Zeke. The story line focuses on the dual romances, but is enhanced by the rustlers and a sheriff who applies racial profiling (Suzette is French Canadian) to decide that the four heroes are liars and thieves. Fans will cherish the return to one of the best sub-genre series.

Harriet Klausner