Kristie J’s Review of This Gun for Hire by Jo Goodman
Historical Romance published by Berkley 7 Apr 15
I loved this book. It’s such classic Jo Goodman. It’s rich, it’s deep, it has its humor and so many other things that the author does so well. I think in every review I do of her books I say she writes such mulit-layered characters. We get to see secrets as the story unfolds and slowly those secrets come out, changing and adding more and more depth to each of the lead characters. Ms. Goodman excels at doing this more than any author I’ve read. She slowly peels back level after level and lets us relish the character before she moves on and more is revealed.
I’m a skim reader, but when I pick up a book written by Ms. Goodman, I throw that out the window and know in advance it’s going to take me longer than usual to read the book, just because I don’t want to miss any of the revealed secrets or character development. I know this style of writing isn’t for every reader and I get that. But for me it’s a rich feast and I want to enjoy and salivate over every bite.
In this book I love both Quill and Calico. They first meet at a whorehouse where both are ‘undercover,’ though it takes Calico a while to figure out who Quill is and that he isn’t just there for ‘a good time.’ He’s knocked off his socks by Calico from the very beginning but keeps his feelings close to the vest, as he doesn’t want to scare her off. They meet again when he recommends her to his boss as a bodyguard for his boss’ daughter. Calico, having been raised by her army scout father, is a rare female bounty hunter and knows how to do protection.
Quill and Calico work together to figure out who is after the Stonechurches, and while Quill knows right away that Calico is the one for him, it takes Calico longer to acknowledge the same about Quill.
In the meantime, their banter is wonderful and their respect for each other is a very fine thing to see. Calico has a very unusual occupation for a woman of her time, but for the most part Quill is very accepting. He does want to protect her somewhat more than she thinks is needed, but then that’s because he has such strong feelings for her and it’s only natural.
The only point that isn’t completely perfect with this one is the identity of the villain. I had it pegged very early into the story and I’m usually not that quick to pick up on these things. But I have not a moment’s hesitation to recommend this book. I would LOVE for more romance readers to ‘discover’ her by either her Western Historicals or her European Historicals. She’s very good and one of my autobuy authors – albeit a bit slower in buying ‘cause I’m cheap that way. In a real crummy Western vernacular, you are darn tootin’ I’ll be reading this one again.
Grade: A
(See Sandy M’s review here.)
Summary:
He’s got a job to do…
Former army cavalryman Quill McKenna takes pride in protecting the most powerful man in Stonechurch, Colorado: Mr. Ramsey Stonechurch himself. But the mine owner has enemies, and after several threats on his life, mines, and family, Quill decides to hire someone to help guard the boss’s daughter. Only problem is the uncontrollable attraction he feels toward the fiery-haired woman who takes the job.
…but she’s a piece of work.
Calico Nash has more knowledge of scouting and shooting than cross-stitching, but she agrees to pose as Ann’s private tutor while protecting her. But between her growing attraction to Quill and the escalating threats against the Stonechurches, Calico will soon have a choice to make—hang on to her hard-won independence or put her faith in Quill to create the kind of happy ending she never imagined…
No excerpt available.
