Sharpshooter in Petticoats by Mary Connealy

Mandy Gray and her three children had been living with her no-good husband for years before he went off and got himself killed. Instead of this being good news, though, it leaves Mandy the prime subject of a family feud between her husband and the vicious Cooter clan. When long-time friend Tom Linscott comes to rescue her and the kids out from under the fear of being killed, Mandy is convinced it means death for him as well. Fortunately (and unfortunately) for Tom and Mandy, both of them are strongly stubborn. And they both know they will have to work together if they want to survive.

*sigh* A Mary Connealy book. Always such good reading. It feels as though I've known these characters for years now, like my own friends of the family. I've watched them grow up and marry off and start families of their own. Been on adventure after adventure with them. It is one of the reasons I enjoy Mary Connealy's books. This latest book (and the last in the Sophie's Daughter's Trilogy), was not my favorite though. For some reason I just wasn't into the story as I was with Beth and Sally. Perhaps because in the previous books, Mandy's story was always on the sidelines, little teases here and there about her terrible situation and the strong woman she was having to be in order to survive. So when we finally push everyone else to the side and get to see Mandy's story full-time, I was expecting more of the same feelings from before. They just weren't there. Not that Mandy is not an incredibly tough, independent woman. But the way she interacted with Tom was simply not interesting enough for me. The best scene in the whole book was when the reader finally gets to see just how sharp a shooter Mandy really is. I would have liked to see more of those shots! Still, Mary Connealy is no stranger to finishing a trilogy, and expertly wraps this one up with happy endings all around.

Overall Rating: 4 Stars