Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author

**** (Four Stars)

Set in the 1870’s, the novella ABANDONED, by Margaret Tanner, accomplishes much in few words. I have to admit, I’m not necessarily a fan of short books, but the premise of this one intrigued me: 

With the best intentions of being a loving and obedient wife, Hannah Starr has married Isaac, the son of a cult leader, but discovers within six months that he’s not the man she thought he was. Refusing to give up her strong Christian beliefs and believing that she and Isaac have reached a compromise, she agrees to travel via wagon train to Colorado with Isaac and his father’s religious cult, The Constellation Followers. 

But Hannah has a secret, and a hidden agenda as well. She’s expecting Isaac’s baby – and she’s hoping to find her brother, Mal, who was horribly disfigured in the Civil War. He resides (she prays) with a group of equally-scarred soldiers on a mountain ranch known as The Haven, near the small town of Raccoon Folly. As more time passes, she sees that Isaac has no intention of leaving the cult and realizes that she must take her life in her own hands and escape the clutches of this evil cult.

When Isaac drowns crossing a river and her father-in-law and his group abandons her, Hannah is rescued, nearly frozen, by Captain Drake Noble, the scarred and reserved leader of The Haven. And this is where the story really takes off.

Captain Noble is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting characters in this novella. Tanner has brought him to life by illustrating how his disfigurement is internal as well as external, and this is where my heart was most touched. Even though the depth of this man’s feeling for his damaged men is overwhelming, the demons from his past have already devastated his future to the point where he can’t conceive of ever being allowed to live a promising and happy life - and he believes he doesn’t deserve any of God’s bounty, anyway.

Hannah, who’s grown to love this warm but guilt-ridden leader of men, must convince him that God brought them together for a purpose, and that they are truly worthy of the happiness they can find in each other. 

This is a sweet and well-written story; I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve given it four (4) stars.