A Reason to Sin

Forrester Brothers #3

by Maureen McKade

Rebecca Colfax had been a well-to-do young woman with a bright future in St. Louis. Then her husband gambled all her money away and disappeared into the night. Alone, homeless and desperate, she was forced to take her son to an orphanage, and now she's determined to do anything to get him back. Little did she know she'd encounter a man destined to change the course of her life.

Rebecca Colfax was out of options. Which is how she wound up working at the Scarlet Garter in Oaktree, Kansas as a singer and hurdy-gurdy girl, trying to scrape together enough money to get her son back. She doesn't want anyone to know her secrets—especially not sexy Slater Forrester, a faro dealer and ex-spy who's clearly haunted by something in his own past. But when violence bursts through the saloon's doors, she discovers a dangerously appealing side to Slater, a side she finds hard to resist. But how will the man she's falling for react when he uncovers the secrets she's keeping?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Western Romance

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Maureen McKade has been making up stories since the moment she learned to read, write and string sentences together. Her first book, "Winter Hearts", published in 1997 was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America's (RWA) Golden Heart contest, then a finalist in RWA's RITA for best first book. Since then, she's written thirteen more books and a short story for an anthology.

She taught middle school science for three years then held a variety of jobs--bookstore clerk, administrative assistant, customer service manager, department manager, and pharmacy technician--until she settling on writing. (Or, more aptly, until writing settled on her.)

Maureen and her husband, a retired Air Force officer, now live on 40 nature-filled acres in southwestern North Dakota with their two French Brittany Spaniels and three cats. Her eclectic list of leisure pursuits include long walks with hubby and their two dogs, reading, wildlife watching, golfing, bird hunting, and puttering around in the kitchen.

Reviews

[Julie (jjmachshev) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure this is my first book by Maureen McKade. Her writing style has a really good flow and her characters are interesting, although sometimes confusing, people. My only real complaint about this story is that I didn't buy the premise of why the heroine had to work in a saloon in a different town and why she never involved the authorities. Rebecca needs money to retreive her child from the orphanage where she placed him when she could no longer afford to care for him. She's also looking for her husband who deserted her after gambling away her inheritance. She's also a holier than thou prig for the first several chapters of this book. And like I said, I also thought she was pretty stupid.

I liked the writing, I liked the flow; I didn't like the plot or the vapidness of the heroine. But that's just me.

[Tara Anderton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book - I don't normally read this genre but glad I did! The ending was perfect

[Jacqueline J]

Got about halfway through this one and just lost interest. Not really into the whole saloon vibe.

