Johnny Paynter flees Denver to escape being hanged for a murder he didn't commit. At his brother's ranch in Texas, where he thought he could take refuge, he finds his brother, Mark—dead. Taking advantage of his strong resemblance to his brother, Johnny assumes Mark's identity. Soon Johnny discovers that Mark had been corresponding with a widow named Sally in St. Louis, and she's en route to be a mail-order bride to Mark. Seeing no other option, Johnny makes a fateful decision to go through with the wedding, posing as his brother. But Sally has secrets she's hiding, too. How will a marriage survive with so much deception?
MY THOUGHTS:
Mail-order bride stories have always fascinated me – I mean, it's hard to believe some woman would just answer an ad and travel for days, or weeks, to marry a man she has never met, even if they did correspond for awhile. I guess it was just a precursor to internet dating?!
Outlaw had a great twist! Of course, no good relationship can be based on lies...and poor Sally unknowingly gets herself mixed up in Johnny's mess. As we all know that one lie can lead to another and then another – oh what a tangled web we weave! – it was almost painful to watch Sally's confusion and Johnny's rejection of her. You just wished you could shake Johnny to 'fess up, but again, another good lesson: peer pressure doesn't go away when you leave your teenage years behind!
Peer pressure, fear, lies, guilt... ouch.
My suspicions of whodunit was right on, but it didn't ruin the story. Instead, I was just waiting to see when the truth would finally come out.
Quite honestly, I wasn't ready for the story to end! I wanted just a few more chapters, as I'd really come to like Sally and Mark/Johnny and I felt their story ended just a bit too abruptly.
If you enjoy mail-order, western type stories, you'll want to pick up The Outlaw Takes a Bride!
Thank you to Susan and Shiloh Run Press through NetGalley for sending me a copy to read and review!
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**DISCLOSURE: I was given a free product in exchange for an honest review. Please read my full disclosure policy HERE.**
