This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Captive Trail
Moody Publishers (September 1, 2011)
by
Susan Page Davis
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

From Susan: I’ve always loved reading, history, and horses. These things come together in several of my historical books. My young adult novel, Sarah’s Long Ride, also spotlights horses and the rugged sport of endurance riding, as does the contemporary romance Trail to Justice. I took a vocational course in horseshoeing after earning a bachelor’s degree in history. I don’t shoe horses anymore, but the experience has come in handy in writing my books.

Another longtime hobby of mine is genealogy, which has led me down many fascinating paths. I’m proud to be a DAR member! Some of Jim’s and my quirkier ancestors have inspired fictional characters.

For many years I worked for the Central Maine Morning Sentinel as a freelancer, covering local government, school board meetings, business news, fires, auto accidents, and other local events, including a murder trial. I’ve also written many profiles and features for the newspaper and its special sections. This experience was a great help in developing fictional characters and writing realistic scenes. I also published nonfiction articles in several magazines and had several short stories appear in Woman’s World, Grit, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

My husband, Jim, and I moved to his birth state, Oregon, for a while after we were married, but decided to move back to Maine and be near my family. We’re so glad we did. It allowed our six children to grow up feeling close to their cousins and grandparents, and some of Jim’s family have even moved to Maine!

Our children are all home-schooled. The two youngest are still learning at home. Jim recently retired from his vocation as an editor at a daily newspaper, and we’ve moved from Maine to Kentucky.
ABOUT THE BOOK:

Captive Trail is second in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own.

Taabe Waipu has run away from her Comanche village and is fleeing south in Texas on a horse she stole from a dowry left outside her family’s teepee. The horse has an accident and she is left on foot, injured and exhausted. She staggers onto a road near Fort Chadbourne and collapses.

On one of the first runs through Texas, Butterfield Overland Mail Company driver Ned Bright carries two Ursuline nuns returning to their mission station. They come across a woman who is nearly dead from exposure and dehydration and take her to the mission.

With some detective work, Ned discovers Taabe Waipu identity. He plans to unite her with her family, but the Comanche have other ideas, and the two end up defending the mission station. Through Taabe and Ned we learn the true meaning of healing and restoration amid seemingly powerless situations.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Captive Trail, go HERE.

Learn more about Susan and her books on her Website.

MY REVIEW:

Although Captive Trail is the second installment of The Texas Trail series, I had no problem at all keeping up with the characters. In fact, this novel qualifies so well as a stand-alone, I didn’t even know it wasn’t the first of the series until I had finished reading it.

Primary characters are Taabe Waipu, a young white woman who has been held captive by the Comanches for twelve years before her escape and Ned Bright, the stage driver who rescued her after an accident that left her incapacitated. Taabe Waipu remembers very little of her life before her capture and has even forgotten the English language but she has never given up hope of finding her true family. Her lengthy stay with a small group of Ursuline nuns begins her healing, not only in body but in mind and spirit also. Ned’s friendship with Taabe blossoms into a growing affection and although he knows he could lose her, he never gives up searching for her family.

Captive Trail is a well-written and researched novel with a perfectly paced plot, interesting characters, and just the right amount of drama, humor, and romance. If you enjoy historical westerns, Captive Trail may be something you would enjoy.