Book Review: Captured by a Cowboy by Jean Barrett

Captured By A Cowboy

by Jean Barrett

Review by Morgan Wyatt

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Standing beside a shallow grave, Annie Johnson vows revenge on the stepfather who murdered her mother. Those plans are spoiled with the appearance of rugged cowboy Brady Malone, who is determined to haul Annie back to her grandfather's ranch, where the dying old man wants to reunite with his granddaughter. But Annie hates her cruel grandfather almost as much as she hates her stepfather.

Brady holds the evidence of the swindles Annie used to finance her search for her mother's killer. He won't hesitate to see her jailed if she doesn't accompany him to Wyoming. But he doesn't count on the discovery of her nemesis and her desire for retribution.

And neither Brady or Annie counts on their attraction to each other. 

Will Annie chose revenge or love? Either choice means a sacrifice--one that is bound to cost her dearly.

BOOK REVIEW:

Captured by a Cowboy by Jean Barrett is a rugged western with a heart of gold. Get ready to saddle up and hit the trails with a determined shyster Annie Johnson, and the equally stubborn cowboy Brady. Annie blazes a larcenous trail that is easy for Brady to follow. He recognizes his target despite the fact she’s dressed as a good sister. When it comes to Annie Johnson, nothing is as it seems.

Annie Johnson knows her stepfather is responsible for her mother’s death, and she swears on her mother’s grave to make him pay. Her stepfather slides through towns quickly, which exhausts her meager supply of money. To fund her pursuit she turns to the cons her stepfather taught her, and a few she came up with on her own. She almost has her stepfather when a handsome cowboy gets in her way.

Brady has one mission that is to find his employer’s granddaughter and bring her home. He finds her in a mining town dressed as a sister and shaking miners down for the widows and orphans fund. While he definitely doesn’t approve of Annie’s activities, Brady finds himself drawn to the conniving spitfire. Even threatening her with jail fails to persuade her to accompany him.

Annie knows Brady doesn’t think much of her. It doesn’t matter because she doesn’t think much of his employer, her grandfather. If it hadn’t been for her grandfather her mother would be alive instead of buried in a shallow grave. After her father died, her grandfather made sure she and her mother felt unwelcome to stay at the family ranch. If her mother hadn’t left town, they wouldn’t had fell in with her stepfather. Why would she want to see such a man, even if Brady hogtied her and carried her there?

Annie and Brady definitely strike sparks off one another. Grandfather as a dying man who has many regrets, and little time to reconcile things is well done. The western setting comes alive in this tale. I could almost hear the train whistle. Brady is a classic cowboy tough, fair, and reasonably taciturn. Think young John Wayne. Annie for all her deviousness is more like Lucy managing to cause one disaster after another.

Captured by a Cowboy is a sweet western with some sensual undertones. If you like western romances, then you’re sure to like this one.