The Western Fiction Shelf

Rawhide Jake: Lone Star Fame
JD Arnold
Five Star Publishing
http://gale.cengage.com/fivestar
9781432895877, $25.95 Hardcover

https://www.amazon.com/Rawhide-Jake-Times-Detective-Brighton/dp/1432895877

Fans of Western novels, historical fiction, and prior readers of Rawhide Ja=
ke in Learning the Ropes will each find a compelling new saga to appreciate=
in Rawhide Jake: Lone Star Fame, which centers on Jake's ongoing encounter=
s that take place after he splits from Wes Wilson in the first book.

Jake is now working undercover, arresting cattle rustlers and gaining a rep= utation for frontier justice. But riding the range looking for criminals is= n't his only pursuit. Also a part of his life is a romance he's cultivated = with a married woman, whom he marries after her husband dies. There are als=
o unresolved issues with Wes, who returns, in this book, to join Jake in a = dangerous undertaking that almost kills Jake and changes his life. Now the = owner of a new company that places him and his Chinese workers in different=
jeopardy, Jake's battles are only beginning. JD Arnold crafts a powerful s= aga set in the late 1800s, which incorporates the political, social, and ps= ychological challenges of these times.

Jake Brighton represents not only a force of strength and change in a world=
beset upon by those who would skirt justice systems, but a business figure=
, as he ventures into unusual investments and absorbs financial interests a=
nd matters that belay his work in other areas. His actions are detailed wit=
h logical analysis and realistic insight: "His original intent was to ride = out to the crew and deliver the payroll. But now his intent changed because=
money-in is always more important to develop than money-out. Both were nee= ded of course in business, but there were priorities."

As Jake, his wife Mary Jane, and Wes come to terms with new opportunities t= hat test their lives, readers receive a powerful Western backdrop that both=
educates and entertains. There are disparities in the historical record co= ncerning the real Rawhide Jake. Jonas V. Brighton was not ever known as Raw= hide Jake; however, many western historians believe he was. Same goes for h=
is role as a stock detective. The author came to realize these disparities = after the publication of Learning the Ropes, and segued the part fiction/pa=
rt fact contents of its predecessor into a full fictional format in Lone St=
ar Fame.

Libraries and readers looking for Westerns that incorporate historical back= drops with a realistic attention to descriptive detail and the lives of tho=
se faced with numerous changing choices will find Rawhide Jake: Lone Star F= ame a fine survey of life challenges in 1800s Texas. It concludes with the = promise of another Jake adventure in another Western territory. The blend o=
f history and adventure works seamlessly to create a vivid account that is = enlightening and hard to put down.

Death Trail
D. D. Lang
Lindford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848588, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 211pp

Synopsis: Travelling West was never easy. Men, women and children endured t=
he rough terrain, the heat, the cold, illness and, sometimes, Indians. So, = when sickness struck, and wagons had to be segregated, the danger was incre= ased.

There were always men ready to take advantage and Clem Watkins and his gang=
were ready to do just that. Ardal Maloney, his wife Kate and two children = had left Ireland to seek out a new life in the West. Leaving behind them st= arvation, poverty and death, they came to the New World to start afresh.

But the senseless killing of women and children fired Ardal into seeking to=
avenge their deaths.

Critique: A masterpiece of a vengeance quest action/adventure western, "Dea=
th Trail" by D. D. Lang (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/408937.D_D_L= ang) is a simply riveting and compulsive page turner of a read from cover t=
o cover. This large print paperback edition from the Linford Western Librar=
y collections is especially recommended for community library Western Ficti=
on collections and the personal reading lists for the legions of D. D. Lang=
fans.

Editorial Note: Derek Doyle writes under the pen name of D.D. Lang and has = had over 40 Black Horse Westerns published.

Return to Crows Creek
John E. Vale
Lindford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848748, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 234pp

Synopsis: Englishman Marshal Daniel Wheetman has been given over to Preside=
nt Hayes by Queen Victoria in an attempt to bring justice to the lawless we= st. However, Daniel's methods of policing are in complete contrast to those=
employed by US lawmen. Not only is he unable to ride a horse, he also does=
not believe in the use of firearms. Additionally, he has a personality tha=
t makes the vast majority of cowboys want to blow his head off!

Critique: Few western writers have a sense of humor to match that of noveli=
st John E. Vale as evidenced by his stories featuring a kind of Sherlock Ho= lmes style lawman, Englishman Daniel Wheelman, who is loaned out by Queen V= ictoria to the Americans and is teamed up Murphy -- a semi- reformed gunman=
promised a pardon from hanging as the assigned 'protector' of this seeming=
ly vulnerable excuse for a U.S. Marshall. The problem is that if Daniel Whe= elman gets himself killed, the pardon goes away and Murphy will find himsel=
f hung! Unabashedly recommended for both dedicated western fans and communi=
ty library Western Fiction collections, "Return to Crows Creek" is the seco=
nd volume in a simply outstanding series of western action/adventure novels=
by John E. Vale.

