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Two Brothers #1-2
Two Brothers: The Lawman / The Gunslinger
Librarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found here.
The bestselling classic from New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller about a rugged pair of twin brothers—the lawman and the gunslinger—and how they find the ladies of their dreams across the Old West.
Marshal Shay McQuillan has a lot on his hands—stagecoach robbers to track, a murdered fiancé to avenge—and he doesn’t need an identical twin brother, who he never knew existed, turning up out of the blue. Then Shay’s world is truly shaken by lovely Aislinn Lethaby, a hotel worker who impulsively steps in to rescue him from danger! Is she a sweet distraction from his serious duties—or the answer to his lonely heart?
Now that he has found his twin brother, all Tristan Saint-Laurent wants is to be a peaceful rancher. What he gets is Emily Starbuck, a determined package of trouble from back East. Tristan knows he should tell Emily and her aggravating sheep to move along, but he doesn’t have the heart. Suddenly, the gunslinger is dreaming of married bliss. But his past may yet come between him and the woman he has come to loves.
The bestselling classic from New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller about a rugged pair of twin brothers—the lawman and the gunslinger—and how they find the ladies of their dreams across the Old West.
Marshal Shay McQuillan has a lot on his hands—stagecoach robbers to track, a murdered fiancé to avenge—and he doesn’t need an identical twin brother, who he never knew existed, turning up out of the blue. Then Shay’s world is truly shaken by lovely Aislinn Lethaby, a hotel worker who impulsively steps in to rescue him from danger! Is she a sweet distraction from his serious duties—or the answer to his lonely heart?
Now that he has found his twin brother, all Tristan Saint-Laurent wants is to be a peaceful rancher. What he gets is Emily Starbuck, a determined package of trouble from back East. Tristan knows he should tell Emily and her aggravating sheep to move along, but he doesn’t have the heart. Suddenly, the gunslinger is dreaming of married bliss. But his past may yet come between him and the woman he has come to loves.
393 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
70 people are currently reading
590 people want to read
About the author
Linda Lael Miller
552 books3,218 followersThe daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a spacious property outside Spokane.
Linda traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she sold Fletcher’s Woman in 1983 to Pocket Books. Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, mysteries and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Long a passionate Civil War buff, Linda has studied the era avidly for almost thirty years. She has read literally hundreds of books on the subject, explored numerous battlegrounds and made many visits to her favorite, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she has witnessed re-enactments of the legendary clash between North and South. Linda explores that turbulent time in The Yankee Widow, a May 7, 2019 MIRA Books hardcover, also available in digital and audiobook formats.
Dedicated to helping others, “The First Lady of the West” personally financed fifteen years of her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, which she awarded to women 25 years and older who were seeking to improve their lot in life through education. She anticipates that her next charitable endeavors will benefit four-legged critters.
More information about Linda and her novels is available at www.lindalaelmiller.com, on Facebook and from Nancy Berland Public Relations, nancy@nancyberland.com, 405-206-4748.
Linda traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she sold Fletcher’s Woman in 1983 to Pocket Books. Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, mysteries and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Long a passionate Civil War buff, Linda has studied the era avidly for almost thirty years. She has read literally hundreds of books on the subject, explored numerous battlegrounds and made many visits to her favorite, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she has witnessed re-enactments of the legendary clash between North and South. Linda explores that turbulent time in The Yankee Widow, a May 7, 2019 MIRA Books hardcover, also available in digital and audiobook formats.
Dedicated to helping others, “The First Lady of the West” personally financed fifteen years of her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, which she awarded to women 25 years and older who were seeking to improve their lot in life through education. She anticipates that her next charitable endeavors will benefit four-legged critters.
More information about Linda and her novels is available at www.lindalaelmiller.com, on Facebook and from Nancy Berland Public Relations, nancy@nancyberland.com, 405-206-4748.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
November 15, 2020
A decent cute romance, has not much to say. Enjoyable enough
February 16, 2017
A really good book. I loved both stories and enjoyed getting to know the characters. Emotions, steaminess, action, some suspense, full and strong characters, written well, and great HEAs. These stories were colorful, full and fun to read. Great for anytime reading. Enjoy!
