Essie Vanderfair was determined to top her rival Victor
Daley; if she could only write that elusive successful
book. Essie's family scoffed at her choice of career,
that of a dime novelist, and so did her former beau; they
all deemed that she did not take life seriously enough.
There might be some truth to this, but what's a girl with
so much imagination to do? Little did Essie know that on
her trip to Evanston, she would find the inspiration she
was looking for. The train she's on is suddenly stopped
by a gang of outlaws, and instead of the imminent danger,
Essie sees the perfect opportunity for a story; she
boldly asks the gang to accompany them, but visions of
ransom dance in one head upon hearing that she is the
granddaughter of railway tycoon Henry Vanderfair. Essie
is thrilled that Texas Titan is with the train robbers,
she will be able to interview the infamous outlaw. But
the Texas Titan is not pleased at all, since he is not
Tex, but in fact the outlaw's twin brother, Tate Beckett.
Tate is a Pinkerton agent, posing as his brother, he has
vowed to rid the world of villains, and Essie will do
nothing but complicate his already difficult undercover
mission.
Essie and Tate's romance is a very unusual one, because
from the beginning it is hampered by Tate's secret. While
he admires Essie, her resourcefulness, her sunny
disposition, he can't let himself fall in love with her,
as she could expose him even unwillingly, and compromise
his cover and get them both killed. Essie feels drawn to
Tate, she sees there is a good man underneath, but she
can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something. Still
she prays that he will see the light and that God will
inspire him to turn his life around; Essie might be
adventurous, but she can't really fathom how she would
deal being the wife of an outlaw.
It's uncanny how Ms. Henrie makes it all work, and in
spite of how it might sound, THE OUTLAW'S SECRET is not
at all farfetched. Essie is an amazing character; she is
so full of life, and she endears herself to almost
everyone because she really cares, and she truly sees
everything as an adventure for research purposes. This is
a tremendously fun part of the book because she is so
optimistic and enthusiastic, that we can't help but cheer
her on, until reality catches up with her when an
unfortunate turn of event puts her and Tate in grave
danger. Ms. Henrie provides a vivid, and realistic
depiction of the life of an undercover agent in Victorian
America, and Tate is quite the tortured character, even
if he doesn't even realise it himself.
THE OUTLAW'S SECRET is a surprisingly quick read, mostly
because of the brisk pace, the smooth writing, the
fabulous dialogues, but also because the characters
captivated my imagination and my heart, because they feel
so genuine; I could easily picture Essie, all naïve and
insouciant; the outlaws and their surprising backstories,
and Tate's dilemmas. The inspirational angle was also
quite apropos, as both Essie and Tate do need guidance
from Above; in a few occasions, their prayers really hit
home, and provide food for thought. And what a treat
awaits us later on this year with more tales from the Old
West from Stacy Henrie!
Lawman in Disguise
Getting taken hostage by a gang of train robbers wasn't in
dime novelist Essie Vanderfair's plans, but interviewing
these men could make her career soar. Especially since the
gang includes legendary outlaw Tex Beckett, better known as
the Texas Titan. Tex is famed for his protection of women
and children, so she'll be fine…right?
Keeping the gang in line was hard enough before a stubborn,
beautiful writer interfered. Now Tex is scrambling to keep
Essie safe, to gather evidence against the gang and most of
all to hide his dangerous secrets. First, that he's a
detective working undercover. And second, that he's
not the Texas Titan at all, but Tex's twin brother,
Tate Beckett.
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