Ogallala, Nebraska, located in the panhandle, has seen wilder days. It is a town in transition as the legendary cattle drives from Texas no longer come through thanks to the spread of the railroads to the south. Lone McGantry hasn’t been to Ogallala in over a year and things have definitely changed. Whether it is for the better or not is something that remains to be seen. This October day finds Lone McGantry in town to meet with a certain attorney regarding a recent letter he received at the settlement store he shops at near his horse ranch.

After the events of Dismal River Lone McGantry went into horse ranching. A lawyer named H. Munro wants to hire Lone McGantry for a job. Since the ranch has not made him rich yet he could use a well-paying side job. Learning from the livery man that the attorney is a woman makes things even more interesting for McGantry.

Harriet Munro is trying to get a retrial for her client. A wanted fugitive by the name of Roxanne Purdom Bigbee was convicted of murdering her stepfather, Alston Bigbee. She did the crime by shooting him dead as he sat at the kitchen table one morning. The why she did it was never brought to light as her previous attorney failed her in many ways at trial in Rainrock, Nebraska. Roxanne eventually escaped custody and is currently working in a saloon just across the border in Colorado.

Munro wants McGantry to go to Julesburg located just across the state line over in Colorado. Once there she wants him to get Roxanne out of the saloon she is working in and escort her to Scotts Bluff which is the territorial seat for Rainrock. Once Roxanne is there and has surrendered to local law enforcement, Munro intends to request a hearing before the new circuit judge. Known to be an honest and fair man, Munro expects him to grant the appeal and order a new trial.

The background on the saloon known as the “German Palace” makes it clear that this is not going to be an easy job. McGantry does not like easy work and is looking forward to earning his pay. That saloon is just one complicating factor of many as things never get easier. Those who conspired to destroy Roxanne are not about to stop now. As threats align against Roxanne and anyone who would help her events lead to a Reckoning At Rainrock.

This is the second in the very enjoyable series featuring Lone McGantry who has done a bit of everything in his life. His skills result in him being placed in adversarial situations from the start to the nearly guns blazing finish. Complicated characters, a mystery to solve, and plenty of action make this another very good western read. One that could be read first, if so inclined, though the events of Dismal River  are briefly discussed.

Reckoning at Rainrock (Lone McGantry Book 2)
Wayne D. Dundee
http://www.fromdundeesdesk.blogspot.com
Bil-Em-Ri-Media
October 2015
ASIN: B0164ATRT4
E-Book
219 Pages
$1.49

Material was recently picked up to read and review by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

The latest David Mapstone mystery finds Mapstone lamenting a city that is no more as well as wondering what the heck is going on with his business partner, Mike Peralta. The former Maricopa County Sheriff and Mapstone run a private investigator business that does the occasional security type job such as transporting diamonds.  Peralta was on one such job earlier in the day.

A job that went very strange as Peralta apparently shot the guard that he was working with and stole the diamonds. In the hours since a major investigation spearheaded by the FBI has been launched and a manhunt is underway. All the FBI has managed to do so far, after grilling both Mapstone and Peralta’s wife, Sharon, and doing a lot of searching is finding a business card that has a note on it from Peralta stating that Mapstone had nothing to do with the theft and for him to stay out of it.

As if that would ever happen.

This is just the tip of a multi tentacled octopus that has Mapstone and his wife, Lindsey in the crosshairs. The result is one of the best books in the series in years as it has plenty of action, complexity, and suspense. No review will do this book justice. In the series that began years ago with Concrete Desert author Jon Talton takes readers on one incredible ride in High Country Nocturne: A David Mapstone mystery.

Very much recommended.

