Last Woman Standing

Author: Thelma Adams

Publisher: Lake Union

Release Date: July 1, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

What kind of woman loved Wyatt Earp? This book has the answer!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through TLC Book Tours for an honest and fair review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Last Woman Standing reveals the tale of the life of Josephine Marcus, the common law wife of famous lawman Wyatt Earp.  Her story is mostly told of her time in Tombstone, Arizona and the events that she witnessed.  Originally betrothed to Johnny Behan, she leaves her Jewish family in San Francisco and begins the trek to Tombstone.  However, after being in Tombstone for a short time, she begins to realize how naïve she was to believe everything Johnny told her and eventually catches him with another woman.  From the first time she met Wyatt Earp, she always felt a connection with him, so it is little surprise that he essentially rescues her after she leaves Johnny.  But Johnny is not to be made a fool and will stop at nothing to try to get the Earps either behind bars or hung for the events at the O.K. Corral as well as get Josephine back.

This was a very well researched book. I really anticipated that it would be more of a romance novel, but it actually read more like historical fiction.  Adams did a great job of piecing together the events between The Cowboys and the law to what eventually led to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.  The characters themselves, including Behan, Curly Bill, Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp, as well as Doc Holiday were larger than life.  It almost felt like watching part of the movie Tombstone.  However, there was little backstory to Josephine’s life or Wyatt’s.  I would have like to have dived a little more into Wyatt’s Dodge City days, but am satisfied at how she played it out.  For fans of the well-known western, this will be an enjoyable read.  There is some mild harsh language as well as love scenes, so I recommend this book for mature audiences.