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After their home is destroyed by guerrillas during the Civil War, Major and Mary Breydon with daughter, Peg, leave Virginia for Colorado where they will run a stagecoach. Major is killed on the journey, but Mary and Peg continue to Colorado and take over the stagecoach. Mary discovers her husband's killer is a political figure in Colorado. She wants to warn the citizens, but the killer wants her DEAD. This is a real page-turner with a hint of suspense.

Reviewed by Jimmy W., Main Library

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In the late 1800's, as railroad routes extended across the United States, the number of railroad travelers grew. However, the West remained uncivilized. Fred Harvey decided to open nice, quality restaurants along the Santa Fe Railroad routes to replace the existing "hash houses." To gain a steady, dependable work force, Harvey advertised in newspapers around the country for women of "good moral character" to work as waitresses in his Harvey House Restaurants. These women, the Harvey Girls, are credited with taming the Wild West. This book explores a period of social and geographical change in U.S. history and it features original photographs and interviews with Harvey Girls.

Reviewed by Sarah H., Independence Regional

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When Sheriff Harry Starbranch is asked to investigate a murder conviction, he does so reluctantly, because he is sure the man is guilty of rape and murder. After all, Carl Buchanan did confess to the crime and there was evidence linking him to the dead coed. A few hours after an angry visit with Carl on death row, Carl kills himself. He left behind a note saying he can no longer live with the guilt. Despite his death, Harry continues the investigation and tries to prove that Trace Buchanan, Carl's brother, is the murderer. A fast moving novel of detection and intrigue in a small Wyoming town better known for fly fishing.

Reviewed by Natalie M., Morrison Regional

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In this newest Joanna Brady mystery, Sheriff Brady is on the trail of the murderer of Alice Rogers, a wealthy widow of Cochise County, Arizona. However, the murder investigation is not her only problem; she must deal with emotional issues when her chief deputy resigns and her closest confidant suffers from mental depression over the death of her child. The murder of Alice's son, the mayor of Tombstone, and the discovery of a major drug ring creates further complications for Sheriff Brady. Jance the hottest mystery writer today has again written another page turner that keeps the reader guessing to the very end.

Reviewed by Elly T., Steele Creek Branch

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Life in the US Southwestern Territories was difficult. Sarah Agnes Prine, age 18, gives a picture of the time in this fictional display. Guided by her father's desire for greener pastures, Sarah follows the family to Texas and back to Arizona when illness, nature, and violence take her father and several brothers. Through years of hard work filled with happiness and tragedy, we see one woman fulfill her dreams of building her own family and receiving an education. Sarah is an inspirational character of determination and will who evokes the atmosphere of the wild west.

Reviewed by Sarah H., Independence Regional

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The Kansas-Missouri border witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War, which involved guerrilla warfare between Unionist Kansas "redlegs" and secessionist Missouri bushwackers. One of the most infamous bushwackers was William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson, and Wildwood Boys is a fictionalized account of his life. Bill is born into an unconventional yet close-knit family. Bill's mother instills in him a passion for literature and music, while his father instructs him in the finer points of horse thieving and sharp-shooting. When the Civil War breaks out and Unionists mistreat his family, Bill joins the bushwackers. The story features plenty of fast-paced action and adventure, but this is not your typical shoot-em-up yarn. The characters are well developed, and the prose is eloquent. Wildwood Boys weaves historical characters and fictional situations into a violent yet captivating tale of uncommon beauty and pathos.

Reviewed by Bryon C., North County Regional

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This collection of short stories offers ten tales in the Western genre that each became the basis for a movie. (Four of the ten movies - High Noon, 3:10 to Yuma, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and Fort Apache - may be found in the PLCMC collection.) The protagonists of these stories struggle to uphold duty, honor, and friendship in environments of squalor, greed, and lawlessness. Indian, Mexican, and African American characters appear, but their perspectives are not explored. Movie buffs, however, will see how cinematic recasting captured, or even improved on, the dramatic tensions of the original; and anyone who appreciates a well-crafted short story will find plenty to enjoy.

