Book Review: Hard Luck
This story written by Frederic Bean is a western tale about a cowboy who is down on his luck as he pushes through to El Paso. Dan Willis has heard that there are high-paying cowboy job in the New Mexico Territory. Arriving in Texas he is broke and near starvation. Talking to his horse he vows to take any job that he can find.
The job he finds is digging postholes for a corral on Jake Logan’s ranch. This ranch has many secrets and the possibility of even illegal happenings. Not wanting to be even close to any illegal activity Dan is considering leaving before payday. He then meets Jane Logan and is swayed into staying and helping her in the process. She wants to escape from Jake and the ranch activities.
The story twists and turns around the many things that happen to Dan. He is confronted with the knowledge that illegal thing are really happening on the ranch and he could be involved. Saving the woman will not be an easy task for a thin, hard worked, cowhand but he is going to try. His idea of doing things that are right over power the need to protect himself.
This is a good western story that pits good against evil. The characters are not complex and you do not need a legend to see where things are going. I enjoyed the story and recommend it to western reading fans. More stories about the west introduce me to the many ways similar stories can be told to achieve the good result of reader enjoyment. I feel that a true western reader will enjoy this story.
