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Dead Horse Creek

by Matt Cole



      It sounds like being an ex-gunfighter in 1880’s Montana isn’t that different from being an ex-alcoholic; at best a constant struggle, but realistically non-existent. Chet Hargraves finds this out when he hires on as a ranch hand for Vincent Worthington on a spread located outside of Billings, MT. Expecting a quiet and isolated winter in the line cabin looking for stray cattle and fixing fences, he and his best friend, David Leslie, get dragged into a range war. The evil land baron, Jed Jessup, tries to hire Chet away from the competition and that’s when the real trouble starts. As the men take an afternoon repast, who should walk into the room but the love of Chet’s life, Beth Suggs, now in the role of Jessup’s fiancé. Jessup already has several gunslingers on his side, including Chet’s cowardly archenemy, Johnny Annette.

This classic story of good and evil suffers from several editing problems. The first is consistency. For example, Mr. Jessup is the largest cattle rancher in Montana in one chapter, Wyoming later on in the text. Another problem is that speakers aren’t always identified, making longer conversations hard to follow. Some conversations with more than two speakers could also use more labeling. And last to be mentioned here will be sequencing. Not all scenes flow in the proper order (e.g., open the door, walk through, close the door). The hoedown scene is one example. Chet and David are told to arrive by seven, there is food, dancing, talking and the ride home is in the evening. In Montana in the winter it is dark before 5pm, in the mountains near the Solstice it may be as early as 3:30. Even in the far south, evening would not have come on the ride home after the party.

The plot is feisty and keeps your interest. I felt sadness for Chet and the difficulties he faces in his life, was glad for him having a good and loyal friend as well as a dream of a better life. The technical difficulties in this work are over-ridden by a solid plotline and a sympathetic hero who anybody can enjoy getting to know.

The Book

Whiskey Creek Press
 
ebook, pdf, 169 pages
1-59374-559-1
Western
More at Publisher's site
Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Beth E. McKenzie
Reviewed 2006
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© 2006 MyShelf.com