Book Review: Sarita

Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen

Western frontier meets Prohibition America in this action-packed adventure with a sprinkle of suspense.

Life on a cattle ranch has always been tough, but, with the onset of Prohibition, it’s become even harder. Tequila smugglers have been passing through South Texan properties while doing their runs, and violent crimes have been occurring more frequently. 

When Javier Salsito de Ortega stops by Sarita Gibson’s father’s ranch intending to steal the horses and ends up killing her younger brother in the process, Sarita is shattered. Even more so when she and her father realize that the Texas Rangers are spread too thin to spare anyone to track JJ’s killer.

The moment that news of JJ’s death breaks, a smarmy oil prospector who has long had his eye on the ranch shows up to make Sarita’s heartbroken father another offer. Having already lost her mother and brother, Sarita is determined to save the ranch she loves and bring her brother justice. But with JJ gone, it seems her father has lost any hope he had of passing the ranch on. The only way for Sarita to prove to him that she’s capable of running a property in a man’s world is to trace JJ’s killer down herself and bring him to justice.

Sarita is a standalone historical novel that shows a different side of Prohibition era America than the big city mobster narratives. It delves into the hard work, sweat, and blood that went into getting liquor across the US into the speakeasies when alcohol was banned. While the novel is set at the tail end of the Western frontier era, it still uses imagery and themes heavily associated with the time. There’s enough horse rustling, gunfights, and outlaws to keep any Larry McMurtry fan happy. This is a refreshing take on both genres. 

Women make up the backbone of this novel. Often disempowered and struggling just to survive in the harsh world they find themselves in, they nevertheless manage to carve out spaces for themselves and make spaces for each other where they can. There’s a lovely sisterhood between the women in this story, even the ones who barely know each other. What makes it more poignant is that they are all quite different to each other in manners, class, respectability, and morals, but they still hold together on this one point. 

The thing that bothered me most about this novel initially ended up being the thing that ultimately made the book more substantial. At the start, the novel falls into the trope of having a main character who flails her way blindly through the dangers around her. She doesn’t seem to move except when pushed. As the story progresses, she gains traction on her own. And as everything unfolds, it becomes clear that, while green, it’s Sarita’s ethics and determination that make this story, not her skill. 

Sarita is a harsh, gritty novel in many respects, but it’s also an adventure that drags you along until the final, bittersweet sentence. It’s a thoroughly satisfying journey; simultaneously dark and entertaining.

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