About the Book

Name of book: Straight Flies the Arrow
Author: Sydney Tooman Betts
Genre: Historical, adventure, Romance
Release Date: July 8, 2017

During the winter of 1841, Pacing Wolf, the esteemed leader of the Many Lodges, follows the trail of a brutal murderer, leaving behind his beloved woman, Small Doe. When his tracking party returns without him, the Sparrow Hawks’ Real Chief pronounces him dead, insisting Small Doe grieve, but she cannot bring herself to give up hope her husband will return. The coming spring offers her few choices. She can accept the courageous new warrior chosen for her or risk falling prey to his war-society rivals. Vengeance and loyalty, hatred and faithfulness, all vie within two enemy villages, one belonging to the Sparrow Hawks and the other the Allies, threatening to crush every hope of happiness for Small Doe and everyone she loves.

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My Review


This is a 3rd in series and  I do recommend reading all three but it can be read as a stand alone. All the different Indian names were sometimes hard for me to keep up with, I believe it did help some since I read the other books first. Love all the verses at the end of chapter and within some of the story line also and interaction between characters. One example, “As she told Otter Woman, the Lord had promised, “I will never fail you or forsake you. " Also love the references to different verses in the Bible that are numbered for footnotes. The book is set in the 1840’s so I would think a lot of research went into the book and took a while to write. The book ended a lot different than I thought it would, happy and sad at the same time but I am not giving anything away, read it for yourself, very good book. This book really touched me.

About the Author

Sydney Tooman Betts and her protagonist-husband currently reside near the extensive cavern system that inspired the setting for several early chapters of this book. While single, Ms. Betts (B.S. Bible/Missiology, M.Ed) was involved in a variety of cross-cultural adventures in North and Central America. After marrying, she and her husband lived in Europe and the Middle East where he served in various mission-support capacities. Her teaching experiences span preschool to guest lecturing at the graduate level and serving as the Sunday School Superintendent, Children’s Church Director, or Women’s Ministries facilitator in several evangelical denominations. Before penning her first novel, A River too Deep, she ghost-wrote several stories for an adult literacy program.

Guest Post from Sydney Tooman Betts

You know you are created for a purpose, but honestly, how much of a difference can one person make in a life filled with one foot put in front of another, cooking for a family, washing clothes, combing out tangles… You know you are created for a purpose, but honestly, how much of a difference can one person make in a life filled with one foot put in front of another, cooking for a family, washing clothes, combing out tangles… Come walk alongside one woman whose singular choice changes life for generations