Reviewed by Tom C., Main Library

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This fascinating book is based on a fragment of truth: around 1854 a prominent Northern Cheyenne chief requested that the U.S. provide the men of his tribe with 1,000 white “brides”. Fearing extinction through war, his purpose was to assimilate his people into white culture through the tribe’s practice of raising children in the mother’s tribe. In reality, the U.S. government refused the request. Fergus, however, writes so convincingly that this reader had no trouble suspending disbelief that such a transition could occur. Subsequent betrayals by the U.S. government of the Native Americans and their white wives and children offer a heartbreaking portrayal of Native American traditional life coming to a horrific end. May Dodd and her journals, however, leave a surprising legacy.

Reviewed by Michele H., Main Library

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Giddy-up Cowpokes!! Join 14-year old Riley for a fast-paced, action-packed, gun-toting western with corrupt lawmen, greedy moonshiners, and a fortune in gold coins. Riley and his fiddle-playing Gramps set out to save the family, the farm, and the oil-rich town of Sparrow. This is an exciting, fast-reading story of a young boy who finds courage and strength to overcome many obstacles and situations to save the day. A must for fans of the old west!!

Reviewed by Susan K., South County Regional

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Reader's comments about this book

This was a wonderful book. It was a humorous western that adventure-loving kids and teens will enjoy.
-Erin, NC

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Robert Parker takes a break from the private-eye mystery in the western, Gunman’s Rhapsody. Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Tombstone, Arizona; western icons familiar to most come to life in Parker’s account of life in the Old West. The reader is taken on a linear journey with Earp, his brothers, and other characters, like Josie Marcus, that serve to add conflict to the storyline. Culminating in the famous shootout at the O.K.Corral, Parker moves beyond the film versions of this famous tale in his fictional account of an intriguing time in American history.

Reviewed by Joanna M., Cornelius Branch

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The arrival of a solitary, dust-covered rider at the Starrett homestead marks the beginning of Bobby’s transition from boyhood to manhood. Shane, this stranger with a hidden past and an intriguing manner, almost becomes part of the family after agreeing to stay as a hired hand. Talking, working, or fighting, he brings all of his attention, strength, and determination to whatever he does. Drawn to the man and fascinated by his example, Bob starts to understand that “A man is what he is.” When confrontations between homesteaders and their ranching neighbor escalate from insults to violence, Shane accepts the battle and risks his life to protect the Starretts. This powerful, readable American classic uses the West as a setting for life lessons that arise everywhere.

Reviewed by Charles D., Morrison Regional

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Even though Spirit of a Bear is primarily a western, Harmon also intertwines a bit of romance to create an intriguing story. Having neither a husband nor a bright future in Boston, Elizabeth Butler comes to Elk Fork, Colorado as a mail-order bride betrothed to Thornton “Trap” McCrae. However, Trap, a trapper and miner, still considers himself unofficially married to Blue Flower, the Ute Indian who is the mother of his son. As Elizabeth settles into Trap’s house, the situation becomes even more complicated. In addition, conflict erupts between the Ute Indians and the townsfolk, forcing Trap to distance himself from his Indian family for their own safety.

Reviewed by Kim W., University City Regional

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Carl Webster was destined to become a U.S. Marshall in early 30’s Oklahoma. He shot dead a cattle rustler at fifteen and kept his cool when a famous bank robber took a lick off his ice cream cone. In telling Carl’s rise to fame and notoriety Leonard combines his early western pulp novels and his modern crime writing. This novel has a dusty brown western tint and is populated by characters that would be at home in any modern crime novel. It’s a gritty, witty ride through the world of wise-cracking outlaws and the wise-cracking lawmen that hunt them and the womenfolk that beguile them all.

Reviewed by Ed M., Morrison Regional

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Big Red Amlingmeyer is a fat and garrulous but down in his luck cowboy. His older brother is vastly different, however. Wary and reserved, Old Red tries to help them eke out a living and with their new jobs at the Bar VR ranch, they stay busy and fed. Strange and deadly incidents keep occurring there though. An apparent cattle stampede death and later an actual dead body found in an outhouse get Old Red enthused to investigate and to emulate his hero--Sherlock Holmes. Writer Steve Hockensmith jumps from the short stories with the Amlingmeyer brothers to a first novel here. This is an atmospheric and colorfully narrated Old West tale with a mystery that features the “Holmesifying” (to quote Big Red) Old Red.

