The Book Wagon Book Review: Chaparral Range War

Chaparral RangeWar by Dusty Richards

CATTLE DRIVE VETERAN AND former Texas Ranger, Phil Guthrey, is done with law enforcement. While searching the Arizona Territory for ranch work, he rides into the middle of a range war. After saving Dan Bridges from certain death against a pair of gun hands, he learns Dan and his seventeen-year-old twin sister, Cally, were orphaned when their father was murdered just days prior. Now, Guthrey must employ all the skill acquired as a Ranger to find the killer while protecting the county’s small ranchers from wealthy cattleman, Harvey Whitmore, and his gang of rustlers trying to force them off their range.

Dusty Richards’s knack for western colloquialisms gives Chaparral Range War the captivating feel of the old Saturday matinee westerns. Unfortunately, like so many of the old Saturday matinee westerns, the thin plot never develops any knuckle-biting tension. While the outlaws find plenty of opportunity to attack the local citizens, they avoid Phil and Cally. The little tension that does exist in the story is generated by the romantic sub-plot. In this the author predictably employs the expected conventions. Thus, in regard to both the main plot and the sub-plot, the ending lacks the surprise of a wonderful read.

The lack of tension dulls what might have been an enjoyable story and leaves the reader as unsatisfied as a cowboy come late to supper. Fortunately, the western charm is the jam that recues an otherwise mediocre biscuit.

Rating: 3 Nuggets (out of 5)