November 23, 2011 – 1:11 am
This book is part of a western series highlighting the activities of the detective and man killer called Luke Starbuck. This story by Matt Braun targets the gang of bank and train robbers headed by the cold-blooded killer and confederate raider Jesse James. It was great to have a wealth banker wanting the James-Younger gang eliminated because it fit into Luke’s since of right and wrong. Accomplishing that task was going to be difficult and potentially dangerous to his life. Taking on a new disguise Luke set out to infiltrate the gang so he could kill the leader and the balance of the gang.
The story highlights the search and locating of the gang. The unsuccessful acceptance into the gang is a key to the continual pursuit of Jesse James. Most families in Clay county Missouri were related to the James family. Being confederate veterans and downtrodden farmers they also were very sympathetic to leveling of the differences between the rich and the poor. The James –Younger gang were only interested in feathering their own nest. The notion of the gang helping the poor was a false idea put forward by the dime novel writers to sell books. The gang and specifically Jesse kept robbery targets and gang members close at hand and continually under his watchful eye. New members were only those approved by Jesse and his sixth sense was almost fool proof. A robbery was carried out with military precision and wild daring. The Pinkerton’s had tightened the noose-giving rise for the need to leave their comfort zone of Missouri and the surrounding states for robbery targets. The Northfield, Minnesota bank robbery attempt was the plan that would end the success of the James-Younger gang.
The story is about the final months of the gang and it is packed with action and unusual happening that history tells us but does not give the reader anything to fill in the gaps. Matt Braun has the unique ability to add to the historical account and flesh out the story for the western reader. Does it have to be totally accurate? Only the men that were in the gang and participated in the raid know if it is true. The story as told makes for a fine picture of western history for you the reader.
I recommend this book for a fresh perspective on how it could have been. I enjoyed the tale and I know you will to if your mind is open to alternative proposals.
November 16, 2011 – 1:11 am
This is a western story with a modern twist. What do you do when the job you held and trained for goes away because all the Indians are now on a reservation or peaceful? The obvious new job would be a town Marshall. This is where the story begins and the fly in the cream is an eastern-bred woman of considerable good looks that thinks an Indian fighter is nothing more than a glorified murder. An election is going to be held for town Marshall and the ex-Indian fighter looses. As he is trying to leave town and improve his luck somewhere else a kidnapping occurs and the woman that thought all the Indians were peaceful is the victim and the kidnapper is an Indian that she knew and befriended.
The newly elected Marshall forms a posse and chases after the kidnapper and his captive. Two days later the Marshall and posse return empty handed. The Marshall enlists the Indian fighter to pursue the kidnapper with the offer of a horse and supplies. The carrot hanging out in front of his eyes is the potential of a five thousand dollar reward offered by a woman’s group that the captive belongs to. The search is long and he captures the kidnapper and frees the woman then a multitude of things happen and the story gets more complicated as the characters try and escape a band of Indians and they are forced to join an outlaw band for protection. The Indians that are in pursuit are those who had never gone to the reservation. There are many twists and turns as the action continues to become more intense and the characters are drive down blind paths.
I recommend this western story written by Jack Cummings. He is a new author for me to read and I like his presentation of the story. Go to your library and take home an arm- load of books and enjoy your western reading I am.
November 9, 2011 – 1:11 am
This is a new author for me, Stan Lynde, and the book is an interestingly written exhibit of western story telling. The story begins with the U.S. Marshall for the state of Montana sending; Merlin Fanshaw to help the town Marshall in Medicine Lodge a town in the middle of the Crow Reservation. The need for a Deputy U.S. Marshall is to extend law on to the Reservation. There are many homesteaders and ranches squatting on the reservation stealing Crow horses and occasionally killing a stray reservation Indian in the process. The first shock for Merlin was the town Marshall is black and he didn’t find out until he met him in person.
The events of the story began to unfold and jump into activity as the summer progresses. The murder of a teenage Crow boy shoot in the back and said to be butchering a rancher’s beef. The introduction of race hatred both black and Indian present many unforeseen events into the story. Lust is inserted into the story and it creates so many new problems that the story get more complicated with every event. The big ranchers son is a continually bad drunk and loses control of his actions as he get further into the bottle. He assaults a bartender and cut him up with a bottle on his return from beating up a woman that he had taken advantage of sexually. He was put on trial but his father bought off the witnesses and he got off the charges. As he was leaving the town after celebrating his victory he talked very disrespectfully to the town Marshall and the Marshall after being repeatedly provoked whipped him soundly and told him he was bared from town and he was never come back into town again.
The story has all kinds of twists and turns that leads the reader down through the story helping to confuse and stump the him in his effort to determining who are the major players and how are they going to survive till the end of the story. I definitely recommend this book to all readers and those that are specifically inclined toward westerns will be doubly pleased. A must read.
November 2, 2011 – 1:11 am
In the old west, ranchers suffered from the plague of rustlers so to combat this scourge across the land. Ranchers hired stock detectives, they were charged to catch and put to justice these men who chose to take stock from the hard working ranches in a particular area. Newt Bascom and Sam Jordan were two detectives that had cleaned up a large portion of the Texas Panhandle. They worked for the Panhandle Cattleman’s Association that was formed because the ranches were successful. When cattlemen flourished there was an abundance of rustlers and horse thefts in the area.
