I had really high hopes when I picked up this book. Historical romances set during Prohibition are, to say the least, few and far between, and I was looking forward to a real treat in High on a Hill. But a terrific time period or setting can't make up for flat, lifeless characters, a slow, meandering, predictable plot, and painstakingly spelled-out regional dialects that every single character - except for the hero and heroine, of course - seem to possess.

Annabel Lee is the daughter of bootlegger Murphy Donovan. At twenty-one years of age, she's sick of moving around to evade the law. As sheltered as her father and his associates Spinner and Boone can keep her, Annabel Lee complains occasionally - when she can tear herself away from her usual routine of being a selfless, exemplary daughter, and an incredibly boring heroine - that she is treated like a child or an idiot, but then goes on to act like both more than once. This apparently inspires admiration and devotion, since all who meet her invariably express such emotions, but for the reader, she is more of a gentle sedative: pleasant, but sleep-inducing, nonetheless.

Corbin Appleby is our hero, and even though he does occasionally act like one, such as when he is defending his ladylove from threats to her virtue, he too remains unexciting and flat. He arrives on the scene ostensibly to search for a friend's runaway son, who just happens to be a stray that Annabel's taken in. He has other motives, however, and Annabel's extended family becomes suspicious when they hear that he used to be a lawman. As a former lawman and veteran of WWI, he's essentially a stock character who never emerges from that role.

Along the same lines, the fact that Corbin's motives are suspect is probably meant to create suspense. However, this would involve a well-paced and interesting plot, and central characters who invoke sympathy and concern, neither of which are contained in this volume. Unfortunately, the lifeless quality dominating Corbin and Annabel's personalities predictably extends to their relationship. Not only is it as flat and undeveloped as they are, it also leaves the reader wondering what there is in either one to love. Since they show us nothing to hold our attention, how can they possibly hold each others'?

There are two characters who actually do inspire some interest, Boone and to a lesser extent, his love interest Tess. Boone, who is much more of a father figure to Annabel than Murphy has ever been, steals the show early on from our supposed hero and heroine. Unlike the others, he is not a stock character, a stereotype, or a caricature, and he shows signs of actually being a real, living person. It's a pity the book couldn't have been more about him and less about the plodding, tepid romance between the two lifeless figures of Annabel and Corbin. Boone has wit, compassion, and character - one that intrigues and beckons the reader. He was the one standout in this novel.

The second character to evoke some interest is Tess, who is, in fact, the stock character of the abused, motherless, poverty-stricken wretch. Still, the reader can't help but feel pity and compassion for her, and that is more than can be said for the others.

Paired with this rather sorry cast, we have a plot that goes nowhere fast for about three quarters of the book, then rushes through all the confrontation toward the end. By this time, the reader will have fallen asleep at the wheel so many times that she will likely have given up, but if she hasn't yet done so, she'll find a rather jumbled, rushed resolution that attempts to fit too much too quickly. Not that there wasn't plenty of room in the book for everything that happened had any significant portion of it occurred before the last fifty pages or so, but as is, it simply didn't work.

The last straw for me was the way every character except the hero and heroine (who are naturally far more educated than the poor hicks who surround them) speaks. Apparently, Annabel and Corbin are the only two characters who can pronounce the word "you", for example; everyone else says "ya". Not once or twice, but all the time. Needless to say, this gets old fast. They all also go around saying such things as "ort to" ("ought to"), and "bullfoot" (apparently an alternative curse word) on a distressingly regular basis. Murphy in particular (who is an absolute stereotype of every stubborn, hot-tempered, ill-educated Irishman you've ever read) can't speak straight English to save his life. His supposed Irish-American dialect sounds more like 70's jive-talk than anything else, leaving the impression of a confused, misplaced, and somehow at the same time, utterly boring character in the wrong time and role.

Altogether, there is little to recommend this book. If only more of the characters were like Boone and less like Annabel and Corbin and Murphy and, well, everyone else, this could really be a fascinating, character-driven story. Since it's not, and what plot there is can hardly drive a book this length, I can't recommend this one. Regretfully, I'll have to say, put it back on the shelf, and keep waiting. One of these days, a decent romance with such a unique setting is bound to come along.