Jamie Harrison (2)

The Widow Nash is wonderful historical fiction. The characters are unforgettable: there is Walton Remfrey, a kind of ore whisperer who is dying from syphilis; Victor, his psycho business partner and daughter's ex-fianceé; Dulcy, Walton's daughter who has traveled the world with him; Henning, Victor's bodyguard/fixer, whose dream is to making moving pictures; not to mention several memorable characters from the Montana town where Dulcy settles.

Set at the turn of the twentieth century, when show more Dulcy is in her early twenties, the novel mostly takes place in the West. Dulcy is summoned to Seattle to care for her dying father; the syphilis is finally winning. The problem is that Walton seems to have forgotten what he did with a million dollars from the sales of some South African mines. Victor, her father's business partner, won't let either Dulcy or her father go until Walton remembers where the money is.

As Dulcy travels East with her father's body, she decides to fake her suicide and start a new life, to escape. Victor wants to renew the engagement and Dulcy refuses. Instead, "She daydreamed about his end; it was like counting sheep. Sometimes she imagined the smug look on his face just before he was hit by a train, by lava, by falling rocks (it was important, in this vaporous revenge, for Victor to have moments of understanding that some pieces of the world moved without his approval; hideous pain and public shaming were included..." She has reason to feel this way.

So, is it possible to leave everything behind and start a new life? We've probably all fantasized about it at some point, but Dulcy finds it harder than she expected. Lying, she discovers, is exhausting. She chooses a small town in Montana and tries to figure out what she wants to be and where she wants to go. Of course, as we watch Dulcy settle into her new life, there are many questions. Where is the money? Will Victor find her? The journey to find the answers is immensely satisfactory.

Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction, especially that set in the West. show less

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up. The point of these posts is to be pithy, not thorough (as I typically strive for).
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This is a very odd book, and hard to pin down. I like that about it, but it’s difficult to talk about. This is possibly the least effective, least qualified, small-town sheriff I can think of. It doesn’t matter how small his community is (still a sprawling metropolis compared to Longmire’s), he really show more shouldn’t have anything to do with law enforcement. Yet, I really like him—he seems like a decent guy, who’ll probably grow into the job (based on the number of books in the series)—assuming he can stay sober and keep his pants zipped.

The county and its residents…boy howdy. A great setting, that’s going to be rewarding. I don’t know if I have much else to say—maybe after another couple of books in the series.

Entertaining, puzzling, a nice mystery (hidden beneath so many wonderful misleading clues and red herrings), a good cast (decent narrator, too, I should add). Check it out. show less

While the book was not long, it took me a while to get through it. Polly struggles with her memory and executive functions of the brain after a car hit her bike. There were so many characters and so many memories shared, I had trouble keeping everything straight. That being said, I found the story hits the mark when talking about brain injuries. Harrison has written a story that portrays the issues well. Perhaps it was painful reading for me since I am carrying for my husband who has Frontal show more Temporal Dementia and Polly’s issues are so real to me. show less

This is a very quirky historical novel set in the very early 1900,'s and it is definitely not staid! I ended up liking the main character for her determination to find happiness and not settle for a horrible marriage. Her father was a completely unique character too, in every sense of the word.