The Women of Bandit Bend

by C.C. Harrison

Give a woman a challenge and see what happens. Straitlaced Tally Tisdale and her free spirited sixteen-year-old sister Ivy arrive in Sutton Creek, Colorado in 1863 to take over their missing father's rugged homestead on secluded Bandit Bend. Land Agent Goodnight Pettyjohn warns them of unimaginable hardships - days of backbreaking work, deadly mountain storms, dangerous wild animals, and ruthless, trigger-happy outlaws. He doesn't mention that landgrabbers also covet their father's claim and are willing to resort to violence to get what they want. But Carl Henry Tisdale made sure that both his daughters know how to shoot a gun, ride a horse and drive a wagon, so strong willed and adventurous Tally welcomes the challenge. But not so Ivy, and when bandit Birch Quinn returns to dig up stagecoach loot he'd secretly buried on their father's claim, Ivy sees him and the gold as a way to escape the drudgery and boredom of homesteading.

296 pages, Paperback

Published July 22, 2025

About the author

I knew I was going to be a writer when my mother took me to the library for the first time as a child. Since then I've written five award winning novels. My newest book, a cozy, mystery "Death by G-String, introduces the Coyote Canyon Ladies Ukulele Club whose first place win in a folk music competition is jeopardized when their star player is strangled to death with a ukulele G-string.

I like writing books in small towns, the kind of small town people run away to or hide out in. The secrets and misbehaviors are so much more interesting. I know. I've lived in them.

My newest book "Death by G-String" is a 2019 Colorado Humanities Book Award winner, an American Fiction Award finalist, a Colorado/New Mexico finalist, and was short listed for a Mystery and Mayhem Book Award.

With no previous musical training, I came to the ukulele later in life and fell in love with it instantly. I now own five ukuleles, two guitars, and two dulcimers. I made my coffeehouse debut and I play at all my book signings. So now I can honestly say I WAS BORN TO BE A ROCK STAR, BUT I WRITE BOOKS INSTEAD.

Currently I'm at work on a new mystery, "Death of a Two-Timing Man" and book two of the Coyote Canyon Ladies Ukulele Club series, "Don't Fret the Small Stuff."

I'm also a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books. When I'm not writing, I can be found in the desert, the mountains or some far-flung corner of the Southwest.

I love to hear from readers. You can reach me at ccharrisonbooks@gmail.com. Check out my website, too. I'll be updating it soon. www.CCHarrison-Author.com

Reviews

[Erin Cataldi]

This was a quick and engaging historical read about two sisters who must learn what it takes to survive on their own. Ivy and Talley pack up and head to Sutton Creek, Colorado in search of their father. They haven't heard from him in months and are concerned about him. When they arrive at his homestead they are appalled at the state of things. The house is barely livable and it looks like the barn is about to fall down. They have to make the homestead livable so the government won't take it back so they decide to put in the work to fix it up and hope that their father will turn up. Unfortunately, calamity upon calamity befalls the sisters. Is someone trying to undermine their claim to the homestead? What really happened to their father? Compelling and quick. This was a satisfying read!

[Leslie]

This is a very fun engaging fictional read about two sisters who move from Denver to rural Colorado in 1863 to find their father on his homestead. He has disappeared and no one knows where he is, so they work to prove up the homestead in his absence. The story takes many twists and turns that keeps the reader coming back to find out what happens next. It has a surprising yet satisfying ending. The author is trying to paint a different picture of what women in the West did such as settling homesteads on their own. This compares to what we are used to seeing in TV and movies about what roles women played. I highly recommend this engaging book.

