"No Other Will Do" by Karen Witemeyer

No Other Will Do (June 7, 2016) by Karen Witemeyer.*

In an era where the men are the heads of the house (it is 1894), the credo of Emma Chandler, her suffragette aunts and the women of Harper’s Station is that men are optional. And more like, totally unnecessary and mostly unwelcome. The women of the colony all have good reasons for making a fresh start at Harper’s Station, and Emma has charged herself with protecting them. Unfortunately, someone harassing their camp is escalating in his aggression toward the station. Emma admits that she may need a man on-site.

            Malachi Shaw is that man. An explosives expert for the railroad, he has come a long way from his half-frozen, thirteen-year-old orphaned self. Emma is his angel, so when her telegram arrives, he thinks of nothing except getting to Baylor County, Texas, and the girl who saved his life. Except that girl isn’t a girl anymore. She’s a woman – “a handsome, well-put-together woman” – and one he hasn’t seen in ten years, since he was fifteen years old. Mal has always thought of Emma as his angel, though he feels undeserving of her. Time hasn’t erased all of those early years when he saw himself as nothing but gutter trash. But even that doesn’t stop him from wondering if Emma feels that he’s as precious to her as she is to him. (She does, of course, but as she tells herself, “Dwelling on old girlish feelings and dreams would serve no purpose.”) Besides, there’s a dangerous man (or men) out there. Protecting and fighting for Harper’s Station is the priority. But after that, what may or may not come?

            Previously, the only work I’d read by Karen Witemeyer was a short story which was part of a novella collection. That collection is what prompted me to select this novel, and I was not disappointed. One part mystery and suspense and another part historical romance all wrapped up with a strong female protagonist with verve and independence, a respectable man who respects independent-thinking women, a distinct cast of supporting characters, and deep faith, despite what life has (or has not) thrown at them. I loved the author’s idea of a women’s colony as the setting. It definitely worked, thanks to Witemeyer’s skill at creating prose that flows.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”