The Maverick (Long, Tall Texans) (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
Harley Fowler is a complicated man: he works for Cy Parks, who is friends with mercenary Eb Scott. He's always in the middle of trouble. Here, he meets investigator Alice Jones who, in the first chapter, comes across as a combination of Rain Man and somebody who's seriously off their meds. How or why Harley finds her attractive is the mystery here. This is part of the Long Tall Texans series, and it's probably the worst book of the bunch, mostly because of Alice. This was a sweet read and quite different from most DP books. The hero was not a jerk (which I am glad because in previous books he was quite a good guy - I'm glad she didn't change his character). It was just a sweet love story about two people who met and just fell in love. It was a bit slow because of that but still an enjoyable story. This book also contains a mystery in that there is a murder of a stranger in Jacobsville. Apparently, this is to continue the story arc of Kilraven's (the hero in Dangerous) family's murder. The murder in this book is not solved but the story will continue throughout another couple of books.The one thing that bothered me is that there was a hint that Harley was a boy that Alice had a crush on back in high school when she lived in Floresville, but never really got to know before she moved away with her family. It is also mentioned that Harley spent time in Floresville. (Which is in Texas, btw. My mom lives there which I thought was funny that it was the small Texas town mentioned.) It was pretty obvious and I wish it had been confirmed. Perhaps DP meant to but forgot about it.This is a cute, fast read. I finished it in a few hours. If you want a DP book with a decent hero, then this is the one to read. Even though, the heroine was a bit odd at times, I liked this book.
What do You think about The Maverick (Long, Tall Texans) (2000)?
Harley Fowler works at a ranch in Jacobsville, Texas where trouble seems to follow him but he always walks away from it. Until he befriends Alice Jones who has come to investigate a murder. He usually stays away from getting involved with women but he doesn't want to walk away from her or the trouble her investigation leads him into.I liked that Alice was outgoing and good at her job. I especially liked when she kept asking Harley to marry her or when they were going to set a date. That was priceless. That alone seemed to help Harley loosen up to her so that he finally realized he had feelings for Alice. Harley was a nice guy but so reserved with Alice that he was hard to like or accept. The one thing that I found completely unbelievable was that both Harley and Alice wanted to wait until they were married to have sex. That just doesn't happen in today's world.
—tati
My mom read this and then gave it to me to read. I've never been a Diana Palmer fan and I really don't know why. Anyway, it started out pretty good and had quite a bit of humor in it. I liked the hero and heroine too. My problem with the story was it seemed almost juvenile in places and there are unresolved issues at the end and because it's part of a series there are other characters that you are supposed to already know and since I haven't read them and more than likely won't, I didn't really "get" parts of it.
—mona
Very good. Loved Alice and Harley. The story was interesting, and had me laughing several times.
—Greenery