July 15, 2019
The H/h communicated less with each other than the main characters with secondary characters.
October 22, 2010
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge Linda Lael Miller fan-girl and I love her work. Two Brothers is two novellas about, well, two brothers. Per usual, her characterizations are strong and their motivations are logical and clear. The reason I didn’t score this title higher was because both stories felt a little flat to me. Miller’s work normally has a sense of joy or humor and it was missing for me. Even with that said, Two Brothers is a solid read though I’d recommend either the Creed or McKettrick series for great examples of her work. ~ Ana, www.ireadromance.com
May 23, 2012
This was a wonderful book, both stories. This kind of writing and captivating story is why I love Linda Lael Miller's, books so much. In the first story, you will not just fall in love with Shay, but also his twin, Tristan. It's a good thing they were both in the same book, so I could go right from one brother's story, to the next. You won't regret reading either of them."
October 30, 2015
This was two books in one. The first, The Lawman, was much better than the second, The Gunslinger. The storylines overlapped - it was two identical twins separated at birth discovering each other after 30 years. Both books were good, but I enjoyed the first more than the second.
September 26, 2014
This book was twofer. Two Novels in one; each one representing a twin. Ms. Miller never disappoints. Her imagination just amazes me.
April 4, 2023
Set in 1883 - 1884, two brothers separated at birth find each other in the small town of Prominence, where one is a Marshal. With the unlikely names of Shamus and Tristan, Shay is the marshal of Prominence when his hitherto unknown twin Tristan shows up. In The Lawman, Shay meets Aislinn, who unfortunately manages to do something supremely idiotic and ends up living with Shay's two sisters. Although I have to admit that the ending was a bit of a surprise, I'm not sure the mystery in the story justifies the idiocy of Aislinn, but we'll let that go. There are some really good moments to the story, especially Liza Sue and Eugenie. In The Gunslinger, Tristan sticks around since his brother is the only family he has, now. This story emphasizes the difficulties of sheep herders versus cattlemen and how issues were resolved in the 1880's west. It also highlights the plight of the Indians. I believe the Navajos learned to raise sheep for the wool, but it is unclear in this book whether these Indians will do so or just eat the ones supplied. People do have trouble understanding the difference between using up their savings or letting those savings accrue and using only what the savings earns to live on. It is a laborious process but eventually those savings pay off, and the earnings get higher, and one has a long-term source of income. To me it is a no-brainer which course to take. I rather liked Black Eagle, so I hope he learns to raise sheep and not eat them.
June 29, 2025
The heroine's in these stories are morons. The first story has Aislinn doing something so stupid you wonder how she has the brains to dress herself in the morning. In the second story the tstl Emily is willing to get herself and people killed over a bunch of sheep she just inherited. She keeps saying that's all she has. Not true. The hero Tristan proposes to her a day after he meets her and she accepts. He's another moron. Birds of a feather. Screw the sheep Emily. He has a home. Income. Money actually. Let him provide for you. It's what married women did in 1880. Then no one has to die in a useless battle you can't possibly win.
Lest we forget. Shay the hero in the first book has a sister by adoption. Cornelia a homicidal maniac. She has a stagecoach full of people killed . Attempts to kill her own sister and Aislinn. When the truth comes out she steals a horse . Robs all the money in the safe at the family business and rides off into the sunset. Making a clean getaway. What? They can't catch up to a 50 year old woman on a horse. The sheriff is way overpaid. Two stars is a gift.
Lest we forget. Shay the hero in the first book has a sister by adoption. Cornelia a homicidal maniac. She has a stagecoach full of people killed . Attempts to kill her own sister and Aislinn. When the truth comes out she steals a horse . Robs all the money in the safe at the family business and rides off into the sunset. Making a clean getaway. What? They can't catch up to a 50 year old woman on a horse. The sheriff is way overpaid. Two stars is a gift.
December 18, 2021
Linda Lael Miller doesn't write boring stories. Everything I've read by her has been entertaining and well written.
