Oklahoma's Gold

Rating:
Summary: Review in The Suburbanite - "an entertaining tale"
Review:
--reviewed by Tammy Proctor

Jessica Clinton, a young college student, is thrown into a whole new world after the tragic death of her parents. With two younger siblings in tow, Jessica moves the broken family to Oklahoma to live with a long lost uncle. There she finds Oklahoma's Gold. She also finds attempted murder, intimidation, and much mystery.

With this premise, local author Kathryn J. S. Long grabs her readers by the heart strings. She tugs the strings with a tale of romance and mystery. In her first novel, a page-turner, Long doesn't release her readers until the very end.

Long's characters are heartwarming and it's difficult to put "Oklahoma's Gold" aside until you know the orphans are going to finally be safe.

Just as the town of Chickasha is a new adventure to the Clinton kids, Long introduces her audience to a new surrounding that features Native Americans, Hispanics, cowboys, and a conniving real estate broker.

With hopes of a new life, the Clinton kids grudgingly take Uncle Fred's offer to live with him on his ranch. However, upon their arrival, they learn Uncle Fred is in a coma. Someone tried to beat him to death. Jessica is plunged into a mystery as well as endangering her own life.

Long is a Green High School teacher and through "Oklahoma's Gold" she has provided a novel that can be enjoyed by teens, especially girls. However, "Oklahoma's Gold" is a story that all ages will enjoy because another central figure of the novel is Emma, a headstrong woman who befriends Jessica. As the mystery unfolds, so do details of Emma's life.

*Reprinted with the permission of The Suburbanite

Rating:
Summary: Oklahoma's Gold by Kathryn J.S. Long-Francine Biere Reviewer
Review: For those who've lost someone, lost everything ... or just lost their way, "Oklahoma's Gold" is a book that will take you on a mysterious journey into the heart. Whether it's the loss of family or the freedom to live without discrimination, Kathryn J. S. Long gives readers glimpses into the lives and hearts of her characters. Set in the rustic Oklahoma town of Chickasha, mysterious twists and turns in an otherwise serene setting of ranches, heart-warming characters, secrets and Native American cultures culminate in a race to solve a series of suspicious attacks before something worse happens.



After her parents are suddenly killed in an automobile accident, Jess Clinton faces an uncertain future in the small town of Chickasha, Oklahoma. With little concern for her own grief, she's determined to take care of her twin brother and sister but must do so without the help of any family. Her only next-of-kin, Uncle Fred, is in a coma as a result of a mysterious beating that throws Jess into the thick of things - along side Daniel Ross, Cherokee foreman of the Dusty Rose Ranch. She turns away from her attraction to him in order to preserve her heart from further pain. Befriended by her uncle's neighbor and close friend, Miss Emma, Jess, Daniel and the old woman find themselves caught up in danger and ghosts of the past. Greed, revenge, and prejudice threaten this unlikely trio and help them to realize that love is worth the risk.



While the book moves at a solid pace, the author seems torn between building Jess and Daniel's romance and the mysterious events taking place leading up to the final scene. The intermingling of the past with the present is intriguing but the connection and the actual Native American "spirit" is somewhat unclear. Ms. Long also misses an opportunity to show the story in more vivid colors with detail of the Cherokee and Choctaw, their customs, beliefs, and their presence in Oklahoma.



While the characters are enjoyable and, for the most part believable, the most memorable ones were more minor characters, with the exception of Miss Emma. Finally, the twins, Deek and Missy, are absent much of the time and I kept wondering where they were and why they seemed to disappear for long periods of time.



Despite these minor distractions, "Oklahoma's Gold" offers up a good mystery with a surprise ending that satisfies.



Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced Mystery touched with Native American Folklore
Review: I found this book to be filled with heart-warming characters such as Emma who portrays quaint, southwestern charm combined with a courageous spirit. Her fiesty, outspoken manner evokes the reader to tears one minute and laughter the next. Also interesting is how the author treats us to a colorful look at Native American culture. The spirit of a Choctaw medicine man, alikchi, uses Indian magic, tribal dancing, and a coyote to help his people. The author manages to pull together the culture, history, and characters of a small Oklahoma town and weave an intriguing story of mystery. The smooth, flowing style of the author gives us a fast-paced, exciting read that is satisfying and enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: a fast paced mystery
Review: Oklahoma's Gold is an enjoyable read for any fan of the mystery genre. Ms. Long does an excellent job of developing her main characters and I felt an invested interest in their lives. Additionally, the Native American culture is woven nicely into the story.

