as by Chap O’KeefeA Black Horse Extra book, July 2009
The irrepressible Misfit Lil was riding for a fall. She'd chosen to intervene in the fortunes of a wagon train of emigrants led on wrong trails by Luke Reiner, their incompetent guide. And Reiner, hiding an outlaw past, didn't care to have Lil messing with his reputation. Lil's first mistake was in saving a bunch of buttons when the wagons were caught in a ferocious blizzard. Then she recommended her hero, frontiersman Jackson Farraday, to help out, which pitched him into a bloody fight with Reiner. Tangles tightened when the wagonmaster's pretty daughter, Honesty Petrie, took a flirtatious hand. . . . But worse was to follow. Jackson was accused of murder! Could Lil save him from the noose into which she'd run his neck?
The first book from Black Horse Extra is the never before published Misfit Lil Cheats the Hangrope. Misfit Lil has appeared in six other books and has become a favourite leading character for fans of Chap O’Keefe’s work.
The plot is very fast moving and features some superbly written set pieces, such as an breakout that’s made possible due to the use of a rat, and an ingenious method of escaping from a hangrope. The book has plenty of the more traditional action you’d expect to find in a western, which includes an exciting gunfight with outlaws set on wiping out the wagon train Lil finds herself involved with.
The main plotline, of murder, sees Chap O’Keefe explore a different type of killing than one would normally expect to find in a western, proving that there are still new storylines to be found in the genre. Even though I did suspect the right person of this killing I was way out with the how and why and the answers definitely provide a memorable conclusion to this book.
Misfit Lil Cheats the Hangrope can be bought directly from Lulu or Amazon US or Amazon UK (Amazon perhaps the cheapest option as it qualifies for free postage) and I’d urge you to consider buying a copy, not least because you’ll receive a well written and very entertaining western but if this book is successful then Black Horse Extra will publish more quality westerns helping to keep this genre alive.
3 comments:
My copy awaits. Two more months until I sort through the mountain of mail to find Lil. From your review, I will have a gem to read.
An excellent book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Steve - great review. I would like to point out that anyone who buys this book then hold onto their email receipt - as they'll need it to take part in the grand cash competition run by BHE Books in conjunction with The Tainted Archive. Details will be announced on the first week of October.
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