About the Book

Book: Beryl’s Bounty Hunter

Author: Linda Shenton Matchett

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: August 15, 2023

Can a thief and a lawman find happiness?

Orphaned as a child, Beryl Atherton has lived on the streets of London for as long as she can remember. Reduced to stealing for survival, she is arrested. During her incarceration, one of her cellmates shows her a newspaper ad for an American mail-order bride agency. But all is not as it seems, and moments after landing in Boston, she must run for her life. Will things be no different for her in the New World?

Working as a bounty hunter since The War Between the States, Lucas Wolf just needs a few more cases before he can hang up his gun, purchase a ranch out West, and apply for a mail-order bride from the Westward Home & Hearts Mail-Order Bride Agency. While staking out the docks in Boston, he sees a woman fleeing from the man he’s been tailing. Saving her risks his job. Not saving her risks his heart.

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About the Author

Linda Shenton Matchettwrites happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she has lived in historic places all her life and currently resides in central New Hampshire where in her off hours, she serves as a volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII.

More from Linda

Dear Reader:

I’ve been an Anglophile as long as I can remember, from reading the classics like Dickens and Austen to watching BBC television. In honor of Beryl’s English heritage, I hope you enjoy this scrumptious scone recipe:

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour

2 T sugar

4 t baking powder

½ t salt

3 T unsalted butter, cold

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 T milk (for glaze)

Strawberry jam (to serve)

Preheat your oven to 425F.

In a medium bowl, place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter. Rub the mixture together with your fingers to break up the butter, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the milk slowly, mixing as you add, using enough of the milk to get your dough to come together with no lumps remaining. (Your dough should be quite sticky. If a good consistency is not achieved with the listed amount of milk, continue adding until your dough reaches a good consistency.)

Spoon the dough out until a well-floured surface. Generously dust the top of the dough and knead the dough 2-3 times to coat it with flour and smooth the surface. Press the dough into a round that is roughly 1 inch thick.

Using a well-floured cookie cutter, cut the dough into 2-inch circles. (Be sure to press the cookie cutter straight down and up. Twisting the cookie cutter will impact the amount of rise you get on your scones.)

Place the rounds onto a greased and floured baking sheet. Brush them gently with the egg yolk and milk mixture.

Bake the scones for 12-15 minutes, until golden and firm.

Remove the baked scones from the oven and let them cool for 30 minutes (if you can resist). If you like softer scones, cover them with a clean tea towel as they cool.

My thoughts

Beryl’s Bounty Hunter is written by Linda Shenton Matchett. This is book 38 in the Westward Home and Hearts series. The series is written by multiple authors and has the focus on mail order brides. I’m a huge fan of this author. I love how she can transport readers back in time.

Beryl has come to America from Liverpool, England. She has hopes of starting a new life as a mail order bride. She befriends Nellie another woman hoping to find love. While on a train Beryl sees a news article about a mail order bride ruse and she figures out that the couple that has been transporting them are the ring leaders. She’s able to escape and finds refuge in Rocky Mountain Springs, Wyoming.

Lucas is a bounty hunter. He’s drawn to Beryl. When she comes up with a plan to infiltrate the ring, Lucas tries to shut it down. However they’ve not been able to catch up with them so they concoct a plan.

The pair disguise themselves and start on the path to rescue Nellie. One of the things that really stood out was that the pair consulted God. They seek Him for wisdom.

As always I loved this story. This author does a brilliant job in capturing history. The book is well written. The characters are flawed and realistic. Thank you to the author, publisher and Celebrate Lit for allowing me to read a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.