Until...

The last person Talmadge Hammond expects to find in an Idaho mining camp is Noletta Kittridge. She’s covered in blood and accused of murder. Tal cannot believe she murdered a man. She must be protecting someone…but who? He pleads with her to surrender the name of the real killer but her eyes reflect someone who’s lost all hope. Determined to save the woman he once loved, he investigates the murder himself. What he discovers will change him and Letty forever. Can he save the woman who stole his heart, and still loves, from death, or has he secured his own matching noose?


Until… is a gripping, suspenseful historical romance I couldn’t put down. The setting is stark and adds its own level of eeriness. From the beginning, I was drawn into the story. Tal and Letty are past loves who are reunited under very dark circumstances. A lawyer in love with a murderer… talk about taboo, especially in this frontier time period. Until… is a character-driven story with descriptive narration peppered with taut emotional tension. Beth Henderson is masterful in her writing, drawing the reader in. Once I started, I couldn’t stop reading. Yes, I even stayed up late just to read a little more. The plot is equal parts historical mystery and historical western romance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Until… and I look forward to reading more from Beth Henderson. Fans of CiCi Cordelia and Cynthia Woolf will enjoy this book. Highly recommend!


My Rating: 5 stars

This was a fantastic story! I really enjoyed it, although it was much steamier than I like. Certain scenes were described in more detail than necessary. If you like steamy romances, this book is fine, but I don't like explicit details. This story is terrific though. Letty has been down a hard road. Being one of Boston's elite, when her parents died, they left her and her brother with debts they couldn't pay, so they decide to go west. They end up in a mining town, where her brother, Kitt, ends up dead. When she is left alone, she is raped by men in the camp, and one man offers her protection, and she agrees to work for him as a prostitute, because she has no other place to go. Soon, that man is shot dead and of course, she is blamed for the murder. As she sits in jail, a lawyer comes to take her case, but he isn't just any lawyer. He is the one man she knew from Boston that she has loved for two years. Talmudge is a lawyer, but he hasn't practiced law since he left Boston two years ago, and he can't believe Letty, the woman he loves, is in this camp, accused of murder. As the story moves on, she keeps the guilty party a secret, she knows who it is, but she won't reveal the name. The mystery is resolved in the end, but I have to say it was a surprise. I really enjoyed this story, I just didn't like reading about the intimate scenes.

Thoughts: There were a very few minor issues with this story, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of it. In the beginning, there was a quick POV jump that caught me off guard and later on, maybe a timeline issue (not completely sure about that one), but overall, this was a really good book. There is romance, suspense, a mystery that needs to be solved, action, and more. I didn’t even figure out who the killer was until the author announced it. Though I was pretty sure about who killed Kit. And I’m an avid mystery reader! In my defense, I was reading this for the romantic aspect, not the mystery, but still… It’s a good romance and a very good mystery.

What I liked: the characters! They are quirky—especially the mayor! Laughed at him. And didn’t see the twist coming. Nicely done. Tal is amazing the way he doesn’t let anything stand in his way, not even Letta/Pearl. He makes the sheriff do his job and not just railroad Letta/Pearl. Even the curmudgeonly sheriff was interesting. I loved that he eventually let the jail door open for Letta and even trusted her not to run away when he went out to help with the fire. The descriptions of the camp were well done, putting you in the dark jail cell or the smelly, dirty bars.

What I didn’t like: Very little.

Recommendation: highly recommended. This is a gripping, suspenseful historical with lots of suspects and several murders/thefts to tie up—which the author does very well. The ending is satisfying and leaves you cheering for Letta and Tal.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

this was a wonderful historical novel, I was invested from beginning to end. The characters were great and I enjoyed the time period.