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.
This is Andrew Weston’s first western and a fine entry into the genre it is. The opening chapter grabbed my attention immediately and had me eagerly turning the pages to see how events developed. Could Jacob and Noah, along with their friend Sam, track the small band of Cheyenne who had kidnapped the two girls and free them?
The author kept switching the narrative between the pursuers and pursued, and occasionally other secondary characters. This allows the reader to witness the deadly situation the two girls find themselves in. How Astrid tries to leave a trail for those she believes are searching for her and her sister to follow and her resolve to survive are some of the highlights of this book.
There is plenty of action too as bands of Indians slaughter various groups of white people, attempting to clear the land of the encroaching white man. Andrew Weston tells his story against this backdrop of rising tensions caused by the US Army’s attempts to supress the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Comanche with the 7th Cavalry and Custer being mentioned a few times.
The story is a straight-forward pursuit tale, filled with well crafted characters. Attention to character development being another strength of this book. There are one or two surprises that add a shock element to the story and the violence can be hard-hitting at times. Everything came to a fast and violent end that left me looking forward to reading more about the surviving characters.
If you’re looking for a new author to try, then I’d recommend you consider this book by Andrew Weston.
1 comment:
Thank you so much for that review. It's very much appreciated.
(And I'm glad to hear from someone more experienced in the genre that I seem to be getting it right).
I hope readers enjoy the Pearl Brothers Adventures as much as you.
All the best,
Andrew Weston.
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