Thin Moon and Cold Mist (Women of the West) [Hardcover]

Kathleen O'Neal Gear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1995

A spy for the Confederacy during the war, Robin Walkingstick Heatherton, daughter of a Virginia military family, struggles to build a life for herself and her son in the Colorado Territory. By the coauthor of People of the Lakes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This enlightening novel kicks off the publisher's "Women of the West" series, featuring fictional accounts of extraordinary real-life women who lived in the American West before 1880. It is May 1864, and Robin Walkingstick Heatherton, a beautiful young woman of half-Cherokee descent, has again disguised herself as a "Negro" soldier and infiltrated the Union Army in order to spy for her beloved Confederacy. Meanwhile, Union Army Major Thomas Corley, obsessed with Robin ever since her espionage work resulted in the death of his older brother, has offered $1000 in gold for information leading to her capture; he also has vowed to track Robin down himself, and to kill her. When her husband, a Confederate soldier, is shot by a firing squad commanded by Corley, Robin flees Virginia with their five-year-old son, Jeremy, for the West. En route, she wins a mining claim in the Colorado Territory, only to find out, upon arriving at the site, that it has already been settled by the bushy-bearded Garrison Parker, a Union Army hero. Eventually, the two fall in love, but too soon Garrison must make a fateful decision: whether to reveal Robin's possible involvement in one of the most shocking events in American history. Gear (Sand in the Wind) invests this story with historical detail and intriguing plot twists, delivered in lively prose.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Gear and her husband, W. Michael Gear, write the best-selling "People" historical series (e.g., People of the Lakes, Forge, 1994). In this solo effort, the first installment in the publisher's "Women's West" series, the sins of a former Confederate spy catch up with her after she settles in Colorado Territory.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 380 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (July 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312857012
• ISBN-13: 978-0312857011
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,879,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kathleen O'Neal Gear is a former state historian and archaeologist for Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska for the U.S. Department of the Interior. She has twice received the federal government's Special Achievement Award for "outstanding management" of our nation's cultural heritage.W. Michael Gear, who holds a master's degree in archaeology, has worked as a professional archaeologist since 1978. He is currently principal investigator for Wind River Archaeological Consultants.The Gears, whose First North American Series and Anasazi Mystery Series, are both international as well as USA Today bestsellers live in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars! Ten stars!! Twenty!!! I would if I could!!, September 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Thin Moon and Cold Mist: Women of the West (Women of the West Novels (Paperback Forge)) (Mass Market Paperback)

I walked around the house like a zombie, my eyes glued to the page. Not the inconvenience of cooking nor the movie playing on T.V. succeeded of dragging my eyes from between the pages. The characters are so REAL. Garry is such a sympathetic character, not at all macho like many romance novels, but deffinatly a man. Jeremy, Robin's son is an adorable scared little boy and his affection for his toy horse, Traveller, that he made with his own hands just makes you want to cry. Robin is one of the strongest women I have ever read about. Every character portraid in the novel seemed very real and human to me. Even Major Corley. I found myself feeling sorry for him, even though he was the next thing to evil. This is a keeper for sure, I'd recommend it to ANYONE!!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bob Wiseman - Author/Reviewer, August 11, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Thin Moon and Cold Mist: Women of the West (Women of the West Novels (Paperback Forge)) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm always hearing from New York publishers and editors that there's
nothing new being written about the Old West. Look again, pardners,
Gear has found a new slant by taking a serious look at the women
who won the West. I think the western genre just got a welcome
nudge. The western women slant will prove profitable and entertaining reading. As stated, "New York,
take another look."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars needs something, October 9, 2007

By 

F.Faulkner "F.F." (Hartford, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thin Moon and Cold Mist: Women of the West (Women of the West Novels (Paperback Forge)) (Mass Market Paperback)

I think this book is a little overrated. The historical facts are awesome, and the period detail engaging, vivid and illuminating.
However, I felt no sympathy for this character in the end, and found it hard to be compelled by her situation. Too many men falling in love with her, no time to build something between she & Garry. I never felt we really got to know the hearts of these weird people. She was a spy, one side or the other, she played a deceitful albeit necessary role, but one never truly understands WHY she did it, HOW she became involved, WHO she really loves, WHERE her heart lies, or WHEN - the timing is awful. And the oxymorons and irony is everywhere. There she is feeling SO safe with the yankee negro camp, they're welcoming her with open arms, yet she is fighting against everything they believe in and taking advantage of their kind-hearted generosity. She takes advantage of everyone and everything she can. Macey, Jeremy & Garrison were more interesting and we hardly got to know them. If Robin broke that rib one more time I was going to throw the book against the wall.