The "Two Brothers" is actually two books. One about each of the twin brothers, one a lawman, one a gunslinger (as the title indicates.) Both stories are funny and the brothers do a fine job of giving each other as much trouble as siblings can.
Hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did.
The "Two Brothers" is actually two books. One about each of the twin brothers, one a lawman, one a gunslinger (as the title indicates.) Both stories are funny and the brothers do a fine job of giving each other as much trouble as siblings can.
Hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did.
October 23, 2020
The two romances in this two-parter are really sweet, and I of course like the twins at the centre of the story. Part of me wishes it was longer, and that the story delved more into their origins. I wanted them to learn more about their mother and where she came from. Other than that the stories were generally what I like in Western romance stories.
November 29, 2017
Loved this book! I especially liked Tristan & Shay. I thought Emily was being unreasonable by keeping her sheep.
Loved this book! I especially liked Tristan & Shay. I thought Emily was being unreasonable by keeping her sheep. She was a little too naive.
Loved this book! I especially liked Tristan & Shay. I thought Emily was being unreasonable by keeping her sheep. She was a little too naive.
December 27, 2018
This book is a great tale of two men that fall in love with different ladies, but they are twins and also getting to know one another after being estranged. Very interesting as well as sweet and passionate. Loved it.
August 12, 2024
A delightful read with a satisfying conclusion.
I read a lot and if I am not satisfied with the story line or the characters, I don't waste my time reading the rest of the book. I really didn't want to put this book down so I just kept reading and enjoying. I'm sure Lots of others will too.
I read a lot and if I am not satisfied with the story line or the characters, I don't waste my time reading the rest of the book. I really didn't want to put this book down so I just kept reading and enjoying. I'm sure Lots of others will too.
August 2, 2017
This was a great story - well 2 stories actually. I really liked them both. Perfect old west romance stories.
August 21, 2017
Mindless "fluff" is fun once in awhile.
September 11, 2018
Somewhere between a novella and full story. I wish there had been more or even less.
The author started to tell about other characters but didn’t finish enough to satisfy me.
The author started to tell about other characters but didn’t finish enough to satisfy me.
July 31, 2020
Doubled the pleasure
July 17, 2022
Both stories were good
October 5, 2022
Read on
This is a fast passed story that I was unable to put down. It's been several years since I read one MS Miller's novels and as always it didn't disappoint.
This is a fast passed story that I was unable to put down. It's been several years since I read one MS Miller's novels and as always it didn't disappoint.
October 29, 2022
For the ladies!
Very enjoyable read! I love westerns, cowboys and strong women! Interesting story with identical twins separated at birth and reunited as adults.
Very enjoyable read! I love westerns, cowboys and strong women! Interesting story with identical twins separated at birth and reunited as adults.
July 21, 2023
GREAT STORY
I read a story like this once a long time ago, one was a marshal and one an outlaw, it did have a happy ending also, but an entirely different story.
I read a story like this once a long time ago, one was a marshal and one an outlaw, it did have a happy ending also, but an entirely different story.
December 5, 2023
Great plot enjoy romantic seems
I enjoy cowboy part as well as love stories support ed the characters. Hope see continuing part two of the brothers journey.
I enjoy cowboy part as well as love stories support ed the characters. Hope see continuing part two of the brothers journey.
December 3, 2017
AUDIOBOOK: Romance plan Listen 30th November 2017
9hrs 38min
Narrator: Susan Bennett & Brian Hutchinson
Second story to similar to the first one. It was ok.
9hrs 38min
Narrator: Susan Bennett & Brian Hutchinson
Second story to similar to the first one. It was ok.
October 22, 2025
The Lawman 3 stars
The Gunslinger 2.5 stars
Not my favorite from LLM but still a good historic western story. I enjoyed the Lawman just a little bit more. I liked the couple and thought Tristan's interreference was funny. He was almost the MMC in both books. The Gunslinger dragged a bit for me and got repetitive.