Bighorn Gold
Art Isberg
Lindford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848496, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 252pp

Synopsis: Jesper Tubbs has spent his life wandering the western mountains, = searching for the elusive glint of gold. But Fate plays its fickle hand lat=
e in his life when, at the point of starvation, he literally stumbles upon =
a fabulous strike. However, Tubbs finds far more than just gold. His chance=
discovery is to turn sane men into wanton killers, who will stop at nothin=
g to find his secret location deep in the Tobacco Root Mountains -- and cla=
im it as their own!

Critique: A classic novel of prospectors and claim jumpers in the Old West,=
"Bighorn Gold" by Art Isberg is a fully engaging and entertaining read tha=
t will be an enduringly appreciated and popular addition to community libra=
ry Western Fiction collections. This large print paperback edition of "Bigh= orn Gold" from the Linford Western Library collection is particularly comme= nded to the attention of all dedicated western action fans.

Editorial Note: Art Isberg writes westerns, both novels and short stories. =
A freelance writer for more than four decades, he has explored unmapped gho=
st towns, followed ancient wagon ruts of pioneers across western deserts, a=
nd successfully dug up bandit treasure taken in a Wells Fargo robbery. He h=
as published six novels and over 300 short stories and articles. His writin=
g has been featured in Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Sports Afield, Safari,=
Bugle, Fly Fisherman, Saltwater Fisherman, and many other major outdoor pr= ess magazines. It has also been featured in Daily Republic, West Coast news= papers with stories about growing up through the war years of World War II,=
living in western mountains, and in the newsletters of western historical = societies.

The Marshal and the Fatal Foreclosure
C. M. Wendelboe
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432895426, $25.95, HC, 315pp

https://www.amazon.com/Marshal-Foreclosure-Nelson-Frontier-Mystery/dp/14328= 95427

Synopsis: U.S. Marshal Nelson Lane is trying to aid his deputy in evicting = Lucky Graber, a failed Wyoming rancher, when a dead man is found on Lucky's=
land, apparently killed in a hunting accident.

The victim, Gino Bonelli, took an interest in Lucky's ranch shortly before =
he was killed, though the land is worthless as far as Nelson and everyone e= lse in the town of Gillette is concerned. Then Lucky Graber disappears, and=
the victim's gangster brother Bruno arrives in town with his thugs, intent=
on finding out for certain how Gino died.

Before long, it becomes apparent that the "hunting accident" was staged, an=
d that other people around Gillette (including the owner of the bank that f= oreclosed on Lucky's ranch) are far more interested in this "worthless" pie=
ce of real estate than they should be. Maybe enough to kill over.

While Nelson and his deputies work to solve the crime, Bruno and his goons = fan out, threatening anyone connected with the missing rancher and gatherin=
g what information they can to identify Gino's murderer so Bruno can give t=
he killer his own brand of justice. Will Lucky surface -- assuming he's sti=
ll alive? Will Nelson discover why Gino Bonelli was in the area, snooping o=
n Lucky's ranch land? And will Gino's death be avenged?

Critique: A deftly blended combination of action/adventure western and 'who= dunnit' mystery, "The Marshal and the Fatal Foreclosure" by novelist C. M. = Wendelboe is a fun read from first page to last. Having a particular attrac= tion to both the western fan and the mystery buff, "The Marshal and the Fat=
al Foreclosure" is unreservedly recommended for either Historical Mystery o=
f Western Fiction collections.

When the Devil Comes A-Calling
Ethan J. Wolfe
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432893996, $25.95, HC, 277pp

https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Calling-Youngblood-Brothers-Western/dp/1432893= 998

Synopsis: When Judge Parker of Fort Smith, Arkansas, sends two US marshals =
on a routine prisoner pickup and they never make it to their destination, h=
e sends Marshals Emmet and Jack Youngblood to find them.

Emmet and Jack (considered two of the best marshals in the West), come upon=
the dead bodies of the missing marshals, but their prisoner wagon is not t=
o be found. They follow the tracks left behind by the heavy wagon to Spring= field, Missouri.

In Springfield, the brothers learn that notorious outlaw Joe Foster, wounde=
d in a bank robbery attempt, was broken out of jail by members of his gang,=
who disguised themselves as the two murdered marshals and used the prisone=
r wagon for his escape. Emmet and Jack return to Forth Smith, where they ga= ther intelligence on Joe Foster.

Foster comes from a Mormon family in Salt Lake City. After traveling to Uta=
h to see the Foster family, Emmet and Jack learn that Joe left the Mormons = before the Civil War with his friend Jacob Compton and that the Fosters rec= eived a letter from Joe one year ago from Deadwood, in the Dakota Territory=
.. Now the hunt gets even more dangerous and deadly for the Emmet and Jack.

Critique: A 'Youngblood Brothers' western from the pen of Al Lamanda under = his pseudonym of Ethan J. Wolfe, "When The Devil Comes A-Calling" is a clas= sic action/adventure western novel that will prove to be an immediate and e= nduringly popular addition to the personal reading lists of dedicated weste=
rn fans, as well as community library Western Fiction collections.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo= ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
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for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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