Mary MacGreggor and Cal Davis love and hate each other from day one. Here in 1880s Arizona Territory, they are meant to be together, both however, denying feelings other than anger, jealousy and enormous amounts of misunderstandings.
Cattlemen such as Davis, homesteaders like MacGreggor, and sheepherders vie for the same land. Throw into the mix the Harris brothers, paid gunmen who love nothing more than killing for money. Luke Harris, the most interesting of all the characters, lives and kills by his own set of values.
It takes killings, kidnappings and an almost range war for high-spirited and stubborn Mary and Cal to acknowledge they love each other. Providing a better sense of place and stronger writing The Killing Land (Five Star Publishing, $25.95) would turn these two-dimensional characters into people readers would care about.
—Melody Groves, author of Ropes, Reins, and Rawhide: All About Rodeo