DAISIES IN THE CANYON conjures up an image that you realize is totally planned by Carolyn Brown. Brown does not waste words -- her intent immediately grabs the reader and as the story progresses you can't help but shake your head as you recognize the ingenious plot of the book. I am an unabashed fan of Carolyn Brown and with each new book my interest grows. When looking for a book to read you just can't go wrong with anything written by Carolyn Brown. Her characters are ripe with sass and personality. They become lifelong friends and so it was nice to come back to Lonesome Canyon in DAISIES IN THE CANYON.

In DAISIES IN THE CANYON three young woman strangers are going to attend the funeral of the father none of them ever met. In fact for the most part they knew very little about the man who sired them other than the fact that each of their mothers were released from the marriage when they gave birth to daughters. Ezra Malloy made no secret of the fact that he wanted/needed a son. So the mothers and daughters were given money to start a life that didn't include Ezra or his ranch.

Now upon Ezra's death the three daughters are to attend the funeral and are told of the conditions set in Ezra's will. These conditions practically assure that none of the daughters wind up as owners of the ranch. They have to live together for a year and work the ranch. If any leaves they will get a set amount of money but then the title to the ranch will go to the lone survivor(s). In fact they are not permitted to leave the ranch for more than 24 hours. Either these three very different women learn to live together and work the ranch or they like their mothers will be given a cash settlement.

Abby Malloy had thought to become a career soldier. She was tough and the army had been her family for more than a decade. She came to the Palo Duro Canyon more to satisfy a curiosity than any other purpose. But what she found in the Canyon and on the Malloy Ranch was challenging her original intentions.

The next door neighbor was Cooper Wilson who had a ranch adjoining Malloy Ranch and as sheriff was quite knowledgeable about people in his town. As a friend and neighbor to Ezra Cooper felt obliged to lend a hand to the daughter if need be. But truth be told there was only one daughter he had his sight set upon -- Abby. The other two Bonnie and Shiloh each came with their own personal baggage but Cooper wanted to see if there was any real connection between himself and Abby. One that could possibly change her plans to leave the ranch. But Cooper didn't really have the upper hand in that decision. Candidly the sisters carried more weight -- the emotional kind.

Daisies are a tough flower able to survive in somewhat inhospitable conditions. Malloy Ranch had them in spades. So the big question is whether or not Ezra's daughter are like the daisies that he had them loss on his casket or thorny delicate roses.

I just loved the symbolism in DAISIES IN THE CANYON. As I mentioned before Carolyn Brown has a way with character development with few if any contemporaries. I am sure there are more stories to tell in this series. Brown just touched the surface first with Long, Hot Texas Summer and now continuing on with DAISIES IN THE CANYON.