Review: Intensity Builds in Book Three as Series Continues
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 30, 2013
From the first book New Beginnings, I was captivated by the story, characters, time and place. Knowing American History and a fan of pioneer and western romance, I was surprised at the rich history that Canada experienced during the growth of America's expansion west. This author has brought the rich Canadian History to life in an absorbing series that continues in the third book.Thinking of Sam after his marriage to Sarah, as their love and family continue to grow, behind this idyllic life were the previous sins of this redeemed man. The line from the Mel Gibson movie The Patriot came to mind, when the character in this movie, where upon reflection of the battle of Fort Wilderness, before the Revolutionary War was to begin, he states, "I have long feared that my sins would return to visit me, and the cost is more than I can bear." That is how I had seen what was to come for Sam and Sarah in Morning's Red Sky.The third book begins with Sam and Sarah's eldest son Robbie being kidnapped by the infamous Nathon Jeffery. Years ago, Sam and his man, Eric, had shot and killed Nathon's only son Jeffery Jonathan Talcott, in a shoot out over cheating during a card game. As the years pass and Sam and Eric only at times think about that day, Nathon has obessesed over it, changing his Talcott name to a form of his dead son's name in order to disguise himself over eight years, stalking Sam and his family. In book two we get brief glimaces of Nathon as he stalks Sarah and the family, resulting in him entering their home during a community Halloween Party and grabbing hold of the infant Robbie stating "he is too young." A mysterious fire in one of the upstairs rooms of the connecting tavern to their home, resulting in the death of their dear friend Mary, diverts their attention from the strange occurrence with Robbie and Nathon Jeffery. But many times throughout book two, Nathon appears and disappears quickly, leaving everyone confused, but not overly concerned at the time.When Sam, Eric, and his friend Charley, introduced in Book Two, leave on the trail to get Robbie back, little do they know that strongwilled Sarah would follow. As she joins the camp and goes down to the river early in the morning, she runs into Nathon Jeffery who hits her in the head with his rifle, knocking her unconscious and seriously injuring her, leaving her in a coma. What this author writes next is interesting and outstanding. We know of Sarah's rich and troubled past from the first book in the series. Now that Sarah is in a coma in this book, she relives her life, and the readers get an in-depth look into who Sarah really is and what she has experienced.In a western style adventure, Sam and Eric obtain the help of a colorful tracker Jerry Potts and eventually catch up with Nathon and his son Robbie, but it is a strange twist of fate that occurs and two men, one that took the life of a young man, and another who has lived for years for revenge, embrace forgiveness and ultimately come to terms with the past, with a friendship beginning to grow. There is a connection to Nathon's wife and the Sioux Indian Tribe and Sitting Bull, which again, is rich in history and extremely intersting for those readers who enjoy the history of the late 1800's. It is then we discover that Nathon, Mr. Talcott's Indian name is Morning's Red Sky.Before Sam leaves to get Robbie back, he purchases a phonograph and some of Sarah's favorite books, and leaves his dear friend Charley to watch over Sarah, play music, talk to her, and read the stories. As Sarah hears the music Charley selects, she begins to awaken from her coma. This is where the author truly shines, as she takes the reader and puts them in Sarah's mind during the coma, drawing you into Sarah's past, weaving in and out between Sarah's coma reality and the present. Great  heartache is felt as Sarah fully awakens just short of the present, remembering when she hated Sam and not remembering her four boys, other than a vague rememberance of Robbie much younger, and pregnant, shocked and scared, feeling this child is another she is going to lose as in the past.Morning's Red Sky was a terrific read, once again packed with history and interesting characters. The author's insight into the mind of a recovering coma patient with memory loss is amazing, thoroughly engaging, and disturbing at times because we are left at the end of the third book with Sarah not remembering her full life with Sam, not remembering three small boys, and definitely not bonding with her infant daughter. It will be extremely interesting to see where the life of Sam, Sarah, the Talcotts, and all of the other rich characters will lead in the next books in the series. Will Sarah's memory loss improve and will she have additional emotional trauma when she discovers that her husband Sam and Nathon Jeffery, the man who kidnapped her son and caused her traumatic head injury, have resolved their differences, have come to terms with the past (while she is still stuck in hers) and have found forgiveness? I highly recommend this entire series if you are a reader who loves rich historical reading, adventure, mystery, and romance. It will be difficult waiting for the fourth book in the series!