Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Tenderness

Tenderness
Tenderness
Author: Dorothy Garlock
Genre: Romance
Book Type: Paperback
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3263 more book reviews


At the beginning, I thought this would be 5 stars; but the strangest thing happened! After a surprise shooting, one of the lead characters decided not to marry the other lead (while the injured party was still in dire straits)! The story seemed to fall apart -- in my estimation.

Why the couple split did not make sense; according to the character descriptions, this couple was rock solid. I was disappointed.

It is a very predictable story, but interesting because of the touches Dorothy Garlock adds to the characterizations of the main and supporting characters.

There's an interesting mystery regarding "the Looker." A man attacks women, strips and ties them - assaulting them with his eyes. I thought this was an interesting plot line and rather novel.

Jesse is a young nurse, working for her father, Dr. Forbes. She seems to specialize in home visits, taking care of the more mundane cases, leaving time for her father to concentrate on more seriously-involved patients.

Garlock makes the story believable because nurse and doctor can't save them all. What starts as a few kids sick in the hills of Tennessee (in 1902) turns into an epidemic of scarlet fever. During this time, Jesse meets an elusive character, Wade Simmer. Rumors swirl around him and some folks assume he's the "Looker."

While Jesse is in the hills for 7 days, Dr. Forbes decides to take on a full-time housekeeper. Unfortunately, Garlock makes her as black-as-sin! Mrs. Lindstrom charms the widowed doctor and he hopes to have someone to share his work-filled, lonely life.

Garlock does a fine job of describing a lifestyle long gone in America. She also turns a critical eye on the bigotry prevalent in some small towns at that time.