RESCUED, JT Thomas Adventures Book 1 by E. Alan Fleischauer – Action/Adventure, Romantic Action/Adventure, Mystery Action/Adventure

Alan Fleischauer ushers in his new Action/Adventure Western series with Rescued – and gives us a protagonist worthy of the title “hero.“

John Thurgood (JT) Thomas just found the most unusual cave, housing a strange treasure trove of high-end furniture, extraordinary inventions, and a custom gun. While he’s enjoying his mountain view and wondering what should happen with the goods, he spies another unusual site. Three women follow a wagon of dangerous-looking desperados. JT can’t help but step in, little knowing that action will alter his entire life. As a former lieutenant colonel in the Civil War and U.S. Marshal, JT rescues the three women and finds a fourth sitting in the wagon. He immediately abandons his cave camp and takes the women to nearby Point Stevens Pass, Colorado, where he stays until their safety is secured.

One of the women, however, leads the gang and is responsible for kidnapping the others. Jean Cantrell, a bloodthirsty bank robber, and murderer flees town before the women spill the beans – but not before leaving behind a dead banker.

Hellbent on capturing Cantrell, JT pursues the villain, but another woman, Annabelle Hewitt, insists on accompanying him. JT and Annabelle soon realize their feelings may run more profound than those of “victim and rescuer” when they take shelter in the very cave JT had earlier abandoned. Inside, they soon discover a secret. However, Cantrell isn’t about to give up her need for revenge and her greed, and soon, the new couple will face off with the kidnapper again, and their lives will take an incredible turn once again.

So many characters in this novel are unbelievable survivors, especially the female characters.

Annabelle is the most obvious example of these fierce women. Annabelle is married to a violent, dangerous man, Marcus. They lived in New York, where Annabelle trained as a nurse under the tutelage of Marcus’s father; however, when Marcus turns to alcohol and womanizing, Annabelle makes up her mind to leave with their daughter. Marcus isn’t about to let her go, though, and chases her down, takes their daughter from her, and leaves her penniless and abandoned. Annabelle refuses to return with him and works as a housekeeper in an inn until she saves money to keep traveling. While traversing the vast plains, a group of Cheyenne takes her prisoner. She earns the respect of the tribe as a healer, but her adventure doesn’t stop there. Annabelle creates her own business as a midwife and returns from a visit when the Cantrell gang takes her. Meeting JT makes her even more resolved, especially when the two embark on a trip back to New York to take back her daughter and get her freedom legally through a divorce.

Annabelle isn’t the only female survivor.

Though unbelievably evil in a “super-villain” way, Jean Cantrell is also a survivor. While Annabelle gains strength and independence by helping others, Jean chooses the opposite route; nevertheless, her story is one of survival in the brutal world of the Old West. Jean takes on one of the oldest occupations open to women and becomes a whore until she stumbles into a bank robbery where she quickly, remorselessly kills the would-be robber and takes the money. Once Jean realizes how much easier her life can be, the transition from prostitute to outlaw is quick, and no one gets in her way. Though her path is bloody and ruthless, she knows what she must do to survive. She is respected, albeit through fear, and no one, but JT, is willing to challenge her. Evil or not, Jean is a survivor.

Another great theme in the novel is the kindness of strangers, best seen in the actions of JT Thomas.

JT is the consummate good guy. Lovers of old westerns will recognize his gallantry in that comfortable, protector of weak way. He cannot stop himself from helping everyone he meets. He not only saves these women, but he also insists on paying their way, buying them clothes, and finding other people to safeguard them when he leaves to chase Jean Cantrell. When the plot transitions to the big city of New York, JT proves to be the hero again and again. He becomes fast friends with Mrs. C, the owner of a failing hotel, and finds a way to refurbish and restore her hotel. When he meets Annabelle’s daughter, he makes sure she is cared for in all forms, including hiring her boyfriend to manage the hotel. With a few loose ends left at the novel’s end, JT’s heroic actions seem likely to be continued in subsequent adventures.

From the rugged mountains of Colorado to the grit and glitz of New York City, this novel is a fast-paced, twisting adventure that lovers of westerns will devour. Rescued (JT Thomas Adventures Book 1) took home 1st in Category in the 2019 CIBAs for LARAMIE, Western Fiction.