The Western Fiction Shelf

Money Train
Michael Stewart
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848700, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 228pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/money-train-michael-stewart/1130032702?ean= =3D9781444848 700

Synopsis: Danny Spence plans to stay only one night in Gila Creek. But he's=
mistaken for a snake named Zeke Tolan, and from then on it's just one damn=
thing after another. He falls foul of the evil Ma Cole, then gets on the w= rong side of Hernando Ortiz and his sadistic bodyguard Bracho. Somehow, thi=
s is all wrapped up with a train full of money that's rolling south of the = border - right into the middle of the Mexican revolution.

Critique: A classic guns blazing western adventure of the first order, this=
large print paperback edition from the Linford Western Library collection,=
"Money Train" by author Michael Stewart, is a riveting read from beginning=
to end and certain to be a popular addition to the personal reading lists =
of dedicated western fans and community library Western Fiction collections=
..

Editorial Note: Michael Stewart (August 1, 1924 - September 20, 1987) was a=
writer, actor, artist, and filmmaker. Several of his plays have been profe= ssionally staged, including his adaptation of Dracula, at the Leicester Squ= are Theatre, London.

Wanted Dead Or Alive
Ralph Hayes
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848878, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 246pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wanted-ralph-hayes/1130032682?ean=3D978144= 4848878

Synopsis: A year after being saved from a kidnapping, Dulcie Provost is wai= ting for the return of her rescuer, bounty hunter Certainty Sumner. But fir=
st Sumner has to carry out one more mission - tracking down sadistic outlaw=
the Lakota Kid. Unbeknownst to Sumner, he himself is also the quarry of an=
equally ruthless bounty hunter, Luther Bastian. The father of a gang membe=
r Sumner killed while rescuing Provost wants vengeance and has duped Bastia=
n into believing that Sumner has turned outlaw. Can Sumner survive being hu= nted down by a bounty hunter as skilled and determined as himself?

Critique: With many a riveting plot twist and turn, "Wanted Dead Or Alive" =
by Ralph Hayes is an extraordinary and entertaining read that will have spe= cial appeal for the dedicated western action/adventure buff. This large pri=
nt paperback edition from the Linford Western Library collections is an esp= ecially recommended addition to community library Western Fiction collectio= ns.

Editorial Note: Ralph Hayes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Hayes_(aut= hor)) began authoring stories and full-length novels in 1969. His earliest = published work was a short story titled "The Gumdrop Affair", which was fea= tured in a 1967 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. He is the autho=
r of eight Black Horse Westerns.

Red Diamond Rustlers
Will DuRey
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848724, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 288pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-diamond-rustlers-will-durey/1130032651= ?ean=3D9781444 848724

Synopsis: Law was a rare commodity on the vast cattle ranges and a man had =
to fight if he meant to hold on to what he owned. A rancher dispensed his o= wned justice when he caught those who stole his livestock, but Titus Sawyer=
lost more than cattle when rustlers raided his Red Diamond spread. Men wer=
e killed, too, slaughtered in a dreadful ambush, so, when he summoned his n= ephew Frank to track down the killers his desire to punish the culprits was=
deeper than justice; it was revenge.

Critique: With all the compelling drama of a true western vengeance quest, = "Red Diamond Rustlers" by Will DuRey (who is a stickler for accuracy of det= ail in its historical western context) is a terrific and compulsive page-tu= rner of a read from cover to cover. This large print paperback edition of "= Red Diamond Ruslters" from the Linford Western Library collections will be =
a prized addition to community library Western Fiction collections -- and a=
'must' for all dedicated western novel fans.

Editorial Note: Will DuRey (https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/will-durey) =
is a life-long student of the history and legends of the Old West. He has b= een writing western fiction for more than a decade

Bad Blood At Harlow's Bend
Scott Connor
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848472, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 210pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bad-blood-at-harlows-bend-scott-connor/113= 0032663?ean=3D 9781444848472

Synopsis: When Lorimer Hall returns to the town of Clear Creek after ten ye= ars away everything has changed. His father is dead, his friend Budd Ewing = has been killed and nobody wants to know him. He decides to move on, but wi=
th it looking as if Budd's killer, Glenn Harlow, might get lynched, he is p= ersuaded to accept the task of escorting him to jail. On the journey Glenn = claims he's an innocent man, but Lorimer makes a mistake that leads to his = prisoner being taken from him and lynched. Lorimer resolves to find out who=
really killed Budd, but as uncovering the facts could mean he allowed an i= nnocent man to die, will the truth be enough to redeem him?

Critique: Deftly combining the best elements of a 'whodunnit' mystery with =
an action/adventure western, this large print paperback edition of "Bad Blo=
od at Harlow's Bend" by veteran western author Scott Connor from the Linfor=
d Western Library collections is a fun and fascinating read from first page=
to last -- and certain to be a popular addition to both personal reading l= ists and community library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Ian Parnham is the author of 37 western novels published as=
I. J. Parnham, Scott Connor, and Ed Law.

In Defense of Delia
Pat Stoltey
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
9781432894719, $25.95, HC, 269pp

https://www.amazon.com/Defense-Delia-Sangamon-Novel/dp/1432894714

Synopsis: 1838: Four years after the events in Wishing Caswell Dead. Delia = Pritchard gets a chilly reception when she returns to Sangamon, Illinois af= ter a thirteen-year absence. She's riding a Palouse stallion, is dressed li=
ke a man, has a bullet in her shoulder, and leads a horse with a seven-year= -old black boy astride.

