Alistair Jim MacKenzie, Jim, has the strength to settle any battle, even though he would rather use his voice than his fists. Working as a blacksmith had its advantages with being strong enough to defend himself. After losing his parents, Jim heads out West for a better opportunity. It is on the train ride, he befriends Elizabeth Strang, who is being pestered by an unlikely individual. Jim was taught to be polite, especially to women, but Jed Calloway, a known killer, doesn’t much care for Jim interrupting and challenges him. Jim gets a lucky break when Jed’s assault backfires. Elizabeth is a mail-order-bride. At their final destination, she learns her attended has been killed. She has no one, nothing. Jim, seeing her predicament, offers marriage. Libby believes Jim is a man of integrity. She agrees to marry him. Libby is a bit frightened to be alone with a man once they are wed, but Jim assures, he will not rush her. They can grow to learn about the other first. He has given her a direction in her life, but when a killer from the past follows their trail, are the two destined to die in the West before they even get to know each other?

When I first started reading Mail Order Bride, my intentions were to begin then mark the page, and stop, to return later. Unfortunately that didn’t work. I was mesmerized as the storytelling immediately commanded me to continue on. Alex de Kok sketches characters quite impressible. They are depicted in a way that everything seems real. Jim is a hero that I wouldn’t mind living in my neighborhood. I felt like I had boarded the train and gone along for the ride. It was most entertaining meeting new faces and seeing the countryside through someone else’s eyes. The plot was great, and adding Jed as a nasty evil villain was a good asset that kept the story moving at a great pace.

Reviewed by: Linda L.