Customer Reviews

Whippoorwill

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When you start reading this book you are fully prepared for something a little different. Both the publisher and the author both have forward pages which warn you that this book is a different from Miss Sala's previous works - and correctly, it is a little different, but not that much.

The structure of the story is more complex than in other Sala books. Small vignette's built around a cast of characters who all have one reason or another to anticipate the arrival of a real preacher to a desolute frontier town. In some of the stories we see the classic Sala touch coming through - a tender touch with a bit of humour and romance - in others Sala is obviously enjoying a bit of freedom.

Overall, this book is not actually as daring as the publishers and Sala seem to think. In some ways it reads like a cast of secondary characters left to carry on alone. Even Letty, the town whore, who fills the role of "heroine" seems to be somewhat remote from the reader and considerably less gritty than you'd expect for the sole whore at the only pub in a middle-of-nowhere town miles from anywhere.

I enjoyed reading this book because it still has the elements of Sharon Sala's storytelling that I enjoy most. It has some genuinely funny lines and a cast of interesting characters - and in the end good guys do OK and the bad guys don't. I like that in a book! But that's not too formulaic is it?

I bought this book without really looking at the storyline because Sharon Sala's name was on the book. What a mistake that was! I HATE writing a negative review so I have to really be disappointed to write one. This book is a total departure from what made me love Sharon Sala as an author. I have always looked Sharon Sala's romances but I could never get into this book. It was more like Historical Chick Lit. There was no "happy ending" that romance lovers look for. In fact, I couldn't find any real romance in this book. It's just my opinion but I believe when an author puts out a book that is so different from what her fans have come to expect from her that a pen name would probably be the way to go. Instead I was left feeling cheated by one of my favorite authors because now I can never have Sharon Sala on autobuy again. Also, I feel slightly insulted as a romance fan. I have noticed a trend by several romance writers to change their format. As a fan it makes me wonder are they ashamed to write romance?

I usually love Sharon Sala's books. However, in the prologue she tells us this is not one of her usual books. And it is not.

This is a different type of book for her. It has very well drawn characters but I just did not come to care for them as much as I usually do.

Of course it is set in the west at a time of struggle and fighting as well as many decievers.

A saloon girl, a fraudulant preacher, a gambler and a drunk, each has his or her life changed in a split second. When the unscrupulous preacher dies in the lady's bed.

There is humor and irony aplenty in this book. Somehow where there is a will there is a way.

At the end each is redeemed by their experiences. The ending is somewhat ambiguious and did not really satisfy me.

Everyone should be able to stretch their wings and Ms Sala certainly changed from our usual expectations.

Though she is a prostitute in the White Dove Saloon, Letty Murphy prays every night that one day her prince will come to Lizard Flats, Kansas Territory to take her away from her pathetic existence. So far the love of her life has failed to arrive so Letty does what she has done since she was orphaned at twelve, turn a trick to survive. Town drunk Eulis Potter earns beers cleaning the saloon. He also supplements his drinking with digging graves.

Rumor spreads across the Great Plains that an eastern preacher is coming to Lizard Flats to perform a marriage ceremony. Numerous lost souls needing prayers to include funeral, birth, marriage, and confession arrive in town. However, the preacher shows his calling when he sleeps with Letty only to drop dead in her bed. Frightened that a mob will rip her limb by limb, a desperate Letty asks Eulis to help her. He changes from a mumbling drunk into an eastern preacher, but as he brings salvation to all, who will bring solace to the two neediest souls in the territory?

WHIPPOORWILL is a great western tale that is loaded with colorful characters, as Sharon Sala, known for her romantic suspense, will not lack ideas for future novels. The magnificent multiple subplots superbly blend into a final cohesive story line. However, it is the two most pathetic outcasts this side of Poker Flats that grip the heart of the reader with hope of love leading to redemption for them and all the other seemingly local losers. Fans of historical tales of the old west will appreciate this descriptive winner and want more stories set in Lizard Flats.

