Superstition Trail

by L.W. Rogers

At the age of seventeen, Ace Donovan witnessed the hanging of his father and brother by six contractors hired by the railroad to run people off its lands. He has spent the past fifteen years tracking down these men and exacting his own form of justice. Only one of the six remains.
Dulcie Slaughter, widowed less than five months after her wedding, hires Donovan to trail her cattle to market. He knows it's taboo to bring a woman on a cattle drive. Therefore, when she insists on joining the drive, Donovan decides against the thousand-mile trip to Kansas, but instead trails the cattle over the Superstition Mountains to Fort Apache, Arizona.
The Apache believe the Screaming Woman spirit is angry because they didn't prevent the white man from invading sacred lands. Outlaws use this Apache legend in an attempt to steal the herd.
Dulcie's trust in Donovan is shattered when one of the outlaws recognizes him as the man who killed her husband.

186 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2008

About the author

A Native Floridan and a retired teacher, I am published with Avalon Books, The Wild Rose Press and Dorchester Media. I enjoy horseback riding, motorcycles, and traveling.
www.lorettacrogersbooks.com

Reviews

[Terryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

He has spent the past fifteen years tracking down the men that killed his family. She is a pregnant widow who owns the ranch he just won from her now deceased husband. He starts to work for her and agrees to take her cattle to market taking her along on the cattle drive.
Outlaws use this Apache legend in an attempt to steal the herd and her trust in him is shattered when one of the outlaws recognizes him as the man who killed her husband. He eventually finds the last member of the gang that killed his family. When all is settled she forgives him and asks him to marry her. HEA ending. Reasonably good read.

[Flossie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superstition Trail is a fast paced western such as we always anticipate from author L.W. Rogers. The book kept me on the edge of my seat wondering how the hero will get himself out of trouble when the heroine discovers his deception--that he, the person she depends on, is the same man who killed her husband (you know secrets eventually come out).
The hero is Ace Donovan, a rugged half-Apache who worked fifteen years to track down the murderers of his father and brother. He kills the final murderer, Dulcie's husband, in self-defense.
The heroine is Dulcie Slaughter, who came west to escape trouble back home but ended up wed to an intimidating bully of a man. Upon his death five months after their marriage, Dulcie is determined to sell her few hundred head of cattle and hires Ace Donovan to drive them to market.
During the journey, the two battle sinister enemies, hostile terrain, and severe physical hardship, with a cantankerous ranch hand named Teacup as one of their few allies. They also must contend with their own inner struggles and "the deception."
Native American spirituality contributes an added dimension to the novel.
If you like a bit of mystery, clearly defined characters, and high powered action set in the old west (who doesn't?), this book is for you.

[Shan Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a long time since I've read an old fashioned western. Nice change of pace. Easy read, predictable outcome. I enjoyed the book.