Their next challenge would be to find and return to its owner a prize Durham Bull who had been spirited away in the night. Before they took off after the rustlers they tracked the bull and its rustlers to determine what direction they were heading and then they would get an early start the next morning. They found the trail quickly and headed back to get their gear and prepare for the chase. Before they had searched out the trail they received a complete history of the bull and what it looked like. The two stock detectives were Bull Durham users Newt chewed and Sam rolled his own but both used the same brand and they were know around their home ranch as the Bull Durham twins.
The trail was a combination of ups and downs with many dead ends and lost trails. This left the two stock detectives scratching their heads and contemplated the location of the prize bull. They finally found the location of the bull and they become members of the individual gang that had stolen the prize bull and other top quality cattle and horses across the west. The unique way they re-branded the stock was a key to their success and Newt and Sam decided they would have to steal the bull again and drive it back to the ranch where it was taken from. This is not the end of the story but I want you to read this book to get the total story right down to the last footsteps of these two stock detectives.
I recommend this book and it is one that could get you back to reading the westerns you grew up with. Matt Braun the author of this book brings to life the individuals that made the west so unique in American history.
October 26, 2011 – 1:11 am
This western story begins in the Civil War and travels into the time shortly after the surrender of Lee at a courthouse in northern Virginia. The only way to get out of the prisoner of war stockade in Florence was to die. Men were dieing right and left with out food and shelter the cemetery outside the stockade was full and the wild hogs were having a field day digging up the bodies and eating the rotting flesh. Zeb Hogan had drawn the short straw and was elected by his comrades in arms to be the executioner of a fellow 16th Wisconsin Infantry prisoner who had turned into a rebel to get out of prison and escape the impending death of starvation and disease. So many were dieing that it was a simple task to be carted off to the death room where he would be buried as quickly as possible.
Surviving the grave was no easy task but with the help of Ebenezer Chase, Zeb escaped the grave. He now would need the help of this slave to find his way to Vicksburg Mississippi and full fill his sworn oath to kill sergeant Ben DeVere for the cowardly acts that he had committed in the Florence Stockade. Both main characters are young and Ebenezer, the slave, knows the country ways and Zeb knows the ways of the city. Together they are heading west each on their own mission but together. The story has many ups and downs as they move west and everything does not work out as originally expected. The trail they follow is over run with successes and failures but they continually push toward their destination. Both boys who have taken on the rolls of men continue to grow older in the ways of life discounting the few short years they have been on the earth.
I was very pleased with the story line and how the author Johnny D. Boggs was able to keep me involved and turning the pages of the book. I recommend this book to western readers and the civil war story readers also. Pick up this book and you will race to the end and not be disappointed.
October 19, 2011 – 1:11 am
This book written by Terrell L Bowers is a western with a little bit of romance thrown in to keep the reader on his toes. Cullen Lomax is taking a vacation from what he really does but the handy man job for the Melbourne ranch is much more complicated than he originally thought it would be. It was a definitely slower pace than what he was use to. Having to but up with a mother and daughter as they continued an on going argument was almost beyond his peaceful nature. If the daughter hadn’t been so attractive he probably would given up the job and moved to quieter pastures.
Things of an unusual nature began to happen. A rancher is gunned down in cold blood for no apparent reason. Cullen finds himself a target in an ambush. The confusion on why he was targeted has him completely buffaloed. An unusual out break of fever in two herds of cattle in the valley creates confusion. The loose of over a thousand head of cattle places two ranches in financial trouble. The arranged marriage of Victoria Melbourne is a pot about to boil over and not a good situation. Before Cullen can evaluate and solve the pressing problems Victoria is kidnapped. Being a man use to action Cullen knows the only way to save her is to put his life on the line. This action could most certainly get him killed in the process. This was not Cullen’s idea of a vacation and things were getting worse by the hour. The story has the reader guessing at every turn as to who really are the bad guys and who is doing the directing of the kidnappers and shooters.
I recommend this book to all readers and I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did. The author has done a masterful job of keeping the suspense high and moving toward the stories climax. This is a definite must read.
October 12, 2011 – 1:11 am
This is a new author for me, Peter Dawson, and I was pleased by his effort. The story circles around Frank Rivers a pardoned murderer. After spending four years in the state penitentiary he was exonerated. His alibi witness was finally uncovered and the truth about where he was at the time of the murder came out. The governor pardoned Frank Rivers on the conviction of murder. Not everyone accepted this pardon at face value. The sheriff of Ute Springs the cousin of the driver of the stagecoach that was robbed and kicked into a wheelchair bound invalid was one of the doubters. The sheriff was unable to accept the reality of the pardon. Frank was continuing his search for the killers and robbers of the stage, a carpenter with a limp and his partner. These two men had stolen not only the money but killed his father and cast the blame of the murder and robbery on him.
The plot thickens as Frank tries to leave Ute Springs but is accused of cutting Beavertail fence and working as a hired gun for the Anchor ranch. The accusation at his camp fire is followed by a long distance shot that kills his accuser and puts Frank right in the middle of a potential range war. The sheriff is hard pressed to believe his story but with the collaboration of the owners of the Anchor ranch he accepts the story. The villain suspects that Frank knows more than he does and begins to plot different ways to remove him from the area forever. The plan backfires and Frank Rivers goes to work for the Anchor and defuses a range war with quick judgment and sound logic as he helps move the cattle to market. The story has many interesting twists and turns as it moves to its conclusion.
The story is a definitely good western with all the action and suspense and mystery to keep the reader turning the pages and not wanting to put it down until the story is finished. I recommend this western to all readers of good books as it will cement your belief that there are many well written westerns still to be read.
October 5, 2011 – 1:11 am
This is a western story written by William W. Johnstone with the able assistance of J.A. Johnstone there fourth book together . This tale is about a town and the marshal who helped forge and protect it even though he is young. He is able to help claim this piece of ground and wrestle it away from the Apache Indians and protect it form surrounding problems. With the town basically secured a new threat arrives in the form of a gunman who has bloody hands, from California. He is seeking a new life but his old life is drawing more bad elements into the town of Fury, Arizona.
The bad elements arrive into town seeking the demise of Jonas Lynch, the California gunman. Marshal Jason Fury feels the responsibility of keeping the peace but is fearful of being able to control and cap the raising potential of danger to himself and his town. The impending danger for the town and its occupants greatly increases as more men seeking the death of Jonas appear. The avenues of trouble appear to multiply and the outlook for personal danger increases daily. The Marshal arrives and some of the burden is released but things just seem to continue to multiply as more things come to the for-front.
This is an interesting story with many twists and turns. Some problems are solved by quirks of fate and others raise their heads and jump into the picture creating new problems and needs that call for solutions. I enjoyed this story and I feel confident that the readers of westerns will enjoy it too. The tale of this town will give you the reader a picture of how it was to have the everyday happenings in a western town and then recognize the potentials of the new problems as a single stranger enters it’s mist.
September 28, 2011 – 1:11 am
The story is by Tony Hillerman and performed by George Guidall. This is a mystery set in the southwest. The main character is Lt. Joe Leaphorn of the Navaho Tribal Police. Murder is the axe that swings and two Native American boys are the victims of the mayhem. One boy is a Zuni, Ernesto Cota, and his friend is a Navajo, George Bowlegs. The two boys disappear leaving only a pool of blood to large to think someone could have survived.
The factors that add to the complexity of the situation are the Zuni Religion, an archeological dig that would re-write history, FBI involvement, a hippy commune, drug trafficking, and the brutal nature of the murders. Leaphorn falls back on his time honed skill of tracking the various subjects. He is given the task of seeking out George Bowlegs after Ernesto’s body is discovered. It is very difficult for Leaphorn to believe that the friends had had a falling out and Bowlegs had murdered Ernesto. The tracking continued and a new mystery unfolds as Leaphorn is shot with a tranquilizer dart and almost looses his life.
This story has all of the ingredients of a murder mystery that would stump the most competent detective. The character of Leaphorn is not normal in that he is more than competent and a totally through investigator. The mystery is solved and the reader is hooked on the character of Lt. Joe Leaphorn as he steadily moves forward in the investigation.
I highly recommend all of Tony Hillerman’s writings as a must read. Take your time because he has left us and is writing no more but we all can continue to enjoy his writings. Proceed at our own speed, but you need to read his works so search your library and used bookstores for his books.
September 21, 2011 – 1:11 am
This is a book thirteen written by Ralph Compton in a series on Trail Drives. Two separate ranches have heard the news that gold is discovered in the Black Hills. The miners are starving for beef and winter is coming. Nelson Story from Montana and his ranch are sending horses to the Army and Nelson allows his hands that have been paid in cattle to cull their herds and put their cattle together so they can get some cash money. Benton McCaleb and the Lone Star Ranch from Wyoming are driving cattle to the gold field also. Both men were galvanized into action with the potential of fifty dollar a head beef in Deadwood South Dakota.
Both trail herd crews are made up of women, men, Indians and lovesick cowboys. This mix is one of the most volatile combinations that could possibly be thrown together. With the trail leading through the Sioux and Crow territories just miles away from where Custer was to be soon massacred what a potential for disaster. Things do not start out smooth and they go down hill from there. Stampedes, horse theft, and a multitude of other troubles sum up the problems in store for both trail herds. The reader is confronted with a story that has two drives heading in the same direction that will ultimately be in conflict with each other. Who will get the top price for the cattle and what will happen to the runner up? Both trail drives do not know that the other herd is there, but a hidden wild card is playing them both.
The potential for trouble is increased as both drives near the end of the trail but the wrinkles of the story do not shake out until the last few pages. I recommend this book to all western readers as they will appreciate the happenings and complexities that unfold as they read two stories in one story. I enjoyed the book and I will have to search out the other books in the series to see if they are as good as this one.
