Susanna stared at her father’s body on the floor, his life’s blood still pooling near his head. She’d murdered her own father and even as she stepped slowly away from the horror, knew that there was more terror in her future. Soon, a man with a badge would come through that door, arrest her and then they’d slide a black hood over her head, and she’d plunge into cold darkness before her receiving her final, eternal sentence. Susanna could only see one path to avoid that demonic fate – she would have to lie.
Most biographies start with birth and then roll through the years as they drift by but that would bore me to death, and I lived through it.
The interesting part of my life began on September 23rd, 1995 as we were driving back to Omaha after watching the Notre Dame - Texas game in South Bend with relatives. The #21 Irish beat the #13 ranked Longhorns 55-27; and in a real oddity, scored points in just about every way conceivable in the game of football. They scored touchdowns on passes and runs, kicked a field goal, intercepted a pass for a TD, returned a punt for a touchdown and even added two points for blocking a Texas extra point.
As we were driving along westbound I-80 somewhere in Illinois in our Jeep Cherokee, I absent-mindedly rubbed the left side of my neck under my chin.
My very astute wife asked, "What's wrong with your neck?"
Now I had been an Air Force medic for twelve years; and as evident in my descriptions of outlaws' agonizing deaths in my stories, have a good working knowledge of anatomy and physiology. But that knowledge is offset by being a guy and thinking that we all live forever. My neck lymph nodes had been enlarged for around three months when my wife asked that question.
I obfuscated as if I was a lawyer and replied, "Um, a few weeks or so." (Note: Twelve or thirteen weeks does qualify as a 'few' weeks if one chooses to be generous.)
"And what did the doctor say?"
"I'll ask him when we get back."
"Yes, you will."
I do not want to make my wife out to be a harpy or a nag, because she is neither. She's an incredibly patient woman who could only put up with so much stupidity by yours truly.
Three days later, after the doctor copped a quick feel of my lymph nodes, he said, "I don't know what it is, but I don't like it," which was an honest, albeit an imprecise diagnosis.
So, we trotted over to a local ENT specialist. She didn't like them either and took me into surgery a few days later where she yanked one out, so the lab could dice it and slice it, then look at it under a microscope.
The pathologist who looked at the cells through his microscope reported his findings as 'lymphoepithelioma'. That meant that it was a secondary tumor and there was a primary tumor somewhere else in my nasopharynx that was the original problem.
Back I went into the operating room where the ENT doctor did an extensive examination and found nothing. She was so sure of her reconnaissance of the back of my throat that she told me that the pathologist was wrong, and it was just a lymphoma.
Now, being a computer geek, even way back in the dark ages of the internet in '95, I did some searching and found that if the primary tumor wasn't found, then the survival rate plummeted to about a fifth of the already lousy survival rate for the advanced Stage IV cancer. My wife and I decided that a second opinion might be a good idea.
Off we went in her Jeep to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota as the lousy weather descended across the Midwest. It's been known to happen, you know.
They had a problem getting the doctor here to release the specimen she'd yanked out of my neck, which I thought was odd because I don't remember selling it and figured I still owned it. Anyway, they eventually got the lymph node, did their own peek and confirmed the pathologist's diagnosis.
It wasn't until Halloween in 1995 that they finally found the original little bugger. It was just a tiny bump in the back of my throat that must have been there for a long time before it sent its friends marching into my lymph nodes.
They wanted to treat the cancer there, but I opted to have it done in Omaha and was sent to the care of Doctor Patrick J. McKenna (a name you may recognize from Max). Doctor Mac was the perfect man for the job as he was very personable, optimistic, had a good sense of humor and wouldn't put up with my constant whining. It helped that he knew his job, too.
Mr. Petit definitely went above and beyond with this outstanding masterpiece of old American western folklore adventures, and his descriptiveness of each and e sry episodes story of its own. Dan and Susanna overcomes so many negatives, and definitely have enough suspenseful episodes it is a wonderful heartwarming experience worthy of reading. This book is one adventurous episode after the other. Too, for you lovers of gunplay there are enough gunfighting to definitely pacify your heart felt desires.
Definitely another five star masterpiece of our old western folklore adventures with one shootout after the other. Dan has no problem staying busy solving problems, and with his Dad being the Sheriff certainly enhances his desire o achieve performances of perfection. Dan and Susanna overcomes so many obstacles during their courtship that it almost sounds like another soap opera, but a really great suspenseful soap opera to maintain your undivided attention. The camaraderie of the Sheriff, his Deputies and the compassionate intriguing storylines definitely maintained my undivided attention from beginning to. This one of the most inspiring westerns I have had the opportunity to follow and it definitely needs another follow up, as there were enough openings for Book Two! Mr. Petit's outstanding storylines and exceptionally descriptive character selections were perfectly selective for their assigned roles. I have read many of this author's outstanding realeases, but he goes above and beyond with this compassionate and heartwarming story of a realistic old American western adventures. I, without hesitation, recommend this masterpiece to all readers, regardless of your genre, as the ongoing excursions will captivate your interest immediately, and will not release it from beginning to end. To not read this Book is your loss!!!!
