Brown-Eyed Girl

In this novel, the central character Sally Alder has traded in the edgy existence of a hard-living, cattle-country bar singer for a respectable career as a history professor. However, the bequest of a wealthy poetess gives Sally an opportunity to revisit the scene (and perhaps the meaning) of her prior life.The plot careens in several directions. First, Sally renews a relationship with a former boyfriend, whose love-making now combines the mature sophistication of middle age with the stamina of an adolescent. (Perhaps this is plausible. I can only testify to the possibility of the opposite mixture.) Next, Sally unravels the mysterious background of the poetess. Finally, she survives the self-thwarting schemes of a right-wing militia and a selfish set of sexist professors. I can curl up with writing like this (p. 100):"People on the high plains got real squirrelly the week before Thanksgiving. They knew there'd be a snowstorm that would shut down the roads relatives would try to travel, strand thousands in the Denver airport en route to turkey dinners and family feuds, generally [mess] up everyone's plans and leave the world so [dang] silent and beautiful into the bargain that you felt guilty for resenting the inconvenience."In fact, I can say without hesitation that of all books in the comic-western/mystery-romance/academic-feminist genre, this is the best that I have ever read. But you have to be open to that kind of crazy concoction to enjoy this novel. If you prefer to keep Larry McMurtry, Sara Paretsky, and A.S. Byatt in separate places, then this might not be your cup of tea.

Sally Alder, the main character in Virginia Swift's rollicking Brown-Eyed Girl, is a wry, hard-drinking, brilliant and big-hearted woman whose colorful past comes back both to haunt and to bless her. As she makes her way through this romp of a novel, ol' "Mustang Sally" confronts right-wing paramilitary crazies, self-serving academic functionaries, historical mysteries, and her own cheatin' heart. You have to love her. This book was great fun and I read every lilting line of its musical prose without so much as setting it down. We can only hope there is more where this came from.

Great characters, a fascinating historical backstory, entertaining tunes, and even unexpected recipe ideas all add up to a delicious, can't-put-it-down read. Looking forward to the next installment!

I just finished Browned-Eyed Girl and I loved it. What a great debut novel, with rich, quirky characters and loads of humor--laugh out loud humor. I especially liked the story within a story. Past and present. It had me from the very beginning. The ending was well done, clever and quite satisfying. The author tied up all the loose ends neatly. If Ms. Swift's second novel is as good as Brown-Eyed Girl, she'll have another winner on her hands.

A fast-paced mystery with lots of humor-combines a historian (with quite a history of her own! ) from Laramie with elements of European history and the mountain west. I fould myself laughing out loud several times. The twists in the plot are ingenious. I can't wait for the next Sally Adler mystery.