Some think Delia left at the age of sixteen because she killed her parents = and set fire to their cabin with the bodies inside. It is also rumored that=
Delia runs with outlaws and that she shot a lawman.

When Doc Hemmer insists Delia and the boy remain in Sangamon while she recu= perates from surgery, he doesn't realize a vicious gang known as the Biedle=
r Brothers is on her trail. Preacher John Claymore, also unaware of the dan= ger, wants to meet Doc's patient with the beautiful eyes.

Farmer Annie Gray kills one of the Biedlers and triggers a violent response=
from the gang. Delia knows the brothers will be relentless. She brought th=
is disaster down on the town and its residents. Can she save them all?

Critique: As a novelist, Pat Stoltey is a master of the mystery thriller ge= nre, but with the publication of "In Defense of Delia" she proves an equal = mastery of the western action/adventure genre as well. Memorable characters=
, a riveting plot, everything a dedicated western fan wants, "In Defense of=
Delia" is unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists and communit=
y library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Pat Stoltey (https://patriciastolteybooks.com) is the autho=
r of two Sylvia and Willie amateur sleuth mysteries, The Prairie Grass Murd= ers and The Desert Hedge Murders; a thriller titled Dead Wrong; and the fir=
st Sangamon novel of frontier fiction, Wishing Caswell Dead. Dead Wrong and=
Wishing Caswell Dead were finalists for the Colorado Book Award.

Trini! Come!
W. Michael Farmer
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
9781432895785, $25.95, HC, 343pp

https://www.amazon.com/Trini-Come-Geronimos-Captivity-Trinidad/dp/143289578=
8

Synopsis: Although a work of fiction, "Trini! Come!: Geronimo's Captivity o=
f Trinidad Verdin" is based on an historical event. Trinidad Verd in's stor=
y reveals the courage, suffering, and lessons a twelve-year-old girl learns=
about Apaches and herself during her captivity with the Naiche-Geronimo ba=
nd hiding, fighting, and raiding in northern Sonora.

After breaking their surrender agreement with General George Crook in late = March 1886, forty Apaches (eighteen men, fourteen women, and six children) = led by Geronimo established a camp at the top of the Azul Mountains in west= ern Sonora and began raiding north. They crossed the United States border w= ith Mexico east of Nogales, Arizona, stole horses from the village of Calab= asas.

On the morning of April 27, 1886, they attacked the Artisan and Petra Peck = Ranch about eight miles northwest of Nogales. They killed pregnant Petra an=
d her two-year-old son, Andy, and were about to kill her niece, Trinidad, w= hen Geronimo decided to spare the child and took her captive. Later that da=
y Geronimo also let Artisan Peck live after he was taken while branding cat= tle.

The Apaches carry Trinidad east deep into the Pinito Mountains where she wi= tnesses an ambush of black soldiers before Geronimo leads the band back wes=
t to the Cibuta Mountains where they are attacked by Mexican militiamen who=
are mostly Tohono O'odham Indians. The Tohono O'odham militia suffer a hum= iliating defeat at the hands of the Apaches who show them Trinidad, challen= ging them to come take her. Instead the militia run away.

The Apaches return east and establish a camp on the R io Santa Cruz and in = the Coc ospera Mountains while they raid for livestock and fight US Cavalry=
.. Trinidad becomes friends with a boy, Garditha, near her age who teaches h= er to use a sling. She helps him learn Spanish; he helps her learn Apache. = While practicing with their slings they are attacked by three vaqueros who = want the boy's scalp for Apache scalp reward money, but Trini and Garditha = drive the attackers off. Geronimo later leads the vaqueros into a trap usin=
g Trini for bait.

With the US Cavalry hot on their trail, the Apaches split into three bands,=
the smallest being Geronimo's, which includes Trini, and they plan to reun= ite about a hundred miles southeast in the mountains at the confluence of t=
he Yaqui and Aros Rivers. While going up the R io Dolores, Geronimo's band =
is attacked by Mexican militia. Geronimo tries to escape with Trinidad behi=
nd him but his horse stumbles and they are both thrown off. Trinidad uses t=
he fall as an opportunity to escape to the Mexican militia led by Don Patri= cio Valenzuela.

After giving her story to the US Cavalry led by Captain Lawton and Mexican = authorities, her Uncle Artisan returns her back to Nogales.

Critique: A simply fascinating story by historical novelist W. Michael Farm= er, "Trini! Come!: Geronimo's Captivity of Trinidad Verdin" is a particular=
ly recommended and unique addition to the personal reading lists of dedicat=
ed western action/adventure fans and certain to be an enduringly popular pi=
ck for community library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: W. Michael Farmer (https://wmichaelfarmer.com) is the autho=
r of Hombrecito's War, which won a Western Writers of America Silver Spur A= ward for Best First Novel in 2006 and was a New Mexico Book Award Finalist = for Historical Fiction in 2007. The sequel, Hombrecito's Search, was releas=
ed in July 2007, and is based on the remarkable fact that Sierra Madre Apac= hes still raided across the United States border as late as 1930. He is als=
o the author of Conspiracy: The Trial of Oliver Lee and James Gililland, Ti= ger Tiger Burning Bright: The Betrayals of Pancho Villa, as well as short s= tories for two anthologies, and won awards for essays at the Christopher Ne= wport University Writers' Conference, and published an essay on Pat Garrett=
in Roundup magazine.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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(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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