🐎🏔️🏞️ “The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch” (2022) 🏞️ 🏔️🐎 – Book Review
MY REVIEW
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Language: English
ISBN: 1955836116
ISBN-13: 978-1955836111
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information
“Fate had not smiled on her yet.
Could she shoot this man?
She’d never killed anyone before.
Emma Rosales is the heiress to the largest ranch in Texas—The Thorn. All of the responsibilities of managing a million acres now fall into her fifth-generation hands.
A task Emma could handle with her eyes closed . . . if The Thorn was any ordinary property.
The Thorn is home to many things. Clear, cloudless skies. Miles of desert scrub and craggy mountains. A quiet disrupted only by whispers of the wind. And an ancient web of secrets that won’t let Emma out alive without a fight.
The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch is a family saga as large as the state of Texas.”
Thank you in advance to the author, Julia Brewer Daily, for providing a complimentary review copy through Kate Rock Book Tours. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.
For me, I choose a book based on the following:
✳️ Genre (admittedly, I’m more of the romantic suspense type)
✳️ Familiarity with the author (have I read their work before, or are they similar to one I enjoy?)
✳️ Does the cover grab my attention?
✳️ Where the story is set (small-town, Texas, beach)?
✳️ What the story is about?
I’m also not against trying out a new author. Many of the books I own or on my TBR list is from an author I’ve been “introduced” to within the past 3½ years since I started my book reviewing/blogging journey. Julia Brewer Daily is a new-to-me author.
Right off, what grabbed my attention was not just the gorgeous, picturesque, and artistic cover; but the title of the book – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch.
I actually had to wonder if there were other daughters, who all was in this? Was this book part of a series?
As it turns out, this is a standalone read.
The “fifth daughter” is actually a generational position in the context of the story. In the story it is Emma (5th), her mom Josie (4th), and her grandmother Valeria (3rd) who have had control of The Thorn.
Emma discovers a civilization of people having lived there through over five (5) generations (possibly more) without being discovered. While possible, is it plausible given the technology we have today?
The author does make it seem plausible especially given the vastness of the land. With airplanes, drones, and urban explorers – it is a bit of a stretch.
Other characters are a blend of Emma’s family, friends, and the tribe:
🪨 Chatpa (lead of The People)
🪨 Kai (Chatpa’s grandson, eventual leader, “husband” of Emma)
🪨 Chesma (wants Emma, rival of Kai, eventually replaces Kai)
🐎 Josie (Emma’s mother)
🐎 John (Emma’s father)
🐎 Jeff (ranch worker, once “boyfriend” of Emma)
The POVs are Emma (current and past), Josie, John, and Kai in third person.
There might be some themes and elements that readers find disturbing: the shooting of a lame horse, dangers of a flash flood, human trafficking, attempted human sacrifice, and of course COVID (as it pertains to precautions as well as what happens to The People later on).
The author is careful not to get too graphic about the subjects though.
The story begins with Emma being a 3-day ride from the main compound and thinking about the saddle on Honey Boy (her horse). She recalls her mother saying there are some areas that were never traveled, and obviously her curiosity wins out.
Honey Boy ends up tripping in a gopher hole, breaking his leg. As Emma notes, it wouldn’t heal even if they were home. In an act of compassion, she shoots the horse. She has limited supplies and forgot a satellite phone. [Not an ideal situation].
Her parents, Josie and John, are in Europe on vacation – which she had the option of joining them as we later learn.
Emma is found by a group of people who have been living on the edge of the property for generations, undiscovered, and obviously not part of the “modern” world. Their leader, Chatpa, claims he cannot let her go – to do so would risk their exposure and be dangerous. As she tells him – not letting her go would be dangerous to them if they were discovered.
Chatpa believes their Gods have sent her there to help them and to be a wife. She catches the attention of Chesma, but Emma has NO intention of being his wife or staying. She tries to escape multiple times.
Kai and Chatpa are the only ones seemingly kind to her. While Kai wants to help her escape, he misses a chance.
Emma’s parents are alerted that she is missing. She’s been missing for two weeks (I have to wonder why she wasn’t reported after say 3-5 days). They come home immediately. The sheriff’s department gets involved, but with the size of the ranch – it is nearly impossible to cover it all, and after a while – the search is eventually called off. And, there are no leads. No evidence of where Emma could’ve gone. (Given the description of her being 3-4 days from home by horseback – that puts it at most 400 miles, why not drive out to the edges?).
John believes his daughter will make it home, but after months, Josie isn’t so sure. Josie uses airplanes and helicopters to search, even offering a $100,000 reward – yet, no leads.
Emma doesn’t give up, but decides to make the best of it. Even becoming, in name only, Kai’s wife. Other women are brought there, to increase the tribe’s numbers (currently around 60). The women are sick, a flu, but no one thinks much of it.
However, Emma – knowing about COVID – wonders if that isn’t what the women have. Though they seem to recover without too much incident.
In predictable fashion, Chatpa is the first casualty, thus putting Kai as leader. His first act is to release Emma, but the elders are against it. The tribe then begins to start seeing the sickness spread and death occurring – first in the elderly, then spreading to the kids. It is not like a regular flu – it is far more brutal, devastating, and unforgiving. (The author never really reveals, of course without tests, it would be hard to tell).
