The Lawman's Redemption

Wells Cattle Company #3

by Pam Crooks

Fallen lawman turned cowboy Jack Hollister believes he's not worthy of a respectable woman. His cheek is scarred from a speeding bullet, and he's as wild as the fierce Montana landscape he roams.

Grace Reilly is all fine city clothes and polite manners, but right now she's in need of a man who is a little rough around the edges….

Can the man from the wrong side of the tracks ever become more than a protector to this proper lady?

Genres: Westerns, Historical Romance, Harlequin, Romance, Historical, Harlequin Historical

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Dear Reader,

While expecting my first child (more years back than I care to count), I read my very first romance novel, and I've been in love with them ever since. I grew up in the ranch country of western Nebraska, and it was inevitable I’d eventually write lots of books about cowboys. I still live in Nebraska with my husband (who is not a cowboy), four married daughters and a whole slew of perfect grandchildren.

I'm a long-time member of RWA and RAH, my local chapter. I'm also one of the founders of Petticoats & Pistols, a popular blogsite for western romance. I love to cook, hang out at my lake cabin, and decorate birthday cakes for anyone who will let me.

www.pamcrooks.com
www.swankykitchen.com
www.facebook.com/pamcrooksauthor
www.facebook.com/pamcrooks
Twitter @pamcrooks

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

The heroine drove me batshit crazy. She alternated between blaming the hero for her family's woes and noting that her brother and mother weren't the most upstanding folks. She never did acknowledge that they brought their fate upon themselves. I never did see what the hero saw in her. She seemed immature emotionally and unrealistic, constantly blaming Jack for everything. Even afyer she tried to kill him and she kept her pregnancy secret, he still accepted her without any qualms. I wanted her to grovel and grovel hard. Her inconsistent behavior ruined the book for me, unfortunately.

[ReadingWench · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Damned if life wasn't full of downright pathetic ironies."

I loved the first line of this book.
This is a typical Harlequin book. It's nice, not too much drama, don't have to think to hard to figure anything out, and a bit predictable.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, I recommend that these stories be read in order (see below for the three stories in this series).  The author leaves enough hints about the previous action so that the reader isn't totally clueless, but I think readers will enjoy this more with all the ducks in a row.

In the opening pages, the son of infamous outlaw Sam Ketchum, Jack (a lawman) catches his father and his gang.  After killing his father in a terrible shoot-out in New Mexico,  only (Uncle) Tom Ketchum escapes.  The whole posse with Jack is killed and Jack leaves his badge in the dust, on top of his deceased father's chest.  Jack walks away with a scarred cheek -- to start a new life as cowboy Jack Hollister.

One problem haunts Jack.  On the day he killed his father in self-defense, old Sam asked Jack to find out who betrayed the gang (so Jack was able to find them on that fateful day).  However, now he's taken on the life of a cowboy for the Wells Cattle Company in Montana.

There were lots of great elements to this story; the author hooked her tale onto the true story of the outlaw Sam Ketchum.  She did a great job of weaving the two stories together.  However, there were just too many coincidences (Carl showing up in the area where Grace was coming to find her friend; Boone and Carl robbing trains in the same area where Allie was from; Jack never did a lick of work for the Wells Cattle Company because he was too busy chasing train robbers). 

I could go on but I think I made my point.  Circumstances were just too contrived to suit me.  Overall score = 3.5 stars.

Wells Cattle Company
 1. The Cattleman's Unsuitable Wife (2009)  
2. The Cattleman's Christmas Bride (2018)
**3. The Lawman's Redemption (2010)

[Pauline Wikkerink]

Grace Reilly was a lady from Mineapolis high society. Jack Ketchum is looking for his father. He finds his father but he is a bandit. Jack continues and becomes a lawman
This book has great twists and turns. I do not want to give any more away.
I volunteered to review thus book for Pam Crooks fairly and honestly.

[Nancy Luebke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Western Romance. This has been in my TBR pile for a while, not sure where I bought this and I rated this at 4.5*. This is not for the under 18 readers but has a bit of humor sprinkled out to lighten a few low spots. For this R rated read, it was a pretty good story.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Harlequin Historical Western romance took me a while to get through. It just didn't hold my attention, maybe because the author put so many elements into it. The heroine is trying to clear her friend's name of fraud and embezzlement. She's also trying to help her brother, who's gotten involved with outlaws, because--oh yeah, her mother was an outlaw. In fact, she ran with the gang led by the hero's father. Who (in the opening scene) led a posse that ambushed that gang, which ended in a gunfight where everybody died, except the hero. He's no longer a lawman because of guilt (hence the redemption of the title). Oh, and the heroine is dyslexic. She can't read. And there are outlaws that stole the money the heroine's friend is accused of embezzling, and--well, you get the idea. In the midst of all this, there's supposed to be a romance? I think if the focus had been on the heroine's dyslexia, or her relationship with her brother, or ... I think there was just too much going on, and the romance got lost a little bit in the middle. It was a decent read. I read all of it, but it was a bit of a struggle.

[Tasneem · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fairly okay read. However, the ending really disappointed me. So trite. The whole collision in the hallway with unruly children causing mayhem, the men who can't yell in warning, a woman so lost in thought that she doesn't see where she'd going and of course, parents at a big wedding they are preparing for who don't even think of the trouble their children running can cause. Sure. Also, the whole destruction of the wedding by children. So common.

Anyway, that almost made me want to throw the book at something. She's not a bad writer, but she needs to travel a bit, to stop being so utterly predictable. I don't know - I expected more from her.

[Mombo · Rating 5 out of 5]

You are going to love the hero, Jack Hollister, he's just so cool in the way his past catches up with him. I almost thought there was a Pam Crooks book out there with his original storyline it was that interesting. Who cares about that stolen money anyway? Somehow you have to figure that the heroine should have been the one put away...

[Nisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

blah book

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but moved a little too quickly.

[Pamela Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Story!

Well-written conclusion to the mystery that had continued throughout the series. Good plot and great characters. Look forward to more from this author!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story zig-zagged around too much for me. But I had to read it to finish up the series.