More than just a story of a young woman’s search for her father, Ehrlich’s richly woven tale is an homage to Ellis’s search for herself. Her quest for answers leads her to an array of intriguing characters—both friends and foes—who play crucial roles in her future. Lucas Bilford, Ellis’s friend and publisher, pops in throughout the story, steadily standing by Ellis as she seeks the truth, while Jimmie—a rider with Levi Jack’s Wild West Exhibition—impresses Ellis with her passion for horses, a cause close to Ellis’s heart. When the two sign up with cunning business owner Hank Russel in hopes of delivering mail for the Zephyr Post, Ellis’s story transforms into an exhilarating, high-risk crusade.

Ehrlich’s nuanced characters set this novel apart, from the Indigenous Libby, Ellis’s best friend and half-Cherokee woman who wrangles on Ellis’s family ranch, to Joe, a Cherokee man working for the Wild West show, forced to play act battles to feed his family. Ehrlich hints at gripping backstories for the main players, like Libby’s history assisting with the Underground Railroad, lending the novel important historical context, and Ellis’s emotional struggles during the postwar era will resonate. This is a sensitive rendering of the trauma that comes with family separation and loss, portrayed through the eyes of a resilient, compelling female lead.

Takeaway: Young woman searches for her father in post-Civil War America.

Comparable Titles: Martha Hall Kelly’s Sunflower Sisters, Shaunna Edwards and Alyson Richman’s The Thread Collectors.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A