As punishment for interfering with the local sheriff’s cruel ways, Father Alonzo Vargas has been banished to a remote presidio for the past year. He is a shepherd without a flock and has only himself and his donkey to talk to. When he runs across a young man who the sheriff has beaten and strung upside-down from a tree, he doesn’t care what crime the fellow may have committed. He’s more focused on saving his life than saving his soul.

Ben McKinnon is on the receiving end of the sheriff’s ire for not handing over his parcel of land to the man and for fighting back against the sheriff’s deputies. Forced to recuperate from his injuries at the presidio, Ben find himself attracted to the young priest. He knows that the man has taken a vow of chastity and feels guilty about his feelings, but he can’t help but wonder is Alonzo feels the same way.

As Alonzo and Ben work together to fight the sheriff and reclaim Ben’s property, Alonzo begins to have distinctly non-religious feelings about his young friend. He finds it harder and harder to imagine a life without Ben in it, regardless of his priestly duties. Perhaps it’s time for a change. Perhaps the vows he took for the Church are not as important as having someone to cherish.

Jamie Craig’s Those Who Cherish is a story of love, duty, and corruption in the Old West. In it, the main characters struggle with their feelings for each other while at the same time trying to keep a vicious and power-hungry sheriff from killing them and taking what is not his. This is a well-written story that will appeal to those who enjoy Old West shoot-em-up action as well as romance. There is plenty of suspense in the story on several levels as well. Not only do we wonder about the fate of Ben’s property and the threat to his life, but we also wonder how Alonzo is going to deal with both his feelings and with the fact that Ben is willing to kill to protect what is his. Alonzo is forced to look very closely at the vows he swore upon before becoming a priest and to decide whether he can live with those given the way he feels about Ben. This would have to be a very difficult decision for any priest to make. Those Who Cherish is a quick and enjoyable read, and I found it difficult to put down. Readers choosing to read this story will probably find it equally entertaining.


Reviewed by: Whitney