Leigh Bridger is a pen name of Deborah Smith, veteran author of a ton of novels (including the NYT best-seller A Place to Call Home) and mad genius from Belle Books. This novella of hers is the first in a series; it runs to 140 pages and is available primarily as an ebook. This was a conscious choice; Ms. Smith understands that with the economy the way it is, publishers (especially small ones) are going to have to rethink the way they do business in order to turn a profit. Therefore, this e-novella is available for the price of $2.95. I’m not entirely sure how that compares to the average 140-page ebook, but I do know that $2.95 is such a small amount of money that it’s worth taking a chance on a new author (or at least new to the reader). Later installments may or may not cost more, but they should start being available in the first part of next year.

Dr. Elisabeth Connell has suffered a great deal of tragedy in her life, especially recently: her husband and small daughter were killed by a madman, in their gated-community mansion. A friend of her husband’s, a Dr. Franklin Alton, has invited her up to his mountain, to stay in an isolated cabin for a while and hopefully heal. Unfortunately for her peace of mind, there’s someone that lives near the cabin — actually, someone that normally lives in the cabin — who may or may not be quite human. Between that, and the local legends of certain kinds of giants, also called Nightwalkers, who lived in the forest, is it any wonder that Elisabeth’s feeling a little bit freaked out?

I felt that this book had a handful of really great points. First, the probing of Elisabeth’s state of mind for the entire book was excellent — both well-written and, I thought, exceedingly true to life. Not, of course, that I’ve ever been in a situation like hers, but Ms. Bridger/Smith did a great job of explaining things so that I felt like I got a good understanding of what she was feeling like. Her reactions — especially the purchase of the truck, the gun, and the dog (well, the rescue of the dog) — read as completely logical and true to her character. Elisabeth was also fairly empathetic; she wasn’t so far in her grief and craziness that she couldn’t understand what other people were going through, and if she were a real person, I would be incredibly impressed by her strength.

Another great point was the descriptions. The cabin, a tree outside it, and the setting are all very detailed, and I felt drawn in to the atmosphere and situation of being alone on a mountain in Appalachia very easily. I would have to assume that Ms. Bridger/Smith had actually been somewhere similar to her fictional location, and I’m rather jealous. Naturally I wouldn’t like to live there full-time, but a short-term mountain retreat sounds like a brilliant (and beautiful) idea. The characters are what they are — Appalachian small-town people — without being too much of stereotypes. She uses archetypes and, sadly, facts of reality (the area is rather dreadfully poor) without making these ideas and people into subjects of ridicule. Frankly, in a few of the more humorous scenes, the local women (rather than the two big-city doctors) have the upper hand. Other than the descriptions, I liked the touches of humor. There’s a scene involving a gynecological exam that’s riotously hilarious. I suspect it’s one of only a few such scenes in existence ever, and I ended up reading parts of it out loud to my husband, and not just to make him flinch.

Among all these great points, there are a couple things that I would like to mention, though. First, that it’s altogether too short — it reads like the first 140 pages of a much longer novel (perhaps 450 pages), and I’m a bit frustrated that I don’t have part 2 RIGHT NOW. That may or may not be a detraction, depending on the reader. Second, there are implications that the story will go on to involve a romance between something not entirely unlike a giant/Bigfoot (less hairy, though, but 10-12 feet tall) and a human being. That, also, may be a good point — unusual, certainly — or a bad point (a little weird), depending on the reader. For my own part, I’m definitely looking forward to reading future episodes in the series. I might recommend that impatient readers wait for the series to be complete, or at least further along, before starting. Fans of the more romantic end of fantasy, as well as those with a slightly strong stomach, would most likely enjoy this series the best. 4/5 stars.