Penelope Williamson Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Penelope Williamson is an American author of historical romance, suspense, mystery and thrillers novels. She also writes under the penname Penn Williamson and Elizabeth Lambert. She was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, later went on to university and graduated with a degree in history and M.A in broadcast journalism. She worked with the Marine Corps for more than five years climbing up the ladder to reach the rank of Captain.

Mrs. Williamson lives in Idaho with her husband. Her books have been translated into over seven languages, and according to WorldCat, her popular novels The Heart of the West and The Outsider are in 1827 and 1868 libraries across the world.

The Outsider

The Outsider introduces the reader to Rachel Yoder, a 34-year-old woman belonging to the Plain People, a “cult” that believes that if they put all their undertakings in the hands of God, He would take care of their needs as long as they submit to him. That’s how the Plains People live, supporting and helping their neighbors, women are told to be submissive to their husbands, they all turn away from any form of violence, and anyone who abandons their faith once they’ve submitted to it is shunned away.

Gorgeous with solemn grey eyes and mahogany hair, Rachel is widowed, left to take care of her young son Benjo, a stammer. Outsiders hanged her husband under the command of Benjamin Yoder, who wants to drive away from the Plains People because his cattle and beef business is crumbling underground. The outsiders are people who don’t belong to the Plains People; they are deemed sinners, wicked, and bring with them a lifetime of sins. But on a cold Sunday morning in the last days of a cold winter, an outsider walks in on the widowed Rachel property and faints right in front of her bleeding from a gunshot wound. Rachel, with all her kind heart, takes the man into her home and helps him heal back to health.

The man’s name is Johnny Cain, a man with a long narrow nose, sculptured cheekbones, wide-spaced eyes and armed with all sorts of guns. He stirs up all sorts of feeling in Rachel. In a man that the Plain People see nothing in him but darkness, Rachel sees the a good man deep inside him, a man with haunted blue eyes. She sees the scars on the man’s hands, scars of the shackles in his ankles and whips scars on his back and this makes Rachel think and wonder just how much soul the young man has lost in the process. Even though the Plains people only marry people from the plains, Rachels burns with desire for the gunslinger and with fierceness burning deep inside her which doesn’t surprise her as she is the only one who witnesses the intricate man that John Cain is. With the viewpoints of different multi-faceted characters tossed in the mix, such as Noah, the man who is in love with Rachel and wants to take her as his own, Moses son of Noah who wants to experience life beyond the plains as an outsider, The Outsider is hard to put down novel.

Penelope Williamson has done a fantastic job in creating vivid main characters with supporting characters who help the reader understand better the two protagonists. Rachel, for example, displays determination, courage, empathy, and faith that are both real and authentic. She has lived her faith in words and actions. Though she is in pain for losing her husband, Johnny helps bring back her laughter, teaches her how to have fun again, something she’s been missing all along. On the other hand is Johnny Cain, a man who’s viewed by everyone as “bad” but as you get to know him better, you get to see a totally different character. The author doesn’t let you inside the man’s head until the very end, but through his actions, the reader is able to discern that he’s a good man but with a troubled past. Rachel entrance into his life makes him learn how to love again.

The descriptions in the story are beautifully done, the small farming community and it’s surrounding are all fascinating and important, but it’s the love that grows between Johnny and Rachel that sets the story apart. These are few sex scenes in the story, but this shouldn’t worry any reader who’s sensitive because they are discreet and subtle.

Heart of the West

The Heart of the West revolves around a woman named Clementine Kennicutt, the daughter of a a demanding, rigid and abusive minister. She dreams of her own freedom and living the life of a cowboy. So when luck finds her and stumbles upon a cowboy, she’s willing to escape with him to his ranch in Montana from Boston even though she doesn’t know him. The young cowboy is Gus Montana who was brought up in Boston but then ventured out to look after his brother who was lost as children. He finds his brother, and they start a ranch in Montana.

When Gus meets Clementine in Boston on a trip to meet his dying mother, the chemistry that sparks between them is undeniable, and so the two get married knowing nothing about each other. Gus takes Clementine to a hard ranch life she’s never experienced before. Zach, the younger brother with a dark past, realizes that he’s got feelings for his brother’s wife. And even though Clementine is faithful to her husband, she becomes Zach passion of life.

Heart of the West is a well-woven standalone novel with plenty of relationships. There are cases of two women loving the same man, two men loving the same woman, a man loving a woman who married the wrong man, and a whore who loves the man who her friend loves. There are also cases of difference races intermarrying, children born and loved only to succumb to diseases, accidents, and more. Through the lives of all these characters, Penelope Williamson gives the reader a firsthand experience of the lives of the people who won the west and made the country great.