by Suzanne Wesley

Created on: April 10, 2009

Stephanie Grace Whitson has once again written a great historical Christian fiction novel full of vibrant and intriguing characters. The main protagonist, one Mattie O'Keefe, is a beauty who feels very out of place upon her arrival in the gold mining settlement of Deadwood, South Dakota. Her brother had warned her that Deadwood was no place for a lady. She thought he had been exagerating to keep her away. He was right. There are no ladies in Deadwood ... oh, there are "women" - just no ladies. And for good reason. Main street is barely more than a series of canvas tents with roughly made, hand painted signs. There is no such thing as the comforts of home in Deadwood. Dollars aren't worth the paper they are printed on here - probably worth more as fire starter, in fact! Everything you could ever want in Deadwood (ie drink, gambling, women, food and supplies) is available for just a pinch of gold dust ...

If you love strong female characters you'll love Mattie O'Keefe. She may look like a dainty thing, with her creamy skin, womanly figure and violet eyes, but she has a few secrets and one of them is that she doesn't just carry a gun - she knows how to use it! Her adventures becoming "Matt the miner" in this book make for a quick read. I frankly had trouble putting it down. Mattie is on the run from her past when she reaches Deadwood - and a big chunk of her past is a very well cast antagonist, named Jonas, that you just love to hate. I kept reading on and on - just willing something bad to happen to him.

Mattie is certain that if she mines just a little more gold off of her claim all of her problems will be solved. Nevermind the fact that a certain handsome street preacher has spotlighted the fact that storing up treasures on earth will never be enough to fill the void in her heart ... or in her soul. Will she find that there are other things in Deadwood that she would give up all of her gold to save?

The Christian themes in this book are very well presented. I've read a lot of Christian fiction that has seemed either "preachy" or as if it was forced into the plot as an after thought. Learning to trust in God, even when it seems impossible to trust anyone ... well, you'll have to read it yourself to see just how well author Stephanie Grace Whitson has woven that into her story line. If you love the historical Christian fiction genre, you'll love "A Claim of Her Own".

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