Saturday, July 22, 2023

Short on name and Stature - Long in Story

Shorty Thompson: U.S. Marshal: Books 1 - 5: A Western Adventure

This compilation is a fine introduction to U.S. Marshal M.D. (Shorty) Thompson. I’ll let the blurb speak for itself.

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The journey begins with Shorty Thompson, U.S. Marshal trailing a herd of stolen cattle from New Mexico Territory to Wyoming where he finds more trouble than he can handle. Even the cavalry is in on this deal. With a disgruntled woman, he heads for Washington, D.C. for help.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 19th President of the United States, needed a U.S. Marshal in New Mexico Territory. When Shorty showed up in Washington asking for help with some cattle rustlers, President Hayes knew he had his man.

Ride into the West with one of its most enduring characters—Shorty Thompson: U.S Marshal.

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Yes, we’re introduced to a rather endearing character who you can’t help but like from the get-go.
Follow along as Shorty endures the ups and downs of serving the people of New Mexico and west Texas amid a boiling cauldron of unrest. Bandits. Hustlers. Cattle thieves and horse rustlers. It all there, with shoot-outs and feisty gals galore.
I really enjoyed it. There's never a dull moment, the characters are as engaging as they are relatable and entertaining, and the action is relentless.
(And I also enjoyed the brief dip into a story inspired by the legend of Judge Isaac Charles Parker, as it adds a depth to the collection that helps you appreciate just how perilous the wild west was, and the courage displayed by the men who policed it).
Yes, were enjoying a work of fiction, but my goodness, that fiction is inspired by the very real dangers those men had to face.
A thoroughly satisfying read.

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Trouble on the Smoky Hill Trail

A Cheyenne raiding party turns the quiet community of Elder Grove, Kansas, upside down, resulting in the death of a mother and father, and the abduction of their teenage daughters. All seems lost. But the Cheyenne didn’t reckon on the leaders of Elder Grove, Jacob and Noah Pearl. Two men with a remarkable shared history, who are a force of nature when roused. And as the Cheyenne are about to discover, they’re also the kind of men who will do anything to see justice done, even if it means getting their hands dirty.

Shootout ar Russell Springs

A tornado tears through the open plains of Kansas, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Yet that force of nature isn’t the only thing that might ravage the land. The Plains Indians are massing in their hundreds. Cheyenne, Comanche, Lakota, Kiowa, and Arapaho. All of them, turning their eyes toward the foreign settlers who encroach ever further into their ancestral hunting grounds with each and every passing year. Already on the run from the law, the notorious Reno Gang also come calling, thinking that the residents of Elder Grove will be no match for a bunch of murdering horse thieves. And just who are the two strangers from the east that come to town, acting all friendly, yet asking sly question about the Pearl brothers? One thing’s for sure. . . Another storm is brewing. And when it strikes, not everyone will walk away.

Uprising in Comanche Country

It took the Pearl brothers considerable time and effort to shape the region around Elder Grove into a safe haven for all. For settlers. For travelers. Even for the Plains Indians who constantly roam the prairie in pursuit of buffalo. But when a bunch of marauding army deserters commits a heinous act that rouses the massed tribes to anger, it puts all that hard work in jeopardy. Yes, the hornet’s nest has been stirred. So much so, that even the Comanche are provoked to war. And their sting is deadly indeed. How the Pearl brothers will react remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure. Nobody will escape unscathed.

Living By The Code

The old west can be a harsh and unforgiving place, even for those like Jacob and Noah Pearl, who are used to the rigors of frontier living. So, when ghosts from the past return to threaten the peace and stability of their community, they’re quick to respond, and go out of their way to eradicate that threat before the shadow it casts can spread too far. Some might view their response as an overreaction. Ruthless, even. But the Pearl Brothers and the residents of Elder Grove look on it as following the Code of the West. A code that never wavers in the protection of you, your own, and seeing justice done.

Unfinished Business

The Pearl brothers encountered all sorts of people in the years it took them to set up the community of Elder Grove. Disgruntled Plains Indians. Murderers. Horse thieves. Army deserters. And in all that time, none were more exasperating than those folks who acted like a dog with a bone. Those mavericks who let their past failures and grievances gnaw away at them so much that they never seemed able to let go. A troublesome enough irritation when you have to deal with such behavior in passing. Imagine, then, how they’ll respond upon encountering a notorious gang who can’t abide the thought of simply giving up and moving on until they’ve carried out ‘just one more’ robbery. Or worse still, predatory bands of Cheyenne, stubbornly seeking revenge on those they feel have caused them to lose face. Yes, life is never dull on the Plains of Kansas . . . As the Pearl brothers are about to discover yet again.

Call of Duty

The long-awaited day has arrived! Yes, it’s been some time coming, what with all the trials and tribulations they’ve had to overcome. But at last, the day of the wedding is here, and Jacob and Astrid are finally going to tie the knot and settle down. . . Or are they? You see, that’s the thing about Kansas. It’s a vast and majestic country, filled with natural wonders and delights to satisfy the soul and take the breath away. Yet it’s also filled with dangers enough to catch the unwary and send them to an early grave. And when one of those dangers insists on poking its nose into the Pearl brothers’ affairs, now, of all times? Well, it’s time for someone to step up and answer the call of duty.