4 STARS for this very interesting look at the difference in lies and why some are very understandable, due to unfortunate happenstance; however, others are just for the benefit of a person's whims which usually come from two different type of people. It's with a lie that originally puts Deputy Dan on the road hunting for outlaw brothers, but the reason changed due to the outlaws murdered 2 people and he was determined to hunt them down. Also, his Sheriff Bill, (his father) had sent a telegram he do so. While in the midst of this he found an old pirate treasure and wonderful items inside the chest. Exciting, with bank robbing, murder, attempted murder by fire, horrific burn victim, mysterious diamond & Ruby necklace delivered to a girl about to get married, oh the drama just leaps off the page in this one with characters you will love & some you will learn to hate. This one is a bit slower to read than some of CJP's but still had the traveling across old west with description of country side & western romance.
Daniel was an excellent deputy trained by his father the sheriff
Mr Pearson came into the jail and said that the neighbor Susanna was living by herself and didn't have any food and traded her mule for some food. They were worried about her and wondered if the sheriff could check on her so sheriff bill sent his son Daniel out there to check on Susanna. Susanna told him an amazing story about how our parents were killed and she and her mother were raped by the men who killed her parents. She couldn't identify them but gave a brief description of brown hair and brown eyes was all she said. Daniel had an idea of who they were so he took off after bringing her some supplies and new dresses and new night dresses. He figured it was The Williams Brothers and also found that the Clark's brother said join them and both sets of brothers were responsible for very serious crimes. So he took out after them and managed to corral them all and kill them even as dangerous as they were.
This was a complex story about a young woman who had defend herself from her abusive father. She was not knowledgeable about the law and contrived many ways to lie about her father's death. She was a poor famer's daughter and lacked the social skills to function easily in the small town. Dan was the son of a sheriff and demonstrates sound moral judgement as well as the ability to deal effectively with criminals in his county. He became aware the young woman had lied about her father's death but was able to reassure her that she was an innocent young woman. In the meantime, a manipulative young woman wanted to marry Dan so she could control him. She had only personal goals for a good life and didn't care how she got it. Dan fell out of favor and she began to harbor revenge against him and the young farmer's daughter. There was a lot action and romance with surprising twists as Dan found pirates treasure and became very wealthy. The devious woman caused the death of her husband died from injuries she received when she tried to kill Dan and his chosen woman. A very interesting story.
Classic Petit effort. Plotting is Petit's forte, and once you get past the interminable descriptions of the trajectory of each shot fired, by anybody, anywhere, along with an anachronistic clinical description of the damage done, and the number of grains driving the bullet to its destination, the narrative moves along, without becoming too predictable.
This one is thematically about the corroding effect of secrets on happiness and living a decent life. Sort of like the plot lines of French romances of the 18th Century, or some of Shakespere's more convoluted plot lines. Nobody is quite what anybody thinks they are. Still, the story line keeps the reader's interest and the narrative trots along nicely.
A CJP. Western Adventure (CJP. - 54) Father and Son Sheriff Team
CJP. has. penned the fifty-fourth novel in his western repertoire. In the western adventure he has a Father and Son working out of the same Sheriff's Office. The assignments are numerous with no two the same. However, in this installment you will find that "Woman is God's Gift to Men"' When taking this comment at face value it explains what the author accomplished, but then with every positive thought you must remember that even though women are gifts that there still are Black Widows. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
As usual CJP brings us another story with outstanding people that I would have loved to know, in real life. Sheriff Dan Hart was a man of honor and was also a man with a conscious. He was not perfect, but he put a lot of thought in his decisions. If there was a man on the handbills that came to his desk that came into his county,He Would find you. Beware, he always get his man, and woman. This is a great , great read !!!BRAVO 👏👏BRAVO 👏 Keep these books coming, please, I love them.
A brilliant tale of a young woman’s struggle with justice and survival in the face of attempted incest by her father validates the power of unconditional love by the deputy who finds her living in squalor and despair. Multiple plotlines reveal a twisted sense of entitlement in a spoiled past love who bargained to have it all but ends up empty. A good dose of real-life renderings of misguided living against innocence and purity, as well as the usual psychopathy that befalls those who will kill to obtain something for nothing. Well done, Mr. Petit. PKB
You do deserve a short break after this incredible story! I have known women like Margaret! You portrayed her as only you could! I am so glad that Dan met Susanne and they were able to overcome all of the obstacles that were thrown their way! Please take your break and get back to writing these incredible books for me to read. The length of the book made it a wonderful summer read! Keeo writing so i can keep reading!
