"A good series just got better"

There is plenty of excitement among the residents of Montana's Calder Cattle Company ranch as Jessy Niles Calder is pregnant with twins. Her husband Ty is elated with the prospect of the next generation of Calders working the soil of the family's vast ranching empire. However, the bliss ends when Ty's first wife Tara returns home with the goal of remarrying her former spouse, current wife and future children be damned.

Just by returning and then by purchasing land, Tara proves to be a snake in Eden leading to everyone in conflict with everybody else. Jesy wonders if Ty is cheating on her. As she begins to doubt his fidelity, she ponders whether Ty plans to leave her to return to the glitter of Tara, but Jesy like the land will fight to keep what she believes is her soul mate. Then murder confuses the dysfunctional relationships even further as each person speculates if the culprit is a loved one?

Green Calder Grass is at its best when the triangle leaves one of the participants in serious doubt about the other two. When the tale spins into a romantic suspense, it derails as the plot loses the focus of Jesy's wide range of uncertainty about her spouse and her own "earthly" abilities especially with glamorous Tara as the competition. Still no one describes the vastness of Big Sky country or a tangled relationship tale better than Janet Dailey and her die hard fans will enjoy her latest novel even if it spins in an unnecessary suspense direction.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 15, 2002