Fiction, Romance, Fiction Subjects

The River at Sundown

Name: The River at Sundown
Author: Earl Murray
ISBN: 9780812551440

by Earl Murray

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Overview

Holly Porter knows adversity: She has nursed Confederate wounded in the Civil War, raised her young son, Justin, maintained the Tennessee family farm while her husband, Isaac, was fighting in the War, and cared for him when he returned home from the battlefields wounded, weakened, and haunted. But the greatest test of Holly's endurance lies in wait in the wilds of the Montana Territory.. "After Isaac makes a gold strike in Montana, Holly and Justin make their way west to the gold country to join him. But in an Indian attack on the Bozeman Road near Fort Phil Kearny, she and the boy are taken captive by Bad Face, a renegade Sioux warrior, and separated. Holly is rescued from Bad Face by Old Calf Woman, a venerable Blackfoot medicine woman, and Justin is taken to the camp of Sioux chief Red Cloud, who treats the white boy as a son.. "While Holly, who becomes known as Wolf Woman for the wolf-skin jacket she wears, learns Indian ways from Old Calf Woman and strengthens her resolve to find her lost son and reunite with her husband, army officer Lane Hodges has the difficult assignment of searching for the captives while trying to make a peace treaty with Red Cloud.

About the Author, Earl Murray

Earl Murray once worked in botany and natural resource management. He is the author of thirty-five novels and nonfiction books that deal with the American West. His novel, Song of Wovoka, was a finalist for the 1992 Western Writers of America Spur Award for historical fiction. He lives with his wife, Victoria, in northern Colorado.

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Editorials

Kirkus Reviews

This too-familiar tale by Murray (Flaming Sky, 1995, etc.) opens with the return of Isaac Porter from the blood and bitterness of the Civil War. Isaac, convinced that life will never be peaceful or happy again in his Tennessee River home, strikes out for the frontier, heading to Montana, where he hopes to make his fortune mining gold. Wife Holly, who emerges as the heroine of this saga, and son Jason, fearing for Isaac's well-being, soon follow, anxious to find the naive and foolish man before he gets himself into trouble. Unfortunately, they are captured by the Sioux. With the help of a kindly Indian woman, they adapt to Indian ways, and Holly is able to quietly continue her search for her wayward husband. Meanwhile, Isaac, who believes that his wife and son are dead, falls into the company of a band of ruthless outlaws. Though predictable and clichéd, the story is relieved by some colorful frontier characters, accurate historical detail, and a good sense of post-war development in the Montana Territory.