The Solitary Horseman

When reading an Emilie Loring book, one thing will always stand out: virtue. Lots of it. And that overflows from one of her better romance/suspense works, "The Solitary Horseman" -- tight plot and likable characters, although the romantic interest gets a bit squirmy at times. Ten years ago, a drunk Anthony Hamilton accidently killed David Grahame in a car accident; when he meets David's widowed mother, he pledges to help and support her family, as if he were her own son. Now their orchard business is flourishing, and Tony's trust fund has let his "sister" Rose tour the world. Now she's back, newly sophisticated and ready to spend time with her beloved mom and "brother." But her homecoming isn't exactly idyllic. Tony's rich family is trying to draw him back to them, and someone is sabotaging the orchards -- or are they trying to get revenge for Tony's methods? Things come to a head when Rose takes a part in local politics, which places her right in the middle of danger. Emilie Loring was known for many years for fluffy, squeaky-clean romance novels, usually with a bit of suspense or crime thrown in. This one is a bit different, because of the romantic attraction between Tony and Rose. Okay, they're not related. But they act in all other ways like Claire's children, which makes their involvement seem rather odd. Otherwise, the idea of a young man trying to atone for a drunken driving accident by "filling the gap" is an intriguing one. And Loring handles this in a surprisingly delicate way. As the plot unfolds, we also get a look at the wealthy, emotionally cold Hamiltons and the warm, friendly Grahames, and understand why Tony was miserable and drunk before. She's especially good in the more suspenseful moments, whether it's kidnapping or vandalism. This being a romantic story, there's also some rivalry going on -- more than one guy is interested in Rose, including Tony's brother. And Tony has a creepy fiancee whom he's trying to dump. But there's never any doubt how things are going to turn out in this story -- while the finale is predictable from page ten, it's intriguing to see it in action. Though the relationship between Rose and Tony is a bit odd, but "Solitary Horseman" is otherwise a charming, sometimes suspenseful story.

This is one of my favorite of Emilie Loring's books. Written during the first half of the twentieth century, her books charmingly and authentically capture the flavor of their periods. This story tells of Anthony, a young man who in the excess of drink, crashes into and kills another young man who was his mother's main support. Anthony offers to take his place, which also means becoming a brother to the little girl, and managing the family's commercial orchard. The romance that develops years later is enhanced by the courage and dedication to his promise that he has shown. The romantic episodes are delightful and poetic, and never vulgar. Emilie's books (the ones SHE wrote before she died in 1950), are always clean, and include a mystery along with the romance, with interesting characters and lively dialogue.