Jessie McGee is on a mission.  After the death of her father, her vindictive stepmother sold away a beloved slave to another plantation.  Jessie and her brother are on their way to try and get the slave’s new owner to let them have her back.  Along the way, Jessie and her brother run into Cutter Raines and Billy Marlow, two men who look like the bounty hunters they are.  Jessie can’t think about what they could do to her should they find out what she really does for a living so right now her only chance of keeping them out of her business is to get them to help her with her mission.  The only thing she has to pay them with is her body. And that’s the easy part. The hard part is trusting them because if there is one thing she knows is that if anyone should find out that she is part of the underground railroad her life could be null and void.

Evidently I am getting persnickety in my old age because there is very little about Kentucky Woman that I liked.  The male leads were bounty hunters which intrigued me – however, I found them somewhat lecherous and smarmy; Billy especially.  His portrayal of a simpleton when the reader is first introduced to him just made me cringe.  Their characterizations were such that I wasn’t attracted to either one of them and because of this, I was turned off.

The plot and premise of Kentucky Woman is a good one.  I found the story intriguing but I could not get past my dislike of the characters.  While I adore ménages, Kentucky Woman was not the book for me.  Amber Carlton however, will remain on my list of authors to read.  One book I didn’t enjoy is not enough to make me lose faith in her talent.