The Gunslinger 2.5 stars
Not my favorite from LLM but still a good historic western story. I enjoyed the Lawman just a little bit more. I liked the couple and thought Tristan's interreference was funny. He was almost the MMC in both books. The Gunslinger dragged a bit for me and got repetitive.
March 15, 2017
2 books in one with 2 different front covers, just flip it upside down. Reading candy for sure during the Old West era. Two twin brothers separated at birth (parents die on the Oregon trail going west) meet up as adults and the tale of how each of them meet their future wives.
June 5, 2019
This is the story of a pair of twins, born while their mother journeyed up the Rocky Mountains with a wagon train. Her husband had died hours before during an Indian fight. The twin's mother died after childbirth and two separate families took one of the two boys.
The Lawman: SHAY McQUILLAN 5 stars
Of the two great stories, this one had a mystery in the plot, which added extra interest. Shay's fiancée had been killed in a train wreck (that was part of the theft of a shipment of money in a strong box). For the past 18 months, US Marshal Shay has been trying to drown his grief in an alcoholic stupor.
Suddenly, someone tries to interfere with his self-pity and Shay looks up - and sees himself. He was never told that he was a twin. Tristan Saint-Laurent explains the story; he also wants help finding the party that stole the strong box of money.
Shay hasn't been much of a marshal for the previous year and a half; and some of the citizens aren't too impressed with him - especially a hotel waitress, Aislinn Lethaby.
Tristan goads Shay into resuming a more active marshal role. There are plots and sub-plots aplenty, which makes for an interesting study of the twins.
The Gunslinger: TRISTAN SAINT-LAURENT 4 stars
Although Tristan spent his younger years as a bounty hunter and hired gun, he wants what Shay has - a wife and home. He decides that he likes having a twin and decides to buy land in the same town and take up ranching cattle.
While contemplating his aloneness, Tristan suddenly sees hundreds of sheep over-running his land - along with Emily Starbuck and her herding dog. She immediately tells Tristan to leave HER property.
Tristan displays considerable tact and reason while dealing with Emily ... and then the enraged cattlemen. I could see why Tristan had survived in his previous profession - bounty hunter.
The stories are engaging and highly readable!
The Lawman: SHAY McQUILLAN 5 stars
Of the two great stories, this one had a mystery in the plot, which added extra interest. Shay's fiancée had been killed in a train wreck (that was part of the theft of a shipment of money in a strong box). For the past 18 months, US Marshal Shay has been trying to drown his grief in an alcoholic stupor.
Suddenly, someone tries to interfere with his self-pity and Shay looks up - and sees himself. He was never told that he was a twin. Tristan Saint-Laurent explains the story; he also wants help finding the party that stole the strong box of money.
Shay hasn't been much of a marshal for the previous year and a half; and some of the citizens aren't too impressed with him - especially a hotel waitress, Aislinn Lethaby.
Tristan goads Shay into resuming a more active marshal role. There are plots and sub-plots aplenty, which makes for an interesting study of the twins.
The Gunslinger: TRISTAN SAINT-LAURENT 4 stars
Although Tristan spent his younger years as a bounty hunter and hired gun, he wants what Shay has - a wife and home. He decides that he likes having a twin and decides to buy land in the same town and take up ranching cattle.
While contemplating his aloneness, Tristan suddenly sees hundreds of sheep over-running his land - along with Emily Starbuck and her herding dog. She immediately tells Tristan to leave HER property.
Tristan displays considerable tact and reason while dealing with Emily ... and then the enraged cattlemen. I could see why Tristan had survived in his previous profession - bounty hunter.
The stories are engaging and highly readable!
November 24, 2008
Ok, so I finished with the Lawman. It was cute and I liked how the prologue tied together the history of both Shay and Tristan. I think I may have liked Tristan just a smidge better but there was something about Shay that you just wanted to hug. Like the Shay says - people either liked him or didn't. I liked him, I admit. Aislinn - the love interest is not bad, she's a bit too soft and innocent for me but by the end of the book she really comes into her own. It threw me for a loop for a whole of eighteen seconds, the difference in Aislinn and Shay's ages but then I realized the time period it's supposed to be in and Aislinn's character seems much older than she appears.