[Kit★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars! Still craving a historical setting, I looked to the romance section of my TBR and spotted this one. Really, the deciding factor was that I had just recently watched all 3 seasons of the show Deadwood, and had that Western, rough town saloon kinda setting on my mind. Since the heroine, Rebecca, starts working in a saloon and falling for a gambler, it seemed like it'd be a good choice, and it was. It was a good, quick read, and while it didn't make me get emotional, or nothing, it wasn't the story's fault, I blame it on distractions here at home. But it was a nice read, pleasant. I really liked how Rebecca took the job at the saloon, even though she'd been raised a proper woman of society. She faced a lot of things she'd never thought of before, the revealing clothes, the dancing with strangers and serving drinks. I think it humbled her and did her good to see how people she'd always disdained had to live. Trouble was, her husband was a gambler who lost all of her inheritance and her home and then ran away, leaving her with nothing but a baby he hadn't yet learned was coming. So Rebecca sets off on a wild goose chase to find him and let him know about their son, and see if he'll come home and be a responsible father. But she puts the child in an orphanage and though it was nicely run by nuns, there's just no way I'd ever do something like that. My baby would be coming with me, I wouldn't ever be able to leave and entrust him to an orphanage, especially with the way so many of them treated the children in their care back then (and hell, probably still do now in places). Despite this, Rebecca was an ok character, likable and nice. Well, there was a brief moment when she was confronted with the fact she'd be working with 2 African Americans, and her upbringing and whatnot caused her to be not so kind in thought. I was worried for a second it was going to make me not like her, but she quickly changed her way of thinking and they ended up being good friends. She befriended all of the other girls, some more slowly than others, but in the end, Rebecca ended up in charge, and I liked that. I used to work in a bar for a number of years, so I could sort of relate to the whole situation, though I never had to sing or dance. But I liked that setting, it;d probably be something I'd do if I went back in time. I liked her boss too, Andrew Kearney. I kinda pictured him looking like Cy Tolliver from Deadwood , but Andrew was a nice guy (where Cy wasn't) and for a saloon owner of the time, he was a great boss, not cruel or demeaning, ran a clean place, no cheating or nasty behavior, and he paid well. He also was like a father figure to the hero, Slater, and taught him all about gambling smart, and being a good man. Slater was ok, he was honorable and decent. After learning everything from Andrew, he went on to work for the Pinkertons as a Union spy, and ended up being captured and sent to Andersonville, where he was tortured, and saw many others tortured and killed. He's traumatized, has nightmares, and paranoia, claustrophobia, and a shaky hand. All ok for a character, but the author didn't really give me any satisfying details about what went on in the prison. I guess I can add it to my list of things to Google and research it myself, but I would've liked the author to present me with the info, maybe in memories, or show his nightmares or something. Otherwise it was all good, he was a good hero, not too stubborn. I kinda pictured him looking like Bullock from Deadwood and Rebecca looking like Joanie . Not that their characters were similar or anything, I just had Deadwood on the brain and so the characters looks just fit my mind's eye. But anywho... Oh yea, the villain! So the deal is, there's this mystery person in town who's been sending round a thug to collect money from all the saloon owners for 'insurance'. If they don't pay, their place gets wrecked, and if they still don't pay, people start getting hurt. So they all pay except for Kearney, who starts asking questions and trying to figure out who's behind it. Sadly, the baddies don't like him being nosy, so they off him. This leaves Slater (which, might I add, I wasn't real fond of his name) in charge of the saloon, and the only person in town interested in finding the killers. So he starts going round asking questions, and not long after, in the middle of a busy night, a buncha shots are fired into the bar, shattering windows, bottles, glasses, and hitting one of the girls, though not fatally. Instead of backing down, he keeps on with his investigation. All the meanwhile, he and Rebecca are getting friendly and much more. She finally tells him of her search for her husband, and he asks an old Pinkerton pal for help. She keeps the secret of her child for a little while longer, but eventually does tell him. When the thug threatens to harm her, Slater finally agrees to pay up, but when the owner of the town's newest saloon, Leo Gavin, arrives, Slater starts asking questions again. Turns out this new guy is behind it all, and not only that, but he was one of the head a-holes at Andersonville and wants Slater dead to protect his identity. He sends his henchmen to tie up Rebecca and Slater and torch the saloon in the middle of the night while everyone's sleeping. However, our heroes make a daring escape before the fire's started, and manage (with the help of the saloon's piano player) to disarm the thugs and haul them to jail. They then jail the sheriff for being in on it, and now with proof of the crimes and also of Gavin's true identity as a Confederate war criminal, they send a telegram to the nearest fort and soldiers soon arrive to haul the criminals away. Slater becomes the new sheriff of the town. He's also received word that Rebecca's husband is in St. Louis, and they go to confront him and get her son back. When Slater finds him in a gambling hall, bragging about how he's soon to be married, he acts all nice until he can follow him out and haul his arse to face Rebecca. He confesses he's done this con to a lot more girls than just her and acts as if he doesn't believe the baby's his. He also calls her a few rude things, to which Slater doesn't take kindly. He hauls him to jail, and though Rebecca's a little depressed about the whole deal, she's already done realized that she's in love with Slater. The next day, they go to the orphanage to collect her son. Then he proposes to her that since he'll be busy with sheriff duties, she should take over running the saloon. She readily agrees, and then he proposes marriage to her and they confess their love, and head back home to be all HEA. The epilogue has them going to visit Slater's long-lost brothers, who he hasn't seen in nearly 30 years. After a tense moment where he apologizes for never coming back to the orphanage to save his little brother, and confronts his elder brother about why he never came back for Slater and the younger brother, they all reconcile, and it's apparent there's a need to bond and make up for lost time. It ends with Slater introducing Rebecca and the baby as his wife and son. It was a nice ending, but it kinda made me feel like I was supposed to know more than what I did about the brothers. I dunno if they have books (which now that I'm online again, I see on here that they do). But otherwise a good ending, though I'm a little surprised Rebecca wasn't pregnant with another child, the way they were going at it like horny rabbits in this story :) A good read, and it fit my mood for setting to a T. I'd like to check out more by this author.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characterization for the place and time did not ring true. The ending is rushed and I turned the page hoping for an epilogue.

[SuperWendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the first book in this trilogy is probably one of my all-time favorite romances and the second book is notably for some risks the author takes. This book? Well, it languished in my TBR forever (seriously, like 9 years...). I bought it on the day it was released, but then some of my friends read it before I got to it and they were all like, "Meh." So, yeah. Well now I've finally read it and I'm kind of glad I waited 9 years to read it. Because had I read it so close on the heels of the other two books? I think I would have been very unhappy.

For a mother who had to leave her infant at an orphanage so she could track down her ne'er-do-well husband - the heroine spends very little time fretting over the kid. The hero's Pinkerton skills leave much to be desired (seriously, no shock this guy got thrown into Andersonville during the war). The middle sags under the weight of some introduced external conflict and the epilogue wrapping up the "series baggage" felt dashed off and underwhelming.

What I did like? Well, it's a western and I was in the mood for it. Also, the "community" in the saloon felt very small-town-contemporary-like to me - and I enjoyed that aspect of the story. I'm glad I finally read this because I can now say I finished the trilogy - but the first book is the gem, the second book is very good and this one is just meh.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rebecca Colfax was desperate for a job. Her husband had gambled away her home and disappeared, leaving her to put her baby in an orphanage to track him down. Now she was out of money and options. The only job in town was as a singer and dancer at the Red Garter Saloon. She takes the job, revealing nothing about her past...especially to Slater Forrester, a dealer at the saloon that is clearly haunted by something from his past. But when violence bursts through the saloon's doors, she discovers a side of Slater she finds hard to resist.

The final book in the Forrester Brothers Trilogy is a fast-moving historical romance. In addition to Rebecca and Slater, the story is full of interesting characters you want to know more about. I highly recommend this series. My rating: 4.5 Stars.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third and last book in the series and I liked it. I'd liked the first and hated the second. But the author redeemed herself again with this one. I'd give it a strong B to B-. The characters were reasonable people who I understood. Since it is the last of the series, I wish the epilogue had been longer. It was as short as it could possibly be and still have the three brothers meet. I felt short-changed by that. At times it seemed a little repetitive. I'd have liked to see a deeper development of some of the secondary characters. But overall it was enjoyable.

[Amber Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

The heroine wasn't stupid, but it's repeated just a little too often that she's a lady. The descriptions/writing were a little unsatisfying somehow. Good premise, but I thought Rebecca started sleeping with Slade just a little too fast for a woman who's carrying on so about being a lady, even with her husband's abandonment...thought that she should be a little guiltier/take that as a bigger step.

[Stacie]

A quick read about a woman named Rebecca whose husband has gambled away all her money and abandoned her. She has to go to work at a saloon to survive in the old west. She is trying to find him to let him know that they have a son. Slater is a faro dealer at the salon where she works and helps her get her life straight.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last book in the Forrester Brothers series and an OK read. I agree with one reviewer who said the end, where Slater finally finds his brother, is way too rushed. And I'm also going say that Slater, when he is "rescuing" Rebecca is pretty stupid for not bringing in backup and for not scoping out the situation before barging in. Sheesh, a former Pinkerton agent should know better!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third book in the Forrester trilogy and a wonderful, romantic book. A different concept set in a saloon with a great cast of characters. There's passion, there's suspense and there's a few tears to be shed. This is a book you don't want to put down.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

ho hum