"more of a romantic suspense thriller than an inspirational romance"

Deanna Manetti knows she is in deep trouble, but not how to get out of it. The mob thinks she has something that belongs to them. The Great Falls police have overwhelming circumstantial evidence that leads them to conclude she killed her lover-employer C.R. Majors. That is why Deanna is driving on a Montana back road thinking how things could not get any worse when a sorrel comes out of nowhere causing her to crash. The native New Yorker wonders why God has abandoned her while ironically pondering fourteen years of driving in NYC without an accident and now alone, her car is disabled. Rancher Shep Jones arrives and takes Deanna by horse to his spread, which is more of a ghost town.

Being a former US Marshal, Shep concludes that Deanna is on the run, but offers her shelter anyway. As Shep and Deanna fall in love, he tries to learn the truth, but she fears trusting anyone after what C.R. did to her heart and her life. However, the criminals and the Feds are closing in on her and neither side cares what happens to Deanna. Only Shep and his partner want to keep "Slick" safe.

Though there are numerous religious elements included in this story line, ALONG CAME JONES is more of a romantic suspense thriller than an inspirational romance. The story line hooks the audience from almost the beginning when a weary Deanna wonders what she ever did to be abandoned and turns wary when ALONG CAME JONES. Though his previous occupation seems too convenient, readers will rate highly Linda Windsor's latest contemporary tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted February 4, 2003

Summary

Diana Wells lost track of God in her hard-earned quest for success in the New York advertising world. Now she's accused of embezzlement, fleeing for her life with nowhere else to turn. When trail outfitter Shepherd Jones runs Diana's car off the road, the ex-U.S. Marshal isn't sure what to make of his comely stray. Instinct says this duchess of disaster is on the run and needs help-a girl like her can't last long in the forsaken outpost of Buffalo Butte. But is Shep willing to risk his life and his heart to offer her the same refuge God once provided him?