Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Review ~ Gabriel's Atonement by Vickie McDonough

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All Gabe Coulter ever wanted was to live a comfortable life as a successful gambler, but a confrontation with a disgruntled cowboy who’d just lost to Gabe leads to a family man dying in his arms. Even though it was self-defense, the only way Gabe knows to get rid of his guilt is to return the money he won to the man’s wife. Lara Talbot sees Gabe as a derelict like her husband and wants nothing to do with him. But as she struggles to provide for her family and makes plans to claim property in the upcoming Oklahoma land rush, she wonders if God might have sent the meddling gambler to help. 
My Review 
Gabe Coulter is an expert gambler who never cheats his opponents. Regretfully, one particular man ended up a dead-head, literally. When Gabe finds out that Tom Talbot, the man he killed in a back alley in self-defense has a wife and son, he feels a tremendous amount of guilt. He desires to make amends by returning the money to Talbot’s widow, Lara.
Lara Talbot is wise to her husband’s gambling habit and has essentially been taking care of her son, grandfather and younger sister for years on her own. She actually feels a bit of relief when she finds out Tom is dead because he was a good-for-nothing husband. When her family is evicted from their rented dwelling, the seemingly only way to achieve a home of their own is to ride in the land rush and try to stake a claim.
Once again Vickie McDonough has penned an intriguing and historically fascinating tale of greed, repentance, forgiveness, and love. I vaguely remember learning about the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 in school but I was so much more fascinated with the whole process by the action and adventure in Gabriel’s Atonement. The pictorial scenes ran like an old western movie across my mind’s eye. I could perfectly envision the showdown in the back alley, and I felt like an eye witness as dust rose like clouds from horses hooves pounding across Unassigned Lands. 
I believe this easy-to-read novel will appeal to many inspirational and historical western fiction fans. The plot is sound and mesmerizing. The main characters are flawed but easily likable, except maybe Joline (the younger sister), but her story comes next. The spiritual theme of atonement is beautifully presented. I always appreciate the manner in which McDonough weaves Christ into her stories.
I want to thank the publisher (Shiloh Run Press an imprint of Barbour Books) for offering me a print copy for review purposes. I was under no obligation to write a positive review, only my honest opinion of the book, which I have done. No compensation has been received.

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like an interesting read.
    Thanks for sharing.
    diane @ thoughts & shots

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a good book, Diane. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

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