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The Gambler's Daughter

The Gambler's Daughter is a sequel to Flying Ghosts.

Thirteen-year-old Loretta, her six-year-old brother Teddy and their gambling stepfather "Bean Trap" Braden are one step ahead of the law and a band of angry miners looking for revenge. Run out of town for winning more than his share of their wages, Bean Trap and the children jump borders, hide out in ghost towns and stow away on trucks, sleds and trains, dodging sore losers hot on the trail of the winnings. Now Loretta must take the biggest gamble of all and put an end to the pursuit—can she and Teddy get out of the game and start a new life, or are the stakes too high?

Teachers' Guide available $5

ISBN13: 978-1-55002-718-1
List price: $ 11.99 CDN

To order: contact publisher or author at email listed on this website

Reviews:  “Local authors continue to impress: . . . The Gambler’s Daughter: a Wild West novel for children. Matheson, whose children’s books include Prairie Pictures, City Pictures and Flying Ghosts, has been rightly hailed for her appreciation of the prairie landscape and her ability to capture ‘the rhythm and swing of a young girl’s thoughts.’ She’s done it again.” Ken McGoogan, The Calgary Herald, Nov. 4/97  

“The historical period is the 1940s, just after the Americans have entered the war. The Alcan Highway, made necessary by the threat of attack from Japan, is pushing through the wilderness, bush pilots are up, flying by the seat of their pants, but the main occupations are still the frontier ones of trapping and mining. It is an interesting period, and Matheson makes it come to life both in this book and in the parallel one, Flying Ghosts. Youngsters might well get hooked on this one and go on to the other – a useful spinoff. Highly Recommended.” Mary Thomas, CM Magazine (Vol. IV, #17, April//98)