Loving Libby

Robin Lee Hatcher
Zondervan (2005)
ISBN 0310256909
Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (2/06)

When Remington Walker trespasses on Blue Springs Ranch, Libby Blue thinks he is her ruthless neighbor Bevins skulking in the shadows. She fires her shotgun in warning, but she shoots him. Fearing she has committed murder, she discovers the wounded man is not who she thought. Libby drags him inside and nurses him back to health. Soon Remington becomes involved in the joys and sorrows of the hard-working ranch life. He befriends Sawyer—son of the deceased ranch foreman—whom Libby is raising. He intervenes when Bevins threatens Libby. He helps with the cooking and other chores.

Remington and Libby fall in love, but their relationship is built on a shaky foundation of lies. More than six years ago, Libby fled her controlling father, Northrop, who insisted on a loveless marriage for her that would bring him greater wealth. Loath to marry a man who didn’t share her faith, Libby eluded her father by changing her name and hiding on the sheep ranch. Relentless in his quest to get her back, Northrop has hired one of the best detectives to locate her— Remington.

The detective doesn’t tell Libby who he is or how he came to Idaho. As they work to save the struggling ranch and keep it out of Bevins’s control, Remington wrestles with his role in ruining Libby’s life and forcing her to go home. He resolves to deny finding her, return his fee to her father and stay in Idaho. But he doesn’t come clean soon enough and, in the way of all lies, the deception is too complicated for truth to triumph easily. Their lives may be destroyed when another of Northrop’s detectives finds them both.

Hatcher’s book offers enough attraction and romance to make the developing relationship interesting. She also depicts Libby’s faith well. She is an example to Remington who renounced his beliefs years ago when Northrop ruined his father. Remington slowly returns to his relationship with God, abandoning his methodical pursuit of revenge. Truth prevails and love overcomes deceit, revenge and fear.

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