[A Busscher]

I liked the beginning of the book where the sisters are trying to find their dad and survive while homesteading. They've never done homesteading yet they squeak by knowing they need assistance but money is tight. However, Wren shows up and helps out and does everything. The bad guys kill all the sheep and the chickens and the women now need protection.. Up shows Hath who's in love with Tally. Then the back plot with Boss who was the stage robber who Ivy falls in love with and sleeps with. Here the plot loses the excitement and predictable; Ivy knew about Boss and wanted to run away with him b/c she was sick of homesteading, Tally finds the paperwork that the railroad people were stealing land. Sisters fight back and get kidnapped. They escape and get back home and the bad guys are thrown in jail. Boss ran away when Ivy was kidnapped and got another life and ends up being turned on by GF, Hath and Tally get married, Dad returns after being in jail for attempted bank robbery and life is happy. Also, don't forget Wren who is a "two soul" both male and female WHAT? just drop that tidbit for what reason.

[Sarah Jensen]

Book Review: The Women of Bandit Bend by C.C. Harrison
Rating: 4.7/5

C.C. Harrison’s The Women of Bandit Bend is a triumphant ode to frontier resilience, blending historical grit with feminist fervor. As a reader drawn to narratives of women defying societal constraints, I was utterly captivated by this tale of sisterhood and survival in 1863 Colorado. Harrison doesn’t just write a Western—she reinvents it, centering women’s agency in a genre often dominated by male outlaws and gunslingers.

Strengths & Emotional Resonance
Harrison’s dual protagonists, Tally and Ivy Tisdale, are masterfully contrasted: Tally’s stoic determination and Ivy’s restless idealism create a dynamic that feels both timeless and fresh. The novel’s historical authenticity (e.g., homesteading hardships, stagecoach loot subplots) immerses you in the era without romanticizing its brutality. A standout moment for me was Tally’s quiet defiance when warned by Land Agent Pettyjohn—her resolve to claim her father’s land despite unimaginable hardships resonated deeply, echoing broader themes of women’s unheralded labor in settling the West.

The pacing is impeccable, with tension simmering in every chapter. Harrison’s prose balances lyrical descriptions of the Colorado wilderness (a frontier as wild and untamed as the women who dare to claim it) with taut action sequences. The bandit Birch Quinn’s arrival injects a thrilling moral ambiguity—Ivy’s fascination with him and the buried gold had me torn between dread and empathy, a testament to Harrison’s nuanced characterizations.

Constructive Criticism
While the book shines, minor critiques emerged:
-Ivy’s Arc: Her rapid shifts between rebellion and vulnerability occasionally strained believability; deeper introspection could anchor her choices.
-Supporting Cast: Some secondary characters (e.g., landgrabbers) felt underdeveloped, their motives sketched rather than explored.
-Romantic Subplots: A few connections resolved too neatly; lingering ambiguity might have enriched the emotional stakes.

Why This Book Stands Out
Harrison’s work transcends genre conventions. It’s a Western that interrogates the myth of the tame frontier, a feminist text disguised as adventure, and a family drama with teeth. The endorsements from Clay Stafford and Deborah J. Ledford ring true—this is a story where girl power in the Old West feels earned, not anachronistic.

Thank you to Artemesia Publishing for the opportunity to review this advance copy. Harrison’s novel left me awed by the quiet heroism of ordinary women—the ones history overlooks but fiction can immortalize.

Final Verdict:

Originality: 4.5/5 (A fresh take on Western tropes.)
Character Depth: 4.8/5 (Tally is unforgettable; Ivy’s complexity lingers.)
Historical Texture: 5/5 (You’ll smell the pine and feel the rifle’s weight.)
Emotional Payoff: 4.7/5 (A finale that honors struggle without tidy resolutions.)

