I got this one from the library thinking it was the sequel to As the Crow Flies. Nope. In fact, I can’t find if a sequel was ever written. This one is set in the American Wild West, frontier times. A young woman traveling in a stagecoach is kidnapped by a bandit who holds up the stage, is disgruntled to find the safe chest only holds paper notes (not deemed of steady value yet) and takes the fine-looking lady to hold for ransom. Comes as a surprise to both: the bandit is a woman outlaw, riding rough and doing her own thing. The lady she kidnapped is trans- with quite a flair for putting on regional accents, and a longing to perform on stage someday. The two suddenly collaborate in a scheme to sneak into a Confederate gala, steal some information and hopefully a map as well. It doesn’t go smoothly, but they succeed in the end, and find they make good partners- in more ways than one. A very lovely ending where they literally ride off into the sunset together. Brief, clearly to the point, and nicely done. A lot of historical facts dropped seamlessly into the story as part of the dialog or background details, most of them pointed out or explained in a few pages of notes at the end. I liked this. Shows very clearly how queer and trans folk were part of history, even if not noticed nowadays.
Borrowed from the public library. Completed on 5/26/24.