Reviewed by Lawrence T., South County Regional

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Ex-train robber and outlaw, Dylan Curry, now works for the railroads protecting them from those who still ply his old trade. His success at the job gains him unwanted attention from amateur journalist, Amanda Seabury, who has her own deadly past that “The Guardian” finds himself swept up into as his attraction to her grows and as the body count increases and the dangerous distinction between what is truth and deception blurs. Full of high adventure on the rails and the seedier side of the Old West, Derailers is a very worthy entry as the first book of what promises to be a very entertaining new series.

Reviewed by James S., Sugar Creek Branch

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Jake Harper is sent to prison as the result of a crooked judge who let five murderous outlaws free and pinned a charge on Harper, the lawman who brought them in. Two years later, he is freed and sets out on a personal vendetta to deliver justice to the men who wiggled their way out of the noose through a fancy lawyer. Complicating things is Caleb Lynch, a marshal who shadows Harper waiting for him to slip up so he can throw him back into jail permanently, and Seera Lavendar, the daughter of one of the outlaws that Harper is developing feelings for. This is a fast paced story with plenty of action and is sure to satisfy fans of the adventurous western with a stoic and deadly hero.

Reviewed by James S., Sugar Creek Branch

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Something is rotten in the town of Raven Springs and it doesn’t take cowpoke Jimmy Clevis long to get embroiled when his efforts to locate the friend of a friend who disappeared with a Virgin Mary statue, lead there. He’s not the only missing person and Jimmy’s suspicions fall upon the proprietors of the Falconer House and Empire Inn. Compounding problems is the arrival of Magdalena, his romantic interest, and his efforts to protect her from a killer who has disposed of several victims who got too close to the truth. This is an engaging hybrid of the traditional western and a mystery and, while it doesn’t completely jibe with either, it is still very enjoyable and different.

Reviewed by James S., Sugar Creek Branch

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When a series of bloodless robberies by the Buckner gang plague the west, the Pinkerton Detective Agency calls upon the aging Irons St. John, a former lawman, to bring them to justice. To their concern, St. John recruits ruthless killers and fugitives from his past. Despite their effectiveness at tracking down the Buckners and discovering their plan to rob a train full of gold, it is far from peaceful and many a man lies dead because they weren’t cooperative or stupid enough to try to flee. As the best laid plans of both parties fall to pieces, it is only a matter of time. Which group will self-destruct under the pressure first? Mister St. John is fast, tautly paced, and one thrilling read.

Reviewed by James S., Sugar Creek Branch

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This is the second book featuring Leslie’s half-breed hero, Yakima Henry, and this tale takes place several months after the events in The Lonely Breed. Yakima has “settled down” to capture and break wild mustangs for the Army until a group of vicious outlaws, named the Thunder Riders, rob the payroll and kidnap a saloon girl that he was fond of. Mistaken for one of the gang, Yakima sets out after them with a posse on his trail. Duplicity and bloodshed follow his steps as nothing is ever as it seems. Continuing the over the top action and excitement of the first novel, this new installment is sure to please those who like their westerns action-packed.

Reviewed by James S., Sugar Creek Branch

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Continuing the story began in Blood Sky at Morning, we find Zak Cody, the Shadow Rider, hot on the trail of Ben Trask, the man who killed his father, and his gang through a murderous storm and flash flood with his small ragtag posse. The mystery surrounding the deadly rumor of apache gold and a grand betrayal unravel as Cody faces overwhelming odds to deliver justice and prevent the start of a war between the U.S. Army and the Apache. Masterfully written in the grand tradition of the pulp fiction westerns with a modern sentiment, Jory Sherman provides another exciting read that will not let you put the book down until you reach its exciting and bittersweet conclusion

Reviewed by James S., Sugar Creek

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