Whispers on the Prairie

Title: WHISPERS ON THE PRAIRIE

Author: Vickie McDonough

Publisher: Whitaker House

July 2013

ISBN: 978-1603748414

Genre: Historical romance

A City Girl Far from Home... A Country Boy Seeking to Right a Wrong... A Match so Incompatible, It Just Might Work...

Sarah Marshall just wants to go home. It wasn't her idea to leave Chicago and head west in search of gold, but her uncle's ambition left her no choice. Neither was her intention to settle in Kansas City with her ailing aunt, but being penniless and without possessions brings little bargaining power. Pretty soon, she resigns herself to her fate, however unfortunate. It isn't as if she has a home to go back to.

Ethan Harper, the youngest of three brothers, enjoys a peaceful existence helping run his family's stage shop along the Santa Fe Trail. Only one cloud continues to darken his horizon--guilt over the tragic death of his oldest brother's wife. The only acceptable penance Ethan can think of is finding another woman to marry his brother and help raise his motherless children.

When a series of misfortunes strands Sarah Marshall and her aunt at the Harpers' Stage Stop, the status quo is overthrown as the presence of an attractive young woman, however unversed in the ways of prairie living, wreaks havoc on the lives of the Harper brothers, all three of them vying for her attention. But will any of them prove himself worth giving up the life Sarah always dreamed of?

WHISPERS OF THE PRAIRIE is Ms. McDonough’s newest and first series (Prairie Promises) with Whitaker House. Ms. McDonough follows the standard historical blueprint. The book starts with the mandatory death, and even though the hero is clearly not at fault he is eaten alive by guilt and has to make restitution by finding his brother a new wife.

Sarah and her aunt are dear characters, both stronger than they think they are and they are able to discover that as the story progresses. The story is interesting though a bit predictable. Fans of Ms. McDonough’s previous books and historical fiction should give WHISPERS OF THE PRAIRIE a try. Recommended.  $9.39 Kindle. $12.99 paperback. 272 pages.