A must-read for anyone who believes the West wasn’t won—it was weathered, one stubborn woman at a time. 🌄📖

[Bonnie Ludlum]

This was a fast, easy read.
Tally and Ivy come to Colorado to find their father who they have not heard from in a long time. They take over his homestead not knowing a bandit has buried loot on their property. When it appears they are being harassed so they will fail, they get help from a woman who befriended them from the local town and the livery owner who is sweet on Tally plus a hired man. Another man hires on but unbeknownst to them is the bandit who stashed the loot until Ivy falls for him and he tells her while planning to run away with her. During all this the crooked land agent is murdered along with another man and the two murders appear to be related. Then Ivy gets kidnapped by the harassers so they can bully Tally into signing over the homestead. Apparently, these men work for a local cattleman who is attempting to gather all the land near where the railroad will come through. When Tally and the woman friend from town go look for Ivy, they are captured. They escape, find their way home, get the sheriff involved so all the bad ones are captured. Meanwhile, while all this was happening, the bandit looks for the loot unable to find it so he runs leaving Ivy, but she’s good cause she figured out he was bad. A very elaborate 19th century “perp walk” is portrayed by the law as the jail wagons transport the inmates to a larger prison to await trials while the townspeople gather out at the girls’ homestead to watch the parade go by, verbally harass the prisoners then have a big celebration. This seems a bit much to me. The bandit who ran off gets his and as an afterthought, cause the reader doesn’t get much about what happened to the girls’ dad, he is released from prison for attempted bank robbery. Since he didn’t really rob the bank—he was inebriated—and the jail burned down—it was a small town—their dad just gets to go home.
Very near the end of it, the author has what appears to be a “woke” moment thrown in. And since this tag on is about a supporting character and not relevant to the story, it is disappointing the author went there.
Have you ever read a story and once you have completed it, you think, well, I can’t get that time back? This is one of those times.

[Debbie Maskus]

The Women of Bandit Bend describes Colorado in 1863, with men, women, and families traveling West for a better life. These individuals or homesteaders looked for a better life. The story recounters the hazards faced such a severe weather, Indians, evil land agents, uncivilized and greedy men. Tally and her sister, Ivy, head to Sutton Creek to find their father and assist him with his claim. Carl Henry Tisdale has vanished, and his daughters struggle to maintain his claim. The story presents tragedy and inserts a little happiness, but the characters need better development. The setting does not instill either beauty or hardness. The character of Wren puzzles this reader. Supposedly, Wren was born a female and is married to the Chief’s son, but Wren passes as a male. Wren helps the Tisdale sisters with their homestead. Boss, the devil, kills whoever stands in his way. He only thinks of himself. Again, another character not developed well. I did learn about homesteading and all the problems.
A dive into the world of mining underground and the prospect of using old mines to store nuclear

[Michael]

The Women of Bandit Bend by C.C. Harrison is a gripping Western story that skillfully blends adventure, mystery, and resilience. Set on the rugged Colorado frontier, the novel follows sisters Tally and Ivy Tisdale as they turn their father’s rundown homestead into a thriving claim, only to uncover a sinister land-grabbing plot orchestrated by cattle baron Ambrose Clarkson and corrupt land agent Foster Pettyjohn. Harrison shines in creating strong, evolving female characters. The historical setting, filled with stagecoach robberies and homestead struggles, draws readers into the harsh beauty of the 1860s West.

The plot moves at a steady pace, combining action with emotional depth. Supporting characters add layers of grit and cultural nuance. This is a compelling read for fans of Westerns and stories of women overcoming odds, providing both thrills and heart in equal measure.

This book was not reviewed from a purchased copy, but from an advanced reader copy provided to the reviewer.

[Jeanne]

The Women of Bandit Bend is an easy, quick read about two young women traveling out to Colorado to visit their father on his homestead in Sutton Creek. They find his place abandoned and dilapidated. So, what would any young city girls do? They stay and try their luck at homesteading among cattle rustlers, wild animals, dangerous storms, outlaws, and land grabbers. If you enjoy Hallmark movie-type books, then you will probably like this book.
Thank you to Librarything,com, and the author for a copy of this book.

[Jan]

A fascinating story about women settlers in the wild west. A bit of mystery, mayhem and violence. All leading to the conclusion that women were unfairly treated yet managed to succeed by their grit and ingenuity.