Book Review: Anna Finch and the Hired Gun by Kathleen Y'Barbo/4.5 Stars

About the book:

When an aspiring reporter and a Pinkerton detective get tangled in Doc Holliday’s story—and each other—sparks can’t help but fly.

Despite her father’s attempts to marry her off, Anna Finch dreams of becoming a reporter. A chance encounter with legendary gunslinger Doc Holliday gives her the opportunity of a lifetime, but Pinkerton agent Jeb Sanders is about to ruin everything.

Though her father hired Jeb to keep her out of mischief, Anna’s inconvenient attraction to her hired gun only multiplies her troubles. She doesn’t realize Jeb has a score to settle with Doc Holliday, or that her association with the famous outlaw will affect more than just her marriage prospects. Between her father’s desperation to see her wed and Jeb shadowing her every move, getting the story and fulfilling her journalistic ambition just got far more complicated than she ever imagined.

My thoughts:

Wow...was I impressed with this story!  A feisty heroine, a stubborn hero, and a notorious outlaw made for one of the best westerns I've read in a long time.  

This book reminded me so much of the series by Susan Page Davis about the Ladies Shooting Club.  The only difference in this story was that there was no club--only one gun-totin' woman here--and none of their members ever shot anyone accidentally like Anna Finch did.  (Okay, so 2 differences...but who's counting?)  :o) One of my favorite lines of the story was when Anna decided a certain gentleman caller was getting a little too fresh with his courtin'.  She wasted no time in saying, "A Derringer is not my pistol of choice.  It is, however, the pistol in my skirt pocket."  Needless to say, he went on his merry way.


The dashing hero of the story came in the form of Jeb Sanders, a Pinkerton agent hired by Anna's father to shadow her daily activities.  What that job really amounted to was trying to keep Anna out of trouble at all hours of the day!  Jeb was a no-nonsense kind of guy, too.  He made it his business to be in-the-know about the important things, whether that was shooing away the wrong sort of caller, or interfering with freedom of the press when it thwarted his "official" Pinkerton duties.  :o)


I won't deny it...I wasn't all that crazy about the first book in this series, The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper, but I was thoroughly pleased with this one!  Kathleen's style of writing was a little different than what I'm accustomed to, but once I was several chapters in, I never noticed it again.  By that point, I couldn't get enough!  So, if you're a fan of westerns by such authors as Susan Page Davis, Mary Connealy, and Vickie McDonough, then I encourage you to check out Kathleen's books.  Prepare yourself, though...it'll be one great adventure!


4.5 Stars


Southern?  No
Sass?  Heaping piles of it!

It would make my day if you'd take a moment to rate my review!





**Be watching in the next few weeks as I get to sit and chat with Kathleen on Southern-Style Meet & Greet!  It's gonna be fun!  :o)