Anyway, good romance if a smidge rushed, but still a good one to curl up with.
The Outlaw update coming soon.
The Outlaw
This one was a little more visceral and more of a cowboy tale than the first but if I thought the first story was rushed then hoo doggy! This one was even more so. I think this was more of a short story than an actual novel length piece - I'm not just talking about sheer length I'm talking about the rushed plots, the rushed romance and the lack of character divulging of Tristan in particular. He still remains a mystery at the end of the day.
I like Emily and I like Tristan - hell I even like them together and I can buy it, but for one thing, I thought the seduction would take a heck of a lot longer :). I was hoping Emily would be a little more assertive and forceful like she was with her sheep and the confrontation at the shed.
Anyway, it was still a good story to curl up to just wish it had been a little longer.
Anyway, good romance if a smidge rushed, but still a good one to curl up with.
The Outlaw update coming soon.
The Outlaw
This one was a little more visceral and more of a cowboy tale than the first but if I thought the first story was rushed then hoo doggy! This one was even more so. I think this was more of a short story than an actual novel length piece - I'm not just talking about sheer length I'm talking about the rushed plots, the rushed romance and the lack of character divulging of Tristan in particular. He still remains a mystery at the end of the day.
I like Emily and I like Tristan - hell I even like them together and I can buy it, but for one thing, I thought the seduction would take a heck of a lot longer :). I was hoping Emily would be a little more assertive and forceful like she was with her sheep and the confrontation at the shed.
Anyway, it was still a good story to curl up to just wish it had been a little longer.
December 6, 2012
I'm not usually a big "romance" novel type of reader. I find the sex scenes vague and unrealistic and the constant whining and anticipation of the characters annoying. But, that being said, this one wasn't bad. I liked the beginning journal passages and would have realy enjoyed expanding on that story. I liked the idea of twins seperated at birth. I enjoyed the time frame of the wild west and appreciated the fact it stayed true to the code of conduct back in those days. I snickered when I read about pulling the skirts past the ankle, rolled my eyes when I read about trivial efforts of women in that time period, and yet appreciated the amount of time it takes to make a biscuit and the modesty that is not anywhere reflected in today's society.
I had to keep from grinning when in both stories I read "the eternal shift" as if love is something that shifts inside of you instantly and is forevermore branded to you. I suppose that could happen, perhaps I have never found it, most likely it's unrealistic...but then again....unrealistic love stories are the best making of a romance novel.
A good read. A quick read. No twists and turns. No expansive detailing. Just a simple story of two brothers and their search for completely their lives. Definitely a good filler for time.
I had to keep from grinning when in both stories I read "the eternal shift" as if love is something that shifts inside of you instantly and is forevermore branded to you. I suppose that could happen, perhaps I have never found it, most likely it's unrealistic...but then again....unrealistic love stories are the best making of a romance novel.
A good read. A quick read. No twists and turns. No expansive detailing. Just a simple story of two brothers and their search for completely their lives. Definitely a good filler for time.
January 28, 2010
The prologue would have been an interesting story in itself as Mattie Killigrew wrote in her journal of her marriage and cross country move with her new husband into uncharted territory by wagon train.
The trip was gruesome for a very pregnant young woman. The day of her last entry in her journal was the day her husband was killed by indians and the very same night she went into labor giving birth to twin boys. Realizing that she would soon be joining her husband, she gave one son, Shamus, to a couple within the wagontrain headed to California and his twin, Tristan, was given to a family bound for Oregon.
The story of how the brothers reconnected was a sweet read of western romance and I liked it!
The trip was gruesome for a very pregnant young woman. The day of her last entry in her journal was the day her husband was killed by indians and the very same night she went into labor giving birth to twin boys. Realizing that she would soon be joining her husband, she gave one son, Shamus, to a couple within the wagontrain headed to California and his twin, Tristan, was given to a family bound for Oregon.
The story of how the brothers reconnected was a sweet read of western romance and I liked it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews