BOOK REVIEWS

SHELLEY ARMITAGE. Walking sity of Oklahoma Press. Hardcover, NONFICTION the Llano: A Memoir of Place. Uni- 256 pages, $29.95, OUPress.com. versity of Oklahoma Press. Hardcover, The Pecos begins in the Sangre de BOB ALEXANDER. Whiskey River 216 pages, $24.95, OUPress.com. Cristo Mountains near Santa Fe, New Ranger: The Old West Life of Baz Outlaw. Shelley Armitage sprinkles her Mexico. Its pristine waters don’t stay University of North Texas Press. Hard- memoir with history and facts on liv- that way long. In 1857, the explorer cover, 373 pages, $34.95, UNTPress. ing in the Texas Panhandle. During Edward Beale offered this observation: unt.edu. a two-year period she lost both her “A more stupid and uninteresting river The lure of the West and maybe oth- mother and a brother, and her family cannot be imagined – rapid, muddy, er reasons drew Baz Outlaw away from farm became a friend, a confidante, brackish, timberless, and hard to get his family’s beloved Georgia. With a a healer. She writes about connecting at.” The Pecos, or El Salado, flows name like Baz Outlaw, you might not with the past and a grieving spirit, and across the salty Permian Sea basin of suspect that he became a lawman. Not connecting with the land as owner and , and is often too brack- only was he a lawman, he was also caretaker. Armitage noted at an author ish for fish. Nonetheless, settlers and one of the toughest and most effective talk that writing her memoir became developers came in droves to build Texas Rangers of the storied Frontier more “about shaping memory.” The earthen dams to irrigate crops. Some- Battalion. Superiors said that Outlaw author accurately captures, with vivid times, they succeeded, but irrigation knew not fear and was worth two or imagery, the haunting beauty of the left a salty residue, reducing fertility, three ordinary men in a tight spot. He Texas plains, sprinkled with humorous while periodic floods washed out the also served as a deputy U.S. marshal. tales of growing up in this vast place. dams. Stewardship has improved some- Unfortunately, a nasty alcohol problem The Llano Estacado stretches for what, but the river’s a wreck. Patrick made him a nightmare to supervise 37,500 square miles, and is one of the Dearen, who won a Spur in 2015 for and work with. It would lead this brave largest tablelands on the continent. his novel The Big Drift, has given us a man to his ruin during a meeting with – Natalie Bright scholarly, detailed, sobering history of Constable , the man who environmental abuse, complete with killed Hardin. JOHN W. DAVIS. The Trial of Tom maps and captivating photographs. – Monty McCord Horn. University of Oklahoma Press. – John Mort Hardcover, 358 pages, $29.95, Warren Ball- MIKE ANDERSON. OUPress.com. GLEN SAMPLE ELY. The Texas park. Arcadia. Trade paperback, 127 The murder of a relatively unknown Frontier and the Butterfield Overland Mail pages, $21.99, ArcadiaPublishing.com. 14-year-old boy might not make major 1858-1861. University of Oklahoma Few baseball parks can match the headlines, but in 1901, Willie Nickell’s Press. Hardcover, 354 pages, $34.95, history of Warren Ballpark, which did. He may not have been the intended OUPress.com. opened outside of Bisbee, Arizona, in target for assassination, but the trial of A must-have for anyone interested 1909 – making it older than Alabama’s his accused killer, , owned in Texas or transportation history, Rickwood Field (1910). Several ex- the headlines for two years. A classic this is the story of the antebellum Chicago White Sox players, banned battle between large cattle ranchers and Texas frontier, from the Red River to after the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, homesteaders played out in a El Paso. It’s also a tale of people who played in an “outlaw” league here, and courtroom, with Horn’s life in the bal- lived along that frontier and the com- the stadium – still in existence today ance. John W. Davis does a masterful munities in which they worked. From – saw players and managers like Jim job of making the trial of America’s 1858-1861, Butterfield Overland Mail Thorpe, Tris Speaker, Honus Wagner, most famous stock detective come to life. passed through northern Texas on its John McGraw and Billy Martin. The The meticulously detailed account of way from St. Louis to . park also served as a holding pen for the trial is presented in a manner that is The Texas frontier was an area where striking copper miners during the difficult to put down. Besides Horn, here different populations connected, often infamous Bisbee Deportation of 1917. portrayed is the aggressive prosecutor clashing. This book and photos tell Mike Anderson – not to be confused Walter Stoll versus a defense team of five of forgotten hardships and dreams. with the Mike Anderson of Phillies, accomplished attorneys. Who wins? Well-documented, fascinating stories Cardinals and Bleacher Bums fame – – Monty McCord of pioneers – the people brave enough chronicles the storied ballpark in this to venture to Texas – make this book well-illustrated (it is an Arcadia book, PATRICK DEAREN. Bitter Waters: relatable to today’s lives. after all) history. The Struggles of the Pecos River. Univer- – Melody Groves

OCTOBER 2016 ROUNDUP MAGAZINE 27 NATHAN A. JENNINGS. Riding areas. Colorado Springs and its visitors RON McFARLAND. Edward J. for the Lone Star: Frontier Cavalry and still profit from many of his ventures, Steptoe and the Indian Wars: Life on the Texas Way of War, 1822-1865. University but his influence spread across Colo- Frontier, 1815-1865. McFarland. Trade of North Texas Press. Hardcover, 402 rado and into the larger West. While paperback, 260 pages, $39.95, pages, $32.95, UNTPress.unt.edu. the reader comes away from this slim McFarlandPub.com. Nathan Jennings, an Army officer, volume with a good understanding of Ron McFarland grew up in Florida traces the unique military history of Penrose’s many accomplishments, one where he developed a boyhood interest Texas from Mexican colonial days does not gain much insight into the in the man who became the focus of through the Civil War, giving the leg- man himself. this book, Edward J. Steptoe. Steptoe endary Rangers a scholarly, sometimes – Rod Miller studied at West Point, served on the rather dry examination. Skirmishes frontier in the War, the Mexi- with the taught Stephen RICHARD LOWITT. Twentieth-Cen- can War, and Washing- Austin’s settlers the art of warfare on tury Oklahoma: Reflections on the Forty- ton Territory. In one engagement he horseback. Thus began the Rangers, Sixth State. University of Oklahoma led his men on a narrow escape after irregular cavalry with much the same Press. Paperback, 424 pages, $24.95, Indians surrounded them in the state brutality and endurance as the formida- OUPress.com. of Washington. Considerable research ble . To defend the South, Oklahoma politics and historical went into McFarland’s book and read- Texas mustered more cavalry than development are reflected in this collec- ers looking for facts of this historical any other state – though, as a point of tion of essays by Richard Lowitt. Envi- character and the sphere of his activity pride, almost no infantry. Texans were ronmental issues, agricultural adven- can find them in this volume. known for their “shock” charge, and tures, civil rights and the struggle of – Lynn Bueling when they closed with and the Indian peoples who were dumped Bowie knifes they could devastate an into the region by federal edict paint MARIANNE MONSON. Frontier infantry unit. But as the war continued, a less than positive picture of the Grit: The Unlikely True Stories of Daring Union cavalry, infantry and munitions territory cum state. This collection is Pioneer Women. Shadow Mountain. improved, and wild charges were cut a valuable repository of significant Hardcover, 208 pages, $19.99, down. Meanwhile, Texas was devastat- historical events that continue to shape ShadowMountain.com. ed economically, lost at least a quarter the direction the state is taking in the “Thousands of women – black, 21st Century. If you want to understand of its manpower, and had to endure white, Native American, Mexican, Oklahoma there can be no better begin- Reconstruction. The Rangers were Chinese, Polynesian, and other racial ning than reading these essays. never the same. variations – experienced the frontier.” – Vernon Schmid – John Mort Marianne Monson offers glimpses into

the lives and frontier experiences of MARK WILLIAM LUSK and JENNIFER J. LAWRENCE. Soap 12 women, from “boomer” NICOLE LeFAVOUR. Sawtooth-White Suds Row: The Bold Lives of Army Laun- Nellie Cashman to María Amparo Cloud. Caxton. Hardcover, 128 pages, dresses, 1802-1876. High Plains. Trade Ruiz de Burton, the first Mexican- $26, CaxtonPress.com. paperback, 157 pages, $18.95, American novelist, to driver It’s a safe bet that this book is as HighPlainsPress.com. Charley Parkhurst and even Makaopio- close as most people will ever come to A fact-filled primer on laundresses, pio, “The Spirit of Aloha.” the remote Sawtooth and White Clouds those valiant women – and even some Wilderness Areas in central Idaho. transgenders – who, from 1802 until The Fortunately, it’s as good a substitute as MICHAEL P. O’CONNOR. 1876, were the only women “paid and Wild West meets the Big Apple. Pelican. a book could possibly be. Photographer recognized” by the U.S. government. Hardcover, 204 pages, $25.95, Mark William Lusk’s rich photographs Jennifer J. Lawrence provides details of PelicanPub.com. capture the stark beauty of the high, the duties and glimpses into the lives First-time author Michael O’Connor wild mountains. Sky, stone, and water of an overlooked part of the frontier dominate in a region where even trees brings us a sampling of prominent Army. and plants seem like visitors. Nicole figures who had visited, lived LeFavour’s contributions are labeled for a time, or had adventures on the JOYCE B. LOHSE. Spencer Penrose: “essays,” but seem too brief for the sidewalks of New York. His eclectic list Builder & Benefactor. Filter. Trade paper- label. Rather, they, like photographs, includes: lawmen, and back, 110 pages, $12.95, offer vivid images of high country hik- ; frontiersmen, FilterPressBooks.com. ing, riding, camping and inspiration. Cody and ; Lakota This brief biography successfully – Rod Miller leader ; soldiers, William recounts events in the life of Spencer T. Sherman and George A. Custer; Penrose, who made his mark in min- women, Libby Custer and Josephine ing, agriculture, tourism and other Marcus; writer Mark Twain; Alamo 28 ROUNDUP MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2016 heroes Jim Bowie and ; JERRY D. SPANGLER and DON- the Constitution, General Order 100 and outlaws, and the NA KEMP SPANGLER. Last Chance (issued in 1863) and the Lieber Code ; among others. Biogra- Byway: The History of Nine Mile Canyon. on military conduct. The charges apply phies of the individuals, descriptions University of Utah Press. Paperback, to the so-called “Indian Wars” of the of their experiences in New York 372 pages, $34.95, UofUPress.com. 1870s. A lawyer by profession, Wright City, contemporary images of related This is a coffee-table book for his- produces convincing evidence that buildings and places as well as mod- torians, lovers of the West and people Congress never voted for war against ern day color photos of these sites are who like out of the way forgotten American Indian tribes, that military included. I highly recommend this for places. Lots of fun and old and beauti- forces indiscriminately attacked and readers who enjoy a glimpse of their ful photos adorn the 272 pages of killed noncombatant women and chil- Western heroes outside their natural text, before you get to the 51 pages of dren, and that the U.S. Army invaded environment. Biographical Register backed up by 47 unceded in violation of – William Groneman III pages of Notes. Every taste in nonfic- the Treaty of 1868. A reminder: Trea- tion is well served. Partially underwrit- ties carry authority as supreme law of BILL O’NEAL. Sam Houston: A ten by the Bill Barrett Corp., a North the land. Wright also retraces Custer’s Study in Leadership. Eakin. Trade paper- American oil and natural gas corpo- actions at the Little Big Horn, highlight- back, 257 pages, $19.95, ration, the Spangler scholars have ing Custer’s incompetence and arro- EakinPress.com. created nine big chapters that trace the gance that led to his death and those of The state historian of Texas takes a history of Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon 210 men of the 7th Cavalry. This book is different approach in this biography of from some non-specific date before certain to ignite spirited discussion and Sam Houston. Bill O’Neal hones in on 1800 to about 1936. That history is one render obsolete an earlier generation of the leadership qualities of an “asser- of events, people, geography, natural writings on Custer’s Last Stand. tive, independent, ambitious Type A resources and commercial adventures. – Abraham Hoffman personality.” Although focusing on – Edward Massey Houston’s leadership traits and how PAUL R. WYLIE. Blood on the those traits were forged, this first-rate LARRY WOOD. Bushwhacker Belles: Marias: The Baker Massacre. University read still provides a fine overview of The Sisters, Wives, and Girlfriends of of Oklahoma Press. Hardcover, 336 Houston’s life and times. the Missouri Guerrillas. Pelican. Trade pages, $29.95, OUPress.com. paperback, 295 pages, $24.95, The author starts his account of the THOMAS A. PERMAR. Navigating PelicanPub.com. 1870 massacre of Piegan Indians on the American West: A History. Western Ozarks historian Larry Wood chron- the Marias River in Sea Press. Trade paperback, 286 pages, icles another side, and sex, of the Civil with the tribe’s first contact with whites no price listed. War on the Western frontier. He tells in a deadly encounter with Meriwether Thomas A. Permar’s book is truly the stories of the women who support- Lewis in 1806. The book ends with the an enthralling and educational read. ed Missouri’s Confederate irregulars 1884 death of Major Eugene Baker, Permar’s historical account begins in during the bloody fighting in who led the fight on the Marias while, the mid-16th Century and follows west- and Missouri. Many of these mothers, it seems, in a drunken stupor. Paul Wy- ern human migration into the mid-19th sisters and daughters were banished lie’s research is extensive, uncovering Century. The book illustrates how from the state by Union officials, oth- numerous sources. But he also reveals several people from a host of differing ers received prison terms and even one how cover-ups by the military, politi- cultures dealt with traversing the land was sentenced to death (the execution cal intrigue and bureaucratic infighting that became known as the American wasn’t carried out). A good source for all served to obscure events, probably West. With exquisite descriptions of novelists and scholars interested in this beyond recovery. While the book makes the landscape itself, Permar expertly savage time. a valuable contribution to history, the incorporates the human element into prose is somewhat plodding and readers this descriptive narrative. The stories CHARLES E. WRIGHT. Law at would benefit from a more engaging provided in this volume not only ex- Little Big Horn: Due Process Denied. presentation. hibit the ability of humans to over- Texas Tech University Press. Hardcov- – Rod Miller come overwhelming obstacles facing er, 315 pages, $45, TTUPress.org. them in the forms of mountains, vast George Custer scholars and buffs deserts and abominable weather, but alike will have to take notice of Charles FICTION they also add to the greater history and Wright’s powerful indictment of Presi- understanding of the settling of the dent Ulysses S. Grant, generals William RUDOLFO ANAYA. The Sorrows of American West. T. Sherman and , and Young Alfonso. University of Oklahoma – Kellen Cutsforth Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer Press. Hardcover, 232 pages, $24.95, as violating the due process clause of OUpress.com. OCTOBER 2016 ROUNDUP MAGAZINE 29 In this autobiographical novel the author recounts the BRETT COGBURN. Widowmaker Jones. Pinnacle. Mass- life of a young boy, Alfonso, on the banks of the Pecos market paperback, 378 pages, $7.50, KensingtonBooks.com. River and plains of eastern New Mexico, his coming-of- Robbed and shot, Widowmaker Jones sets off in pursuit age experiences in Albuquerque and as an adult. The story of his assailant, a Mexican bandit feared on both sides of the is told in a long series of letters to an unnamed “K” by an border. Jones is joined in his quest by a fat and sassy Judge anonymous narrator we are led to believe is a colleague – whose “court” first tries him for murder – and a of Adolfo’s. Late in the book, the writer’s true identity is fetching gypsy circus girl. The unlikely trio fends off Rurales revealed. A beautifully written novel, Rudolfo Anaya dances enforcing their own brand of law, renegade vaqueros and the throughout with sorrow, pain, poverty, philosophy, religion, angry hacendado father of a young daughter courted (and kind love, culture, discrimination, activism, literature, writing and of kidnapped) by the outlaw, along a bloody trail to recover other thoughtful and thought-provoking topics. thieved gold, stolen circus horses and a jaguar’s hide taken – Rod Miller from the judge’s saloon. Brett Cogburn again demonstrates a mastery of storytelling that has earned him multiple Spur JAMES CLAY. The Robin Hood of the Range. Black Horse. Awards. Hardcover, £14.50, HaleBooks.com. – Rod Miller I have read several of the author’s works, and he writes solid traditional Westerns. In this story, Rance Dehner is a JAMES D. CROWNOVER. Triple Play. Five Star. Hard- detective on the trail of Ricky Cates, a vicious killer who cover, 317 pages, $25.95, gale.cengage.com/fivestar. will gun down even his own partners without compunction James Crownover takes a tidbit from history and expands but has convinced some people that he is a Western Robin upon it in this coming-of-age story that follows Tucker Bea- Hood, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. While the vers from 15 into young adulthood on a New Mexico cattle story moves along quickly, I didn’t find it up to the standards ranch in the 1880s. Although baseball figures into the novel, this author usually sets. Character development is minimal, it is actually a metaphor for the larger plot. Tucker receives a and I found myself not really caring about any of them, remote pasture and range cattle to stock it from his father, as good guys or bad. a start to build his own ranch, and learns the lessons of mak- – James J. Griffin ing his way in life and falling in love as he struggles to make a go of it. The novel is heavy on dialect, which is somewhat distracting, but Crownover uses it to build a strong voice for his protagonist. The novel is satisfying and builds to a grip- ping conclusion. – Loyd Uglow

JANET DAILEY. Texas Tall. Kensington. Trade paper- back, 249 pages, $26, KensingtonBooks.com. Janet Dailey was a fixture in Western romance fiction, a writer with a prodigious output. A pioneer – first Ameri- can author signed by Harlequin – Dailey was a disciplined, intense writer. She died in 2013, but her publisher informed me Dailey had sold this trilogy to Kensington before her death. A spokeswoman said, “… she was well on her way with all the books in the series at the time of her death.” With this information, I read my first Janet Dailey: Texas Tall, third in the series. One thing I noticed immediately and appreciated was Dailey’s ability to send a story spinning. Rancher Will Tyler has been divorced eight years and is still not happy about it. He’s driving his daughter Erin home one night and hears on the radio of a killer on the loose. Tyler ends up confronting the man and shoots him in self-defense. But uh-oh, the real killer has already been apprehended. That’s the beginning of a taut, great read, or should be. Sadly, Dailey never saw a cliché she didn’t like: tall, tough Texan; equally tough, gorgeous ex-wife, still in love (maybe) with that hunky ex-husband; a bad woman who is really bad and blackmailing everyone in town to ensure Will is rail- roaded to prison for shooting her nasty brother. I couldn’t suspend enough disbelief to enjoy Texas Tall. I prefer more 30 ROUNDUP MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2016 subtle characters and less predictable she pin on the sheriff’s star? Surprised with its unique blend of three cultures, endings. at that offer from the town council, she sometimes in competition, sometimes – Carla Kelly – like everyone in the growing commu- in cooperation. nity – doubts her ability to handle the – Loyd Uglow BUTCH DENNY. Savage Winter: A job. But she learns to ride and shoot, Story of Wilderness and Survival. Self- withstands the ridicule that accom- A.H. HOLT. Ten in Texas. Outlaws. published. Trade Paperback, 282 pages, panies her every move and eventually Trade paperback, 346 pages, $15.95, $24.95. gains the confidence of herself and OutlawsPublishing.com. Butch Denny turned from 16 years of others. An enjoyable and unusual story Had Will Gantry, the wanderer, researching and writing a biography to with plenty of twists and turns, but been running away from something this work of fiction he wrote to “stretch many readers will tie up the loose ends or toward something? Where was this my legs.” It reads as a real-life story before the author does. nebulous thing called home? Was he at occurring in 1974 and features the pro- – Rod Miller home anywhere or nowhere? He fol- tagonist engaged in a yearlong psycho- lowed the siren’s call, to strange lands logical study called “Project Snow.” He JEFFREY P. HAVENS. Lewis and and stranger people. Through no delib- would be observed standing against the Clark: Fraught with Difficulties, Volume erate thought of his own, he stumbles harsh elements in Yellowstone National One. FWD-LLC. Trade paperback, 274 upon Running Water Draw, where the Park. Unseen observers, coupled with pages, $24.95, land, sky and gentle stream bounded interested readers, track him through FraughtWithDifficulties.com. by grassy banks ensnares him. Buy- the year. Interesting concept. Jeffrey Havens writes a version of the ing ranching acres on this Texas/New — Lynn Bueling often-told story of Lewis and Clark’s Mexico border, he sets out to put down expedition from the perspective of roots. Will finds a widow woman, her WILLIAM A. DOUGLASS. Death . He covers that part young son itching to have another papa, After Life, Tales of Nevada. Black Rock of the journey to the mouth of the Mis- and together the three of them forge a Institute Press. Hardcover, 136 pages, souri River, leaving expectations of the new life. $25, BlackRockInstitute.org. promised second volume completing – Melody Groves Uh-oh, I thought when reading the journey. The author’s writing style the first few pages. Poetry. Too many is quite verbose. However, scholarship C. COURTNEY JOYNER. : metaphors. This is not going to be for this work is suggested by the large The Bleeding Ground. Pinnacle. Mass- good. Boy, was I wrong. The other 12 bibliography he consulted, and his prior market paperback, 346 pages, $6.99, stories are brilliantly written fictional experience as an investigative reporter KensingtonBooks.com. but real stories of Nevada, where the probably aided him. Havens relates a Dr. John Bishop, who lost an arm author was born and raised. The journey “fraught with difficulties.” to outlaws and has replaced it with a subjects include early fur trappers, the - Lynn Bueling double-barrel 12-gauge, is back in an casino industry, coming of age, the entertaining sequel to Shotgun that’s just anti-Chinese movement, people who DOUG HOCKING. Wildest West. as much fun as the original. This time, are broke, people who are too wealthy, Buckland Abbey. Trade paperback, 258 Bishop is hired to help John Chisum being a Paiute Indian, cattle rustling, pages, $14.95. (yes, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid make fires, ghosts and snakes. I especially en- Regional historian Hocking presents appearances) protect his land and cattle joyed the stories involving snakes, even a collection of short historical fic- from a mean bunch of bad men – led when the author got it a little wrong. “I tion and true accounts, all focused on by Bishop’s evil brother. A screenwriter have been thinking about rattlesnakes the desert Southwest, circa 1860. His and film historian, Courtney Joyner since we left the pavement.” I can easily colorful characters range from famil- peppers this homage with characters relate to that. There is real history in iar historical personalities such as Kit straight out of Spaghetti Westerns and these pages, told in powerful, masterful Carson and the chief , comic books, plus dialogue that smacks words. to individuals born or developed in the of a 1940s RKO film noir. Think Sabata – Richard Lapidus author’s imagination, like the uncon- meets Jonah Hex meets Murder, My ventional Peregrino Rojo. Several of Sweet. And enjoy the bloody ride. MELODY GROVES. She was Sheriff. them figure in more than one of the – Johnny D. Boggs Five Star. Hardcover, 358 pages, $25.95, tales, and there is some redundancy in gale.cengage.com/fivestar. the incidents covered. The two sections JOE R. LANSDALE and JOHN The heroine enters this tale unsure of of the book are of mixed quality, with L. LANSDALE. Hell’s Bounty. Subter- herself – should she wait for the wan- the historical accounts, in my estima- ranean. Hardcover, eBook, 192 pages, dering man she thinks she loves? Should tion, being stronger than the fiction. All $40, $6.99, SubterraneanPress.com. she nurture a possible romance with of them, though, present a strong sense H.P. Lovecraft meets Louis L’Amour! another? Will she ever marry? Should of the mid-19th Century Southwest, A dynamite-wielding bounty hunter OCTOBER 2016 ROUNDUP MAGAZINE 31 named Smith meets his demise in the the plan goes badly awry. The result a distance) protector. Oh, by the way, town of Falling Rock, but the Devil is murder. Sean Stranahan, the series’ by the end, we come to like her quite a gives him a chance at redemption. main character, is good-hearted, smart, bit, too. Smith is sent back to the West to rid the and subject to woman trouble. Aside – Edward Massey world of a crazed killer named Quill from solving mysteries, fishing is his who has sold his soul to even worse passion. The novel includes an intrigu- ANN PARKER. What Gold Buys. Poi- deities than Satan. It’s up to Smith and ing cast of characters, notably the soned Pen. Hardcover, trade paperback, a posse of heroes from hell, including mermaids at the Trout Tails Bar and large print, eBook, 412 pages, 576 pages, Wild Bill Hickok and , to save Grill. But most of all, McCafferty has $26.95, $15.95, $23.95, $9.99, all of humanity from a fate worse than penned one of the most powerful scenes PoisonedPenPress.com. eternal damnation. Only Joe Lansdale I’ve read in a long while, where a bro- In Mercury’s Rise, Inez Stannert’s – with help from his comic-book writing ken mother explains the actions of her husband, Mark, shows up after desert- brother – could dream up such a fantas- children. Highly recommended. ing her for 18 months. In What Gold tic, fun-filled corruption of genres. – Carol Crigger Buys, Inez continues with proceedings – Johnny D. Boggs to divorce him, not easy in 1880s Lead- LINDSAY McKENNA. Wind River ville, Colorado. The divorce is a risk JD MARCH. The Stacked Deck. Five Wrangler. Zebra. Mass-market paper- Inez means to take in order to be free Star. Hardcover, 324 pages, $25.95, gale. back, 327 pages, $7.99, of her cheating husband. Meanwhile, cengage.com/fivestar. KensingtonBooks.com. body snatchers are at work, and when a This author dared to show the reader For authors, there are interesting young “newsie’s” mother, a soothsayer the disagreeable side of the hero, if you insights into the process of writing from named Drina, is strangled in their hut, can call a young, despicable gunslinger a an author who has been known as the only Inez seems caring enough to help hero. From the very beginning, I found “Top Gun of Women’s Military Fic- the child find the woman’s body, which this character, Johnny Fierro, to be an tion” since 1983. She has sold 22 mil- has mysteriously disappeared. Ann angry, selfish killer without remorse. lion books and has penned 180 romance Parker’s characters are always interest- And, so did March, who continually novels. The first book in the “Wind ing and entertaining. Her historical displayed Fierro’s overconfidence and River Series,” Wind River Wrangler, is depiction of daily life in the 1880s is disdain for those who wished to help the love story between a best-selling spot-on, and the setting of her novels him. Then one day two marshals from romance writer, Shiloh Gallagher, and puts the reader right in the scene. I’m Utah came to town to take Johnny back a black ops ranger, Roan Taggart. Roan looking forward to the next book. for a trial, a trial that would most likely now works as a wrangler on a Wyoming – Carol Crigger end with Johnny swinging from a rope. ranch, to which Shiloh comes from New Most men would be eager for friends York City to escape a stalker. Lots of MATT PRESCOTT. The who wanted to help. Not Johnny, how- authentic Western atmosphere, sexual Cincinnati. Tortuga. Trade paperback, ever. Strangely, I liked this book. It dug tension, and two lovers who are willing eBook, 258 pages, $14.95, $2.99, deeply into the angst shrouding a young to commit to one another in a meaning- Amazon.com. man whose gun was all he’d had to give ful way. Cincinnati is an enigma. Basi- him confidence. The ending is satisfy- – Linda Jacobs cally, he’s a brutal killer on the trail of ing and logical. A well-written tale by outlaws with bounties on their heads. someone who obviously understands DAVID OSBORNE. Carly’s Revenge: His morals are questionable. He kills the harsh frontier life in the 1880s. A Carly Barton Novel. Five Star. Hard- without remorse, but only if he can – Phil Dunlap cover, 226 pages, $25.95, make money on the body. Cincinnati’s gale.cengage.com/fivestar. trail crosses that of Embrey Denman, a KEITH McCAFFERTY. Buffalo Jump Random acts of violence create man who needs to get a lot of money to Blues: A Sean Stranahan Mystery. Viking. the inciting incident and the revenge Missoula, Montana. He hires Cincin- Hardcover, 304 pages, $26, story of the title begins. Aided by Lee nati for protection. The story does move PenguinRandomHouse.com. Marvin, oops, Clay Daggert, drunken along quite well and is easy to read, well Keith McCafferty has evolved into famous gunslinger, Carly Barton learns written and enjoyably paced. It could one of my favorite writers. Not only how to draw lightning fast and shoot have benefited from editing. does he write an excellent mystery, but inhumanly straight then sets off to gun – Phil Dunlap he also has something to say about down the three escaped convicts who world events. This time, his plot revolves murdered her parents and raped her. DEAN HALLIDAY SMITH. The around the government’s slaughter of She succeeds in bringing face-to-face Wastage. Rowe. Trade paperback, 580 free-roaming bison. Two young Indians slow death and pain to the villains and pages, $20, RowePub.com. have a plan intended to bring attention along the way falls in love with her now The era of the Civil War destroyed to the buffalo’s plight. Unfortunately, sobered up gunslinger coach and (from our own family of American citizens. 32 ROUNDUP MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2016 During that divisive time, there arose We have a tale here! If you can stick hostile Indians, gunplay, spent mounts many points of view, especially from it out for the first seven pages of non- and an exiled Mormon plural wife. The various military commanders and the stop narration (Chapter 1), you will be title character is only briefly mentioned regular citizens. Included in this novel well rewarded. No matter what he does, through the course of the narrative, but is tons of history, too much for a single Charlie Deegan keeps getting in trouble. when he appears fully-fledged it will novel. Way too many story lines are No matter what kind of trouble, Charlie come as a surprise to many readers. mingled where they do not mesh. Head Deegan’s guardian angel pulls him out Western Heritage Wrangler Award-win- jumping from character to character of it. Of course he does. He needs to ning author Michael Zimmer presents sometimes within the same paragraph send Charlie into the next harrowing us with another novel readers will enjoy sent this reader’s head spinning. Mul- situation. Charlie recognizes this and and writers will envy. tiple “rabbit tracks” of subplots create a leaves him prayers and gold along the – Rod Miller non-cohesive story. Extremely difficult way. Me? I think it’s Mike Thompson. to follow any character although the While his omniscient author gets in history was informative. the way for my taste, I could hear him BOOK NOTES — Sandy Whiting laughing as he dunked Charlie under the water one more time, just to pull JOHNNY D. BOGGS. Return to Red JOANNE SUNDELL. Arctic Will: him out and send him on his way to River. Pinnacle. Mass-market paper- Watch Eyes Trilogy, Book Three. Five Star. another stumble. Labeled Historical back, 371 pages, $7.99, Hardcover, 319 pages, $25.95, gale. Western by Five Star, it should have KensingtonBooks.com. cengage.com/fivestar. been called Great Entertainment! Johnny Boggs continues Borden Alaska in the first decade of the – Edward Massey Chase’s novel that became the classic 20th Century is an unforgiving land, John Wayne Western movie Red River. especially for a team of Chukchi sled JULIE WESTON. Basque Moon: A Twenty years after Thomas Dunson’s dogs and their human “guardians,” Nellie Burns and Mystery. Five legendary cattle drive, Dunson’s foster Anya and Rune. Dark spiritual forces Star. Hardcover, 250 pages, $25.95, gale. son, Mathew Garth, is forced to make are at work beyond the earthly dangers, cengage.com/fivestar. another hard drive to Kansas to keep threatening both humans and huskies Julie Weston, an Idaho native, has the Dunson legacy alive. alike, forces symbolic of Stalin’s com- penned an interesting mystery novel munist scourge plaguing Anya’s native set in that state in 1923 where Basque JAN CERNEY. and Siberia. This struggle plays out against sheepherders play a prominent role. She Her Siblings: The Saga of Lena and Elijah the backdrop of the brutal All Alaska drew on her contemporary friendship Canary. History Press. Paperback, 163 Sweepstakes Race. with Basque people to color her work pages, $21.99, ArcadiaPublishing.com. with accurate depictions of their tradi- Historian Jan Cerney tracks down JERRY WILSON. Across the Cimar- tions, food, dogs and language. In the Martha Jane Canary’s often-over- ron. Mongrel Empire. Trade paperback, book, Nellie Burns and her dog, Moon- looked siblings, chronicling brother 213 pages, $18, MongrelEmpirePress. shine, come upon a murdered sheep- Elijah’s horse thieving and sister org. herder. The story’s conflict develops Lena’s denial of Calamity Jane’s tall Set primarily atop a chicken coop and whirls around cowboys wanting to tales. floating down the flooded Cimarron keep sheep off their range, moonshiners River, the novel flashes back to the 1892 operating a still and a married woman’s JAMES HITT. The Courage of Others. land rush into Cheyenne and involvement with a . An intri- Open Books. Trade paperback, 238 land in Indian Territory and the subse- cate, well-told story. pages, $16.95, Open-Bks.com. quent six-plus decades in the lives of a – Lynn Bueling Although set in Texas, there is noth- young couple that homesteaded there. ing intrinsically Western about this Drought, loneliness, poverty, racial MICHAEL ZIMMER. Charlie Red. book – the locale could be anywhere tension and finally rain and flood throw Five Star. Hardcover, 238 pages, $25.95, in the Jim Crow South on the heels of up challenges to the family’s existence. gale.cengage.com/fivestar. World War I. When a white teenager While it’s a good story based on an Book Five in the “American Legends in a hick town befriends a young black interesting premise, the book unfortu- Collection” – a series so well-crafted man and falls in love with a black girl, nately suffers from significant distract- some readers actually believe the there is a certain inevitability to the ing errors in editing and proofreading. author’s premise that the books come way the story will end. All that aside, – Rod Miller from a depression-era oral history proj- it’s a beautifully written book with ect – Charlie Red is the tale of an express richly drawn characters, well-construct- MIKE THOMPSON. The Turbulent company shotgun guard on the trail of ed conflict and chilling, if understated, Trail. Five Star. Hardcover, 288 pages, stolen payroll money. Along the way he violence. $25.95, gale.cengage.com/fivestar. tangles with hunger, thirst, desert heat, – Rod Miller OCTOBER 2016 ROUNDUP MAGAZINE 33