The story revolves around Jess Clinton, a fiercely independent young woman who has recently lost her parents. She moves with her younger siblings to Oklahoma to live with her Uncle Fred. Upon their arrival they discover Uncle Fred was the victim of a recent attack. This is just one of many strange recent occurences in the small town of Chickasha. The most enjoyable moments of the story happen as Jess begins to unravel the mystery of who is disrupting life as normal in Chickasha. Furthermore, it is fun to watch the relationship between Jess and Daniel develop as she begins to realize she does need the support of others.

Rating:
Summary: Chariot Rider Reviews
Review: Oklahoma's Gold
Kathryn J.S. Long
Publish America, Frederick, Maryland
ISBN: 143714625 Pages: 198

Oklahoma's Gold is an easy read with a smooth flowing storyline. It captures the reader with Indian myths, romance, mystery, and suspense. Ms. Long introduces characters that are engaging and believable. Her writing style has clarity and depth, while the story is fast paced, and entertaining.
Jess, the eldest of three children, relocates the family to her uncle's ranch in Oklahoma following the death of their parents. When they arrive and find their uncle in a coma after a mysterious beating, Emma, a friend of their uncle's, befriends them. From the time they arrive through to the last page, suspense abounds.
This book will appeal to the romance lover as well as the mystery fan. It is well written and entertaining. We recommend it with no reservations.

Lola Pierce
Chariot Rider Reviews

Rating:
Summary: Chariot Rider Reviews
Review: Oklahoma's Gold
Kathryn J.S. Long
Publish America, Frederick, Maryland
ISBN: 143714625 Pages: 198

Oklahoma's Gold is an easy read with a smooth flowing storyline. It captures the reader with Indian myths, romance, mystery, and suspense. Ms. Long introduces characters that are engaging and believable. Her writing style has clarity and depth, while the story is fast paced, and entertaining.
Jess, the eldest of three children, relocates the family to her uncle's ranch in Oklahoma following the death of their parents. When they arrive and find their uncle in a coma after a mysterious beating, Emma, a friend of their uncle's, befriends them. From the time they arrive through to the last page, suspense abounds.
This book will appeal to the romance lover as well as the mystery fan. It is well written and entertaining. We recommend it with no reservations.

Lola Pierce
Chariot Rider Reviews

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Mystery
Review: Twenty year old Jessica Clinton and her younger brother and sister are orphaned when
their parents die in a car accident and are invited to go and live with their Uncle Fred,
on the outskirts of the small town of Chickasha in Oklahoma.

But before they arrive, Fred is found beaten and left for dead, going into a coma.

It isn't the first time strange things have been happening in and around the ranches
and farms nearby. Brush fires that don't seem to be accidents, animals turning up ill
or injured and sometimes dead. The properties attacked have one thing in common,
the owners were all descendants from Native American tribes.

A shaman insists that the troubles are because of a terrible wrongdoing in the past and
that evil spirits have come to wreak revenge.

Jessica finds herself drawn to Daniel, the Cherokee foreman on one of the ranches, who is
convinced the happenings are man made. But who is doing it and why?

Daniel and Jessica try to find out what is going on before anything worse can happen,
putting both their lives in danger and then someone winds up dead... Is there a connection
between this death and one that happened years ago? And just what doeslocal real estate
agent Lucas Martin have to do with it? What is he hiding? And why is the sheriff so convinced
that the death was suicide and not murder?

A good mystery with a dash of adventure and romance thrown in for good measure, Oklahoma's
Gold is a fast paced book, which leaves you on the edge of your seat.

Interesting characters abound, including Miss Emma the feisty sixty-odd ranch owner who is
as determined to help Jessica and Daniel as she is to run her property almost single-handedly.
She doesn't take no for an answer, even if her nephew is the incompetent sheriff.

I felt that the love story with Jessica and Daniel though was a little clichéd. When they
first meet, they are constantly arguing and you just know that because of that they will end
up together; it just seemed a bit contrived to me. However, the book's main focus is with
the mystery element, so it doesn't detract too much from the overall plot.

A good read.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Drowning Rapunzel and Shadows of the Rose