Masterful job on this one, C.J. Well worth your extra time and effort. I believe I have now read everything you have written.
I appreciate your going back and editing the older ones. I gotta admit stumbling over some of the missing or other times extra or wrong words. I was an editor and proof reader for a monthly magazine for 4 years and can't help noting the numerous errors. Looking forward to your next release.
Enjoyed the story very much. Good plot, interesting characters. I'm glad you let Dan see Margarets cold nature before he made a mistake. Humility, subterfuge, greed, compassion, empathy, heroics , cruelty, love were all displayed thru out each of the characters have a lot of meat to the story. I'm not good at writing reviews except to say I liked the book. I have a lot of respect for writers and even tho I can't write I can read.lol. You need people like me. Keep up the good work.
When Deputy Sheriff Dan Hart is sent out to investigate a crime, he finds a despondent Susanna, who tells him two outlaws murdered her parents. Based on the sketchy description she gave him, he sets out to track them down. There are 4 outlaws that fit the description, so Dan can narrow his search. The problem is, Susanna lied to cover the truth. Her Pa killed her Ma and she killed her Pa in self defense. Now she feels guilty for what she did and for sending Sheriff Dan in to danger.
As a deputy with his father as sheriff Dan was an excellent deputy and a wonderful son and man. It never seems to amaze me how C.J.Petit comes up with his stories and brings all his characters to life. Dan had some struggles but with the guidance he had growing up he followed those instincts and made great decisions. This is My opinion as an historical romance reader , With a side addiction to C.J. Petit and old western movies.
A great story full of adventures, treasure, strong romance, doughnuts and fine law work. The Cowboy does a fine job describing the dangerous work of early lawmen as well as care and comradery necessary among them as well as family who loved them and worried each time they went out. I love the subtle humor the author sneaks in(☕🥯.)
Another great read CJ. Lots of action, only disappointed about Margaret, still think she should have paid for killing Cecile. No one should get away with murder.. Also sorry Dan didn't get at least one boy to carry on after him.. His father was fantastic, not many dads like him either. I thought giving his father the horse and gun was beautiful 🤩, This one should have at least 5.5* 🤗👍 Tweety🐦🐦
I enjoyed this book as much as I have the other 53 books of his that I bought. The only bad thing about his books is that he can't write them as fast as I read them. The only thing I don't understand is why he sells them so cheap? One of my favorite authors! As long as he keeps writing I'll keep buying and reading.
I liked the plot and the characters. Dan was a loving, strong, moral, temperate, compassionate and lethal lawman. Susanna and mother and older brother lived with a father who was a brutal Incestuous monster. But Dan's former girlfriend was not the polite person she pretended to be.
Only about 15 grammar, syntax and typos in the whole book which is a first for CJ so maybe he took my advice and hired a proof reader. But as ever he has written an imaginative and interesting tale regardless of any technical problems. Lots of gunfights and romance plus a look at life in the 18 hundreds
I would have preferred to give this book a10 star rating,the story line and the characters made this book one of his best yet and the length of the story was perfect as I didn't want to turn that last page and it be over! Can't wait for the next one!
This is a very good story although the author said is was paired down from a longer version I sure would like to read the out takes. I loved the story and had trouble doing other things because I wanted to keep reading the story to find out what happened next. I can't wait for the next book.
Story was full of action and deceit. Honest Deputy Hart grew up with honesty and respect from his sheriff father. After .eating his big blue eyed woman, he knew she was for him. Finding buried treasure did not change his life. Could not stop reading the story. Great story again, Mr Petite.
Dan was a deputy in Colorado. He was investigating a crime by two men who had kill a young women's parents and raped her. He had just turned down a job offer by the father of the girl he was courting. She was real mad at his decision. He didn't under understand women. Now he was not sure if the women was hiding something.
As usual Mr Petit did not disappoint me. Great characters lots of action and a definite page turner. Would highly recommend this author and all of his books to everyone that enjoys a great western story.
I have read the entire series and enjoyed them all but this is the best. Characters are more developed. The plot is more intricate. The landscape and towns, including Denver harken back to the Pioneer days of Colorado and New Mexico.
This novel, the 54th, is another page-turner like the previous 53. I hope that he will have the time to write number 55 soon. I highly recommend this author. His novels are always well written, full of action and suspense.
I’ve worked my way through all of the books. I’m either going to have to start reading slower or he’s going to need to write faster. This one is a favorite. Great characters, as usual and a great story. Thank you and keep up the excellent work.
I have read all of this author's books and have enjoyed them all. His stories develop the main character's depth and allows you create a relationship with them.
👍 The background on all of the characters and plot line kept me unwilling to put it down. Then I figured I would have something to look forward to do took a nap and finished a good 👍 story.