Harriet Klausner

I'm a fairly new fan of Sharon Sala, AKA Dinah McCall. Sala usually writes in the suspense genre and McCall in the drama/romance genres. Whippoorwill is a diversion from her norm and is actually a historical romance. I think Sala needs to stick with suspense, as this had above average results but falls short of excellence.

A new preacher is coming to Lizard Flats in wilds of the Kansas Territory and it seems as if the entire town is anxiously planning for his arrival. It's been years since a preacher has passed through, so there is a backlog of baptisms and weddings ready to take place. What the people of Lizard Flats don't realize is that the preacher is fleeing a scandal and only trying to save himself. Seems the preacher has a penchant for females and can con even the most unwilling young virgin into bed with promises of marriage that he has no intention of keeping.

Letty Murphy is the only prostitute in the White Dove Saloon in Lizard Flats. She's miserable with her life, but still waiting for Mr. Right to walk in and take her away to something better. Eulis Potter is the town drunk and gravedigger, who earns his whisky by cleaning the saloon each night.

The preacher spends his first night in town in Letty's bed, only to die there. (Anyone believe in Karma?) Letty panics, calls Eulis to help her and thus begins the real meat of the story. Eulis buries the preacher and then poses as him. Seems Eulis cleans up so well no one can identify him.

The story was comical at times with Eulis blundering in social situations and at his sermons, with Letty trying to coach him. At other times it was sad to see Letty wistfully dreaming of her knight in shining armor coming to rescue her from the life she leads. She listens for the first whippoorwill of the evening to make her wish each night, hoping for something better. Overall it was a fun story but something was missing that kept it from being great. I'm not sure what that something was, but it didn't have that oomph that we usually get with Sala's books.

Character development was the best part of WHIPPOORWILL. This is packed full of colorful characters, from Letty and Eulis, to a gambler who catches Letty's eye, to the stocky banker whose physical attributes are lacking, to the town widow who is gorgeous, to a boy with no name, and a multitude of others. Each was unique, enjoyable and very well developed.

WHIPPOORWILL is a nice deviation for Sala. If you're looking for excellent, then this falls a bit short. If you're looking for an above average read, then this is the book for you.

I enjoyed this book especially toward the end as the author tied all of the people together. It is especially funny (laugh out loud) in the last few chapters. And the sequel The Amen Trail is laugh till you cry from the very first chapter.

Not so long ago in our past, preachers were hard to come by in small towns. As news of a new one reaches a small town, it sets every tongue wagging. Plans are made for weddings, baptisms and all the things that really need a pastor to officiate over begin to take shape in minds. Unfortunately, the pastor is in more need of salvation than his flock. Fleeing a scandal, he runs headlong into the town's last whore's bed, and dies. Scared half to death herself, the soiled dove recruits the town drunk to cover the mess, first burying the pastor then cleaning up and taking over his life. What happens next will remind you of the old Ray Stevens' song, The Mississippi Squirrel Revival, as the drunk becomes the pastor that they need.

**** Though it takes a good while for the real plot to kick in, when it does, the message is good. This represents a major departure for Ms. Sala; if you are looking for her usual story, then look elsewhere; if you just want an interesting book, then look here. ****

Amanda Killgore

I normally love Sharon Sala books, and, at the beginning of this one I though I would like the different setting in the timeline. But I really could not get in the story and I did not really like the way it ends. The characters were interesting but I think she could have givin us a little bit more of their history, of why they ended in that town

Again, I will not give a synoposis of the story as it has previously done by
more literate than I. This is a delightful story, life of a girl-woman
alone since the age of 12 or so. She makes her way the only way she can and
she is still independent. She always has a bath at night, every night, and has
an eye out to better herself. What she does and how she does it is a story
worth reading and better than that-a story filled with laughter and giggles
and snorts of just plain hilarity. Give this book a try and I am sure
you will be reading the other two.

Set in the early American West, this book was enjoyable on so many levels. Was it a romance? Sort of, but it was also so much more. I laughed out loud at certain parts and was close to tears at others. Thanks to KG for recommending this one.