TEST
A Desert Island Keeper is a book I want to read over and over, and Tallchief by Dinah McCall certainly fits the bill. In general, “American Indian” books aren’t my cuppa, but once in a while I make an exception; Tallchief is an exceptional book.
Morgan Tallchief lost the only woman he ever loved. At seventeen and a high school senior, he met and fell in love with Kathleen Ryder, the daughter of a local high school teacher. One night, after he set a new national running record, he and Kathleen made love for the first time. Morgan took her home, kissed her good night and left. A few moments later, her family’s house blew up and Morgan saw the house in flames with Kathleen and her whole family inside.
Now if that doesn’t make your heart start pumping double time and wonder where we go from there, nothing will. Morgan, heartbroken, stayed in school just long enough to graduate and then promptly joined the Marines, a death wish on his mind.
Now, turn the clock ahead 16 years. Morgan is now retired from the military and has turned to the artistic side of his nature. He is building a reputation for himself as an up-and-coming Native American artist. He lives alone in an adobe house in the desert near Santa Fe, New Mexico and he has never forgotten Kathleen. But he’s accepted the fact that she is dead and that he will go to his grave loving her. When Morgan steps onto his porch just after a sand storm, he notices two women walking up the road towards him. He wonders for a moment why they would be coming to see him and thinks one of them is oddly familiar. When Morgan realizes that the familiar looking woman is Kathleen, he thinks he’s dreaming or that they are ghosts come a-walking.
Kathleen Ryder, now known as Julie Walkman, has come to Morgan for help. She has been a part of the Witness Protection Program since she was 14 and now, with the death of her father, she is in fear for her life and the life of her child. In only takes Morgan a moment to realize that the young girl with Kathleen is his child – the child he never knew.
Dinah McCall has written a book filled with intrigue and love. Kathleen has to explain why she had to pretend she was dead for so many years, and she and Morgan both come to realize that they have never grown out of love with one other. Morgan initially and understandably has a hard time dealing with the situation but does not anguish about it for an inordinate length of time. He is more than willing to protect this woman from his past as well as his daughter Patricia who resembles him strongly and swiftly becomes the child of his heart.
I enjoyed every single page of this book. There were some scenes so well-written that they read almost like magic. Dinah McCall can write with such intensity that you feel as if you are a voyeur in the midst of her tales. Morgan was a hero to die for; the man that every woman would want in her fantasy life. But he was so real a character, you felt he was standing before you. Kathleen appeared soft, almost fragile, but had an inner strength of character that would not let her stop until she and her daughter eluded their pursuers.
This book is definitely an A+. For readers who like something a little different from the norm or like books with Native Americans characters in them, don’t hesitate to find this book and read it. And even if you shy away from “Indian Romances,” I urge you not to pass this one up. Morgan Tallchief is not a stereotypical Indian character. He is a man totally at home in the Indian and in the White worlds – compassionate, caring and a man who is there for his loved ones. Morgan is a man comfortable with himself, needing only the woman he loves to make him complete. Kathleen is a very lucky lady.
Grade: A
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 09/05/98
Publication Date: 1997
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.