Looking For a Good Book

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE

I have a soft spot for westerns, classic westerns, though I haven’t read a great many of them.  In part it comes from my enjoyment of the desert countryside of the American Southwest and ares like the Badlands of South Dakota. I have not read Paul Lederer (or ‘Logan Winters’ which is the name under which this was first published), but I’ll certainly make an effort to read more of his works in the future.

Despite shooting in self-defense, Jake Worthy is victim to a time when the wild west was looking to become more civilized and so was jailed for killing a man.  He isn’t jailed for long, and when he’s released he heads out for home and hopes that his sweetheart is still waiting for him.  But the west is still wild and bandits shoot him in the leg and kill his horse, stranding Jake in the desert.  He is found and saved by another group of bandits who recruit him.  His choices are few – stay with his rescuers and follow a path crime, or die.  But rescue comes from the most unlikely of places and Jake, a good man at heart, does everything he can to make the right choices.

Everything about this book is ‘classic’ western.  From the ‘good man fallen on hard times’ to the lawless bandits and the strong, good-hearted women – this book has it all.  And there’s something comforting in book in which you have the confidence that all will be well.  The writing is crisp and the action quick.  This is escapism reading and sometimes we just need that.  People who love to read sometimes need something that diverts their attention just a little but doesn’t require too much investment – I know I do!  This fits that bill.

My previous western reading consists primarily of Louis L’Amour, a couple Zane Grey’s and Tony Hillerman’s, and not much else.  I will definitely be adding more Paul Lederer/Logan Winters to my list.

Looking for a good book?  If you enjoy westerns, then you will be very pleased with The Reluctant Gun-Hand by Paul Lederer, and if you’re looking to try a western, this isn’t a bad place to start.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Reluctant Gun Hand

author: Paul Lederer

publisher: Open Road Media

ISBN: 1497694027

ebook, 157 pages