Releasing the Reins is Catherine Matthews’ debut novel, and she successfully pulls off a genre-breaking melange of coming of age, women’s fiction, mystery, and modern western, set against the vast expanse of Alaska. Matthews successfully blends the points of view of the protagonist, Bunny O’Kelly; a rancher’s daughter, Katie; and Jeremiah, the son of an abusive ranching father; and Rocky, the aforementioned abusive ranching father, as well as a timeline split between 1982 and 1984.
Bunny is the daughter of a dairy farmer whose father decides to leave his farm only to his sons, though his daughter has worked just as hard as her brothers. She realizes she doesn’t have a future at home, so taking matters into her own hands, she finds a job as a ranch hand and moves to Alaska. There she’s greeted by Buck, the owner of a horse ranch and his main ranch hand, Jake. Buck is still grieving the death of his daughter, Katie, and Jake is determined to quash Bunny’s spirit and prove to her she can’t do a man’s job. Bunny, though, is a smart, stubborn woman who gives as good as she gets and won’t back down in a fight.
Katie’s ghost hangs over the ranch, very much a mystery to Bunny as no one will tell her what happened. Curious, Bunny determines to find the cause of Katie’s death. While doing so, she uncovers a web of lies and dark family secrets both in Buck’s family and in Jeremiah’s.
Very short chapters (71 in 352 pages) that move this novel along at a rapid clip. The reader senses Matthews’ familiarity with horses and ranching.
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Releasing the Reins (Pacific Peaks Publishing, June 17, 2024) is available through:
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