REVIEW: Without Words by Ellen O’Connell
A- Reviews / Recommended Reads19th century / American historical / Disabled Heroine / Historical / Reconstruction / western18 Comments
Spoiler (Trigger Word): Show
Bounty hunter Bret Sterling kills Rufus Petty, thief and murderer, less than ten feet away from a frightened, half-starved woman. Rufus should have surrendered. The woman should have kin to help her. But Rufus went down shooting, and the woman has no one. Bret figures by the time he finds a safe place to leave Hassie Petty, he’ll earn the five hundred dollar reward several times over.
Hassie doesn’t mourn Rufus, but the loss of the ten dollars he promised her for supplies is a different matter. The bounty hunter gives her nothing, takes everything, ties the body on one horse and orders her on another. Afraid if she defies him, he’ll tie her down tighter than Rufus, Hassie mounts up and follows the icy-eyed killer.
Mismatched in every way, the sterling man and petty woman travel the West together, hunting thieves, deserters, and murderers. Wary traveling companions, friends and partners, lovers, Bret and Hassie must decide what they want, what they need, and the price they’re willing to pay for love.
Dear Ms. O’Connell,
I had always wanted to try one of your books and this one just struck me. I’d been thinking of reading a western as it had finally occurred to me that compared to other genres, I haven’t read too many of them this year and none since May. I’ve got to say I love the excerpt and think it shows Bret and Hassie to perfection.
Both are quiet people on the surface but with a lot going on if you care to dig a bit deeper. Bret works alone and has, of course, issues from his past that haunt him in post Civil War Missouri which, along with Kansas, saw so much hatred and misery. Hassie lost most of the use of her voice after a horrific accident as a child. But here’s the thing – they don’t complain, they just do. They survive and keep going.
Early on Bret likens some people to the type of horse that needs pampering while others are more like draft horses or toughened trail horses. It’s obvious from early on which type Bret and Hassie are. And just as neither is the type to babble their business much to strangers, information about them is carefully – almost delicately – revealed just when needed.
Insta-love or even insta-lust has no place in this book. Bret’s first impression of Hassie is of a scrawny woman old before her time while Bret’s cold actions in – needfully, it must be said – killing Hassie’s only kin-by-marriage-left-to-her terrifies her. But Bret’s actions towards the half starving trio – Hassie, her dog and her horse – he reluctantly brings along with him soon assure the reader, and eventually Hassie, that he’s a straight shooter, an honorable man in a world that is still stumbling back to that after the years of war.
The story begins in Missouri, travels to Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and back. This is a hardscrabble (I love that word, it’s so fitting here) world and one I’m delighted to see used. It seems that Texas and Wyoming are to Westerns like Dukes are to English historicals. It’s nice to see some other states featured for a change.
The reasons for their marriage amused me but then if I faced those circumstances I’d probably be willing as well. Usually the reasons a heroine gives to delude herself into thinking that sex with the hero is not only okay but downright mandated! make me roll my eyes. But here, by gum, you’ve got me on board and hoping Hassie will realize that she deserves any happiness she can get in her life. As Bret says later in contrast to another character, Hassie was born to be a happy soul and it delights me to see him try and make life even better for her.
All through the novel, there are hints and bits about Bret’s family and past life. So I knew even before he told Hassie in advance of them arriving there what they would likely face. If it had been me, that pack of ingrates would just see the dust of my departure blowing back down the road but in a world of slow travel, sketchy contact and haunted already by losses, I can understand why Bret still goes there and puts up with some of their selfishness. I did cheer when he told Daddy off about how they’d used the money he almost died to earn and send them. Bret never quite loses his edge, which is wonderful.
What I think I enjoyed most here was the slow, careful romance. The fact that neither of them is looking for more or hoping for rainbows makes the quiet realization of that love more powerful to me. Bret shows his changing feelings in the ways he acts rather than what he doesn’t say while Hassie is almost as surprised when she admits to herself that her feelings slipped into love at some point when she wasn’t even looking. By the end, their devotion is rock solid and built to last. Sigh… sorry that sounds like a Ford F150 truck ad. Anyway, I’m glad I finally read one of your novels and plan to make a habit of it. A-
~Jayne
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@ Jayne, great review of a great book – I loved it too. Ellen O’Connell is, in my opinion, an under appreciated author. I have really enjoyed all of her books. It always feels to me like she very accurately portrays the frontier West in all of its dirty, gritty and occasionally vicious glory.
@Mary Beth: I have some friends who’ve read her books and I know Robin has reviewed one here but I don’t hear her name mentioned as often as other western writers.
This sounds wonderful Jayne!
This was the first book of O’Connell’s that I had read and I frankly loved it and plugged it on twitter. I have read 2 others since, and my love for them wasn’t quite as strong. There were some interesting stories in need of an editor. However, she’s not super pricey, and gave me a strong period feel.
I haven’t met a book of hers I didn’t like.
Piling on here: an underrated author writing about an underused time period. She’s well worth seeking out. My favorite is Beautiful Bad Man.
@Jayne is it Amazon only?
@Kaetrin: Right now it appears to be. B&N is selling the print copy for a sticker shock price. It looks as if most of her other books are available as ebooks at most of the usual places so perhaps it will eventually show up at those sellers.
@ML: Oh goodie. I have that one in my reading queue.
@Allison: I’ve been in a western mood lately so hopefully her other books will work for me to some degree.
Well, I’ve completely read through this book and loved it. Then I stayed up way too late into the night to read “Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold” (finishing it before work today) and loved it more. Thank you for another auto-buy author!
So glad I this review. Eyes of Silver Eyes of Gold was one of the first ebooks I ever downloaded. I really liked it and meant to read more by this author. This was a good reminder. I have been immersed since yesterday, so thank you. I do enjoy the western setting and really should read it more often.
Been thinking of re reading Williamson’s western books.
@Meg: I’m excited to find a new author I like as well. I’m glad the rec worked for you.
@bev: In the past year or so, I’ve had to start writing down authors/books/series to remember to check up on new offerings and release dates. The gray matter isn’t what it used to be.
Grrr. Ellen o’Connell needs a better website or a newsletter something because she needs to make it easier for me to GIVE HER MY MONEY.
I went looking to see if she had anything new coming out about a month ago and her web presence pretty much looked like she had stopped writing. Really glad that’s not true. Off to buy.
@Tabs: Her website is very basic and her blog hasn’t had an entry for almost a month. Maybe that means she’s spending her time writing.
Thank you for this recommendation. I bought this book as a trade in order to share with an older, non-e-reader friend. She’ll love it, as did I. My next recommendation is to my reading club. We haven’t read a Western in a while.
@Kay Sisk: I’m so glad you enjoyed it and hope that your friend does as well. It’s definitely got me back in a western mood and I’m looking for more of them to read in the coming year.