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A Texas Christmas

by Jodi Thomas
& others. Zebra: Kensington. Oct. 2011. c.352p. ISBN 9781420119664. pap. $6.99. HISTORICAL
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Cleverly linked by a devastating 1887 Texas blizzard and the panhandle town of Kasota Springs, the stories in this engaging anthology bring home the meaning of Christmas in diverse and touching ways. Thomas introduces two grade-school misfits who meet again when a reclusive farmer saves the mercantile owner from thugs and they end up trapped in his secluded home in "One Wish: A Christmas Story." An ostracized lady saloon owner helps and in turn is helped by a wounded Bostonian in search of the pink bluebonnet in DeWanna Pace's captivating "Naughty or Nice." In Linda Broday's realistic "The Christmas Bell," a rancher sets out to rescue passengers stranded on a snowbound train and ends up trapped himself with a lovely, surprisingly capable banker's daughter. A quiet blacksmith shelters a young widow and her children from the storm as well as from her difficult aunt in Phyliss Miranda's heartwarming "Away in the Manger."
VERDICT Wintry, warm, and infinitely readable, this Western anthology of related stories is unusually satisfying
Reviewed by Kristin Ramsdell , Oct 15, 2011
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