Back at The Thorn, Josie is convinced, due to an argument, that Jeff was responsible for Emma’s disappearance. He is more talk than anything, but innocent there. Though, it does make for some dramatic moments.
As far as Emma – the situation deteriorates so bad that she is seen as an enemy and offered up as a sacrifice. Kai doesn’t believe it though, and sets out to not just rescue her, but leave. However, their own survival is threatened on the long journey back to The Thorn.
The author wraps this up with an interesting end – one that is solved at one point, yet open on the other. Emma ends up being missing a year and in a hospital rehab for 2 months, so the story takes place over a 14-16 month period. It was interesting to watch Emma’s re-acclimation back into her life. A sequel would be interesting to explore what I feel is the “rest” of the story.
While I loved this – I feel like there was more of it left out there. The open-end has more to do with the eventual “fate” of The People. While their numbers are dwindling (last count 30), I did wonder whether “The People” had survived or the remaining numbers died off within the two months since Kai and Emma left. An “epilogue” about what happened to those remaining would’ve been interesting.
One element I enjoyed was the story having a bit of a mystery, and effortlessly blending an “old world” together with “modern day” without doing a time slip or dual time story arc/plot.
To say I enjoyed it might be a slight understatement. It was definitely enjoyable. Not only attention-grabbing, but attention-keeping. It was a quick read for me.
I will say – I didn’t quite know what to expect from this book from skimming it. Once, I got to reading it, I was drawn right into it, and I ended up finishing this inside of a 4-hour time period. I read 111 pages in 75 minutes, and by the 2-hour mark – I was at 219 pages. I literally couldn’t stop reading it. The short chapters and quick pace for the timeline depicted really helped keep this from getting bogged down. It didn’t feel rushed either.
The author uses such visually descriptive writing, as well as talking in metaphors that are appropriate and relevant to the story. One can almost see and feel the story and what is going on. There are a few typos, one on the first page right off, but obviously they didn’t seem to matter too much. I completely went right over it, so it doesn’t seem to ruin the story or hinder it.
There are some “flashback” scenes from what Emma remembers (while in captivity) that leads up to her abduction. I had to wonder if they were necessary as they only seemed to add background that perhaps could’ve done without, but didn’t overall affect the story either way.
The compassion of Chatpa and Kai balanced the situation of Emma’s forced captivity, and Chesma was an interesting antagonist.
Emma is strong in the beginning, but obviously the situation does wear her down. Her mother shows strength and vulnerability. It was interesting to see the ranch went with the women, not men.
[This has a slight take on the book and TV show Dallas (1978-1991; 2012-2014) with the ranch remaining with the women. Ellie Southworth Ewing owned Southfork and maintained it throughout her marriages to Jock Ewing and Clayton Farlow.]
A slight spoiler – the author does use Emma’s medical condition to explain why she cannot remember where she’s been or what happened to her. I do have to wonder what the forensic evidence would’ve revealed (such as an analysis of her clothing, anything Kai touched, or any kinds of body fluids), hence part of the “there’s something more” feeling.
The author does a fantastic job about families of missing people and the grieving process. Is is so complex, frustrating, and of course devastating. Do they have a funeral? Do they pack up and dispose of the person’s belongings (especially if the person lived with them)? Do they continue searching?
It is, perhaps, the most heart-breaking of situations. It is rare a missing person is never found though. In doing my review, I decided to look up a few statistics, but came across some cases that were puzzling.
In the case of Marvin Clark (age 74 when he disappeared in 1926) – as of this review – he has been missing for almost 96 years; his remains haven’t even been found. The case remains unsolved.
The longest missing child is Marjorie West, who disappeared in 1933 before her 5th birthday. That was about 84½ years ago. Again, unsolved.
For those wondering about the size of the ranch and state. Here are some interesting facts:
Texas, as of note, is a HUGE state at 268,597 square miles. It is almost twice the size of Germany (137,988 square miles) and has a smaller population (if one can imagine that). To be honest, driving 8-12 hours across or through in Texas isn’t a big deal. To give one an idea, that is driving from Texarkana (east part) to El Paso (near Mexico border; west part) which is almost 12 hours at 812 miles.
With regard to the size of the ranch, the biggest ranch in Texas is the King Ranch at 1289 square miles, so it is possible to have a ranch the size of The Thorn (1600 square miles). Some endurance breeds can go 100 miles in a day.
Another geographic note, the Rio Grande runs 1255 miles from El Paso to Brownsville, Texas. So, Texas is pretty big which adds to the “somewhat” plausible storyline of a hidden tribe.
While not a religious or Christian read – there is a hint of religious beliefs as it pertains to The People (referring to their Gods) as well as Emma’s family. It is hardly noticeable and only referenced when it comes up for cultural reasons.
This is also a clean read with no intimacy between the characters, and no foul language.
Those who enjoy a deep, slightly spiritual, and mysterious story are certain to enjoy this read.
I definitely wouldn’t be against reading another book by the author.
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html;update https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JULIA BREWER DAILY is a Texan with a southern accent. She is the host of a popular podcast Authors Over 50. She now resides on a ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband Emmerson and Labrador retrievers, Memphis Belle and Texas Star.
You can find her on the following social media accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuliaDailyAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliadailyauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jbdailyauthor
Website: https://www.juliadaily.com/
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