Marti Talbott

Hannish MacGreagor inherited an impoverished Scottish dukedom. Instead of living an idle life in debt, he moved to America and made a fortune in Colorado silver mines. Now a wealthy man, he has asked his family to move to America as well. To his consternation, only his sister arrives--his wife stopped in New York to shop. Increasingly disturbing rumors reach him, from her cruelty to their servants to her adultery. At last, the infamous duchess comes to Colorado.

It was at this point that I show more was surprised. Estranged couples in historical romances tend to fall in love with each other. I'd assumed that the rumors were all misunderstandings, or that the duchess was playing some long game. In fact, she is even more awful than Hannish's servants let slip. He sends her packing back to Scotland, then mopes around his large marble mansion because he's fallen in love with one of his maids but he's against divorce. This was the other unexpected aspect of the book: Hannish and his romance take up a tiny number of pages. Most of the attention is on random other characters the author seems to assume the reader already knows and likes. There's more detail in what each servant packs in their picnic baskets than there is on the romance. show less

The stories (3 of them) were good. However, the author just gave just enough to get by. No fluff, nothing. Also at times I'd felt like parts were being skipped, leaving me wondering what was going on. And I disliked how the stories ended so abrubtly - but that ties in with the "no fluff" part. That said, I liked the characters and wish they'd had there own full stories. Not sure I am going to read the next ones. I was going to but was disappointed when I found out that the next was another show more set of 3 stories in one book... I have a feeling it will be more of the same... perhaps if I found a full length story by this author I will try it out. show less

The story held my attention though I did feel that some parts and characters that were not as developed as they could have been. There was a second story going on at the same time as the earthquake. I think there it where things got lost. For me both stories left me wanting more. It isn't a bad book. It was a fast read that did hold my interest. I would have liked to know the characters a bit more. It is a disaster book and yet I didn't find myself really caring if the characters survived or show more not. I did feel as though the author knew the subject she was writing about. I really wish the characters had been more developed as I think it would have enhanced the story. There is some excellent advice for emergency preparations at the end of the book. show less

I absolutely loved this book!
I can't recommend it highly enough! I would encourage anyone that wants a gripping, engrossing novel to read this! I am a big fan of TV Movies, the kind of disaster types, earthquakes, tornado's, twisters, ice storms, electrical storms etc, and this book would be absolutely perfect to be made straight into one of those films! I would watch it any day! I had it running in my head as a film throughout reading it, I raced through this reading half in one day, I show more just couldn't stop, the very definition of a page turner. I found myself totally rooting for the characters, wanting them all to make it. I was compelled by the calls that came through to KMPR, wondering what would be the next thing to be reported. A brilliant insight into Ham radio.

My one and only criticism is that the last few pages went too fast. I would have liked a bit more detail about the aftermath and how the characters I grew to care about rebuilt their lives, but overall, a brilliant book! 5/5 show less