Shotgun Bride (McKettrick Cowboys Trilogy #2)
Veteran romance author Miller braids together numerous storylines in the second entry in her late-19th-century McKettrick Cowboystrilogy (after High Country Bride), yet all of them lack depth. Angus,patriarch of the McKettrick clan, sets his three sons against oneanother with his proclamation that the first to marry and father achild will inherit his Arizona ranch. Kade McKettrick, not to beoutdone by his recently married brother, Rafe, has sent for amail-order bride. Improbably, he gets six, none he would marry, whileMandy Sperrin, who's on the run and masquerading as a nun, tweaks hislibido. Mandy's disguise fools everyone but Kade, even though shetakes a job in a hotel and doesn't know a syllable of Latin when askedto offer a prayer. Though Mandy's plight will inspire sympathy-she'sfrom a broken home and yearns to belong somewhere-the hot-bloodedMcKettrick men, who are always spoiling for a fight, are merestereotypes. Miller compensates with an overstuffed plot involvingrange wars, stolen gold and murder, but these subplots often feelsketchily drawn and unresolved (a threatened range war fizzles; aposse decides to return home mid-chase). A mile wide and an inch deep,this western romp, while charming at times, lacks the richcharacterizations that established Miller as a bestselling author.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.