Daniel Bodenstein was a court reporter, not a homesteader. When his wife convinced him to settle along Bad River in western South Dakota, he grumbled incessantly about their new surroundings. As he raised his daughters along the muddy river as a bereaved widower, he took most of his complaints to God, and the solution was not at all what he expected.
It was not a happy occasion that caused the family to move, and his daughters tangled romantic lives did nothing to add a sense of well-being to the family. Throw in a disheartened lawman, a sophisticated freight line owner, an ornery spotted horse, plus a bossy new friend, and you have a bubbling potful of aggravation, or at least it seemed that way to Daniel.
And then there was the murdered homesteader. Who done it? The deceased man's wife filed charges against a neighbor, and the case was heard in justice court, with Daniel as court reporter. All of which leads back to an ornery horse, a marriage proposal, and a novel full of twists and turns and unexpected events.
Daniel's sarcastic wit and searching prayers add additional flavor to this unusual novel. His reference to his Jewish background and his desire for Biblical truth follows him from Georgia to the vast prairie of South Dakota.
Papa's Girls mixes history and fiction, romance and calamity, everyday life with life threatening dilemmas, and portrays a family's deep love and concern for one another. A delightful read!
