Leaving Whiskey Bend [Hardcover]

Dorothy Garlock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2008

The new novel from the Voice of America's Heartland, Dorothy Garlock.


Two friends, middle-aged Pearl and pretty, young schoolteacher Hallie, have just about decided to leave the rough Western town of Whiskey Bend, where both are disillusioned with the way they have been treated. The final straw comes when they witness their friend Mary being assaulted in the street by her stepbrother Chester and no one steps forward to help her. They decide to leave and take Mary with them. They go out to the shack where Chester and Mary live to get her, but when Chester attacks them, Pearl shoots him in the leg. He screams after the three that he will follow them wherever they go. Desperately they drive away in an open wagon seeking a new life and safety. One night along the way they are caught in a violent storm and Mary nearly drowns in a roiling river. She is saved by a daring young rancher who brings them back to his home to stay until Mary recovers. The rancher has troubles of his own. He is condemned by his mother for having left his father to run the ranch alone years earlier. He is searching for the murderer of his younger brother. And someone now is trying to kill him. Attracted to him and grateful, Hallie vows to help him..

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Garlock's newest (after On Tall Pine Lake) feels old, and not just because it's set in 1890. Schoolteacher Hallie Wolcott flees Whiskey Bend, Colo., with her friends Pearl and Mary after Mary is beaten by Chester, one of the town's many brutes. Pearl, the eldest, has been through this before, and she won't rest until they find a place that feels safe. Fortunately, a powerful storm leaves them washed up at tumbledown ranch owned by Eli Morgan. Eli's cantankerous and cruel mother wants no part of the women, but she begrudgingly changes her mind when an accident lands her in bed. Meanwhile, Chester's been tracking the ladies; will he find them at the ranch, the place where each woman feels she can finally find true happiness? The answer to this and other cliffhangers are apparent to the reader long before the resolutions are played out on the page. The prose is lifeless, the dialogue wooden and the whole thing reads like a poorly strung-together mishmash of western romance tropes. (Nov.)
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Review

"There is nothing better than Dorothy Garlock at her best." (Sandra Brown, New York Times bestselling author )

"There is nothing better than Dorothy Garlock at her best." (Janet Dailey )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (November 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446577936
• ISBN-13: 978-0446577939
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1.2 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,064,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

National bestselling and award-winning author of thirty-five romances that often feature the exciting backdrop of the Old West, Dorothy Garlock is one of America's-and the world's-favorite novelists. Her books, all enthusiastically reviewed, now total more than eight million copies in print with translations in 15 languages. She lives in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaving Whiskey Bend, April 28, 2009

By 

Styler "Stylin" (Peru IN USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Leaving Whiskey Bend (Paperback)

Dorothy Garlock always makes me feel that I am at the place where the action is. Great book. I couldn't put it down until I was finished.
A must buy book. Lots of action and a few laughs.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Leaving Whiskey Bend, December 24, 2008

By 

Joyce Clements ""avid reader"" (Radcliff, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leaving Whiskey Bend (Paperback)

I have read nearly all of Dorothy Garlock's books and always look forward to new offerings from her. She never disappoints. I especially enjoy her stories about life in the 30's and 40's. That would have been MY youth. Leaving Whiskey Bend is not one of my favorites of hers, although it is a good story. It is nearly impossible to imagine people behaving the way they do in this story, especially in today's society, and getting away with it!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing release from Garlock, November 23, 2008

By 

kimberjs (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Leaving Whiskey Bend (Paperback)

Leaving Whiskey Bend is a disappointing out for Dorothy Garlock. The plot of three women escaping the rumor mill and evil Chester Remnick of Whiskey Bend is weak and the character development of all the main characters, weaker. Garlock puts misguided energy into the creation of sympathetic Caleb Morgan in the book's prologue, only to have him come to an untimely end by page 8. Sadly, like Caleb's ludicrously disfunctional family, the novel never recovers from the loss. As the story progresses, the balance of characters--none of whom are particularly likeable--are one-dimensional and never fully defined as tragic or comedic.

Garlock's trademark ability to make landscape and characters come to life on the page doesn't begin to glimmer through the murkiness of this volume which reads more like a first effort than the work of a seasoned writer who's talent is best showcased in the Missouri series and particularly in The Edge of Town (Missouri, Book 1).

Garlock's publisher is fond of using the line, "There is nothing better than Dorothy Garlock at her best," Sandra Brown, New York Times bestselling author. Unfortunately, Leaving Whiskey Bend is far from Garlock's best work. If you haven't read her, don't start here. Check out her Missouri series.