Review: Gunpowder Tea by Margaret Brownley

Romance, mystery and more - total enjoyment

Miranda Hunt, an agent for the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency, is sent to the town of Cactus Patch in Arizona territory to attempt to identify the Phantom, the leader of a well-known band of bank robbers. Her cover identity is Miss Annie Beckman, applicant for the position of heiress of the Last Chance ranch. She’s sure the new ranch hand, Branch, is involved, but there are complications: she’s housebound, looking after Miss Walker, and she’s strangely attracted to Branch …

Jeremy Taggert, currently known as David Branch, is an undercover Wells Fargo agent also hunting the Phantom. He’s suspicious of Annie, because he’s convinced she’s hiding something (well, she is), and he decides she’s a member of the Phantom’s gang.

I really enjoyed Gunpowder Tea, the final book in the Last Chance trilogy. I read and reviewed the first (Dawn Comes Early) but not the second (Waiting for Morning), and Gunpowder Tea can easily be read as a stand-alone. It’s an enjoyable mix of mystery and romance set in the old West, and features some of my favourite historical Christian fiction staples: intelligent heroine with an unusual occupation, handsome and gentlemanly hero hiding his true self, and a plot that’s a comfortable mix of romance and suspense. No, it’s not going to win the Booker Prize, but it’s an enjoyable read (which is probably more than can be said for most Booker Prize winners). Recommended.

Thanks to for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Margaret Brownley at her website.

If you’d like to buy the book or Kindle edition, you can follow the links above to purchase at Amazon.com. Those Down Under can buy from Koorong (Australia) or Soul Inspirationz (New Zealand). Koorong also sells epub editions.