High Country Nocturne: A David Mapstone Mystery
Jon Talton
http://www.jontalton.com
Poisoned Pen Press
http://www.posionpenpress.com
2015
ISBN#978-1-4642-0398-5
Hardback (available in e-book, paperback, and audio formats)
326 Pages
$24.95

Material obtained by way of the Plano Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

U.S. Marshal Gideon Miles is in Overton, Nebraska ostensibly on vacation. It should be a peaceful time as he is in town to visit family who has finally come back from Ontario, Canada. Fifteen plus years after the Civil War his aunt and her husband are finally back where he can visit. Miles intends to do just that and nothing else.

The problem is that soon Way Gunn and Kit Kale, a couple of hard guys up from Kansas, and looking to cause trouble arrive in town. Thanks to their latest criminal efforts, they wind up in the local jail. Unfortunately, one way or another, they got a local lad with troubles of his own, involved in their breakout scheme. Gunn and Kale make good their escape and have the young boy with them as either a hostage or a witting accomplice.

Either way, the local law needs his help and before long Miles is on their trail. He seems himself in the boy and hopes to help him while taking Gunn and Kale back into custody.  Miles isn’t the only one on the trail. Everyone involved is being tracked by a man who is leaving bodies in his wake.

This tale by the late Ron Scheer is a good one. Filled with plenty of action it holds true to the western canon set for this series long ago. The ending is a bit open making it clear that a potential sequel was in mind and unfortunately not completed.

Also included in the book is the short tale, “Origin of White Deer” written by Edward A. Grainger and Chuck Tyrell. This tale explains the backstory of Cash Laramie. It can also be found in the short story collection Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles: Volume II.

Billed as the eleventh entry in the series, Miles To Lost Dog Creek is a very good western novella. The story features all the elements that make the Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles series so very good. It also proves once again that, though the authors many change from time to time, the essence of spirit of the series flows seamlessly from one book to the next. This series is a very good one and well worth your time.

Miles To Lost Dog Creek (Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles Book 11)
Ron Scheer
http://www.buddiesinthesaddle.blogspot.com
Beat To A Pulp
http://www.beattoapulp.com
September  2015
ASIN# B015RQ42LO
E-Book (also available in print)
86 Pages
$1.49

Material to read and review was obtained via funds in my Amazon Associate account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

Crime consultant Scott Drayco is in Cape Unity this Monday morning in mid-march to meet a client at the old Opera House. A building that has not been used in years and one that Scott Drayco now owns. It wasn’t something he expected, but he inherited it thanks to the fact that the recently deceased Horatio Rockingham assigned it to him by way of his will.

Sine he had to come look at the place anyway he had arranged with his potential client, Oakley Keys, to meet him at the Opera House at 7 in the morning. Keyes never got into specifics, but he definitely had wanted to meet and hire Drayco. That meeting isn’t going to happen as the man is very much dead on the stage in the old opera house. While the bullet to the head probably killed him the meaning of the carving on the chest of Oakley Key is far harder to determine.  He has been dead for hours and probably was already dead when Drayco climbed into his Oldsmobile Starfire and headed out of Washington, DC.

The plan had been for a quick sale of the Opera House followed by a much needed vacation. Not only is Drayco haunted by the nightmare of his last case, he suffers daily from Chromesthesia. He hears sounds and his brain translates that to colors, shapes, and textures. While it does not debilitate him, that ability along with his deep love of music, allows him to see investigations in a different way than most. Fortunately, the local sheriff is willing to indulge him and welcomes his assistance in a case where there are almost as many motives as suspects.

First in the Scott Drayco mystery series, Played To Death by BV Lawson is very good. Filled with complex characters, multiple motives and agendas, and a lot of small details that build the atmosphere, this cozy style story works the suspense angle while Drayco tries to figure out what happened. That isn’t easy and the problem does not get simpler when the body of a second victim is found. Plenty of twists and turns as the case goes along makes figuring out who did it as well as why in Played To Death quite the challenge.

Played To Death: A Scott Drayco Mystery
BV Lawson
http://www.bvlawson.com/
Crimetime Press
http://www.crimetimepress.com/
July 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0990458227
E-book (also available in hardcover and paperback)
312 Pages
$3.99 (Free at this time)

Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015