Jan Fore's Reviews > Calder Brand

Calder Brand
Janet Dailey
February 23, 2021


Joe Dollarhide was 16 years old when he left his Texas home to join the Calder Cattle Company to bring a large herd of cattle up to Nebraska. It was a first job for him. He had learned hard work by helping his folks run the farm. Today he will find that being a wrangler’s helper would be beyond difficult. By the end of the day when he ate his beans and biscuits for supper and laid his bedroll out on the hard ground, he realized what a tough road he had chosen. Joe wanted to learn the trade of cowboy. He yearned to save his money, buy land and raise his own cattle or horses there. It wouldn’t be an easy path but this was his way. Herding longhorn cattle was frightening. He didn’t let on to the other men of his fear. When storms threatened or high winds threatened the journey all were forced to continue. It was the job he accepted.
The first section of Dailey’s book was Joe’s history with Benteen Calder, boss. When he asked one of his men to do something, the reply was “yes sir”, no questions. This book is historical fiction, not my favorite type of read, however as I continued to grasp what Joe and the other men faced, it was clear that transporting animals from one place to another was a lengthy, strenuous voyage. In the next part Joe meets Sarah, a tough beautiful woman on her way via train, to work with her uncle, a physician. She had hopes to eventually join medical school to follow his path.
Calder Brand by Janet Dailey will be published by Kensington Books on February 23, 2021. I am grateful for their consideration in allowing me to read and review Dailey’s latest ARC.
I have read other books by Janet Dailey, none of them being historical. This one I became involved in and really enjoyed. It is part 1 of The Calder Brand series. I plan to follow up with part 2. Her writing is interesting and appears accurate. It has romance as well as documentary styles within. I encourage readers to give this one a try. If you have read Daily’s work it will prove to be another great read.