Framed for cattle rustling and horse theft by the corrupt banker who foreclosed on their employer’s ranch, Buck Hawkins and Dobie Garrett found themselves out of work, out of cash, and out of luck. So, they decided to try and live up to their reputation as wanted men. An idea easier said than done…
One step ahead of a hanging party, Buck and Dobie bungled a stagecoach robbery – and met Marylou Kowalski, a fiery young woman looking for excitement. She insisted they kidnap her. Soon, she had Buck and Dobie convinced that the three of them could pull off the ultimate heist: robbing the low-down banker who set them up. Now, if only they could learn to shoot…
Having read, and enjoyed, Gene Shelton’s four book series the Texas Horse Trading Co., I was looking forward to reading Unwanted: Dead or Alive, the first of two books featuring Buck Hawkins and Dobie Garrett.
I was surprised to find that the opening chapter didn’t really grab me. Nothing much happened apart from descriptions of Hawkins and Garrett’s life as cowboys, struggling to find cattle in the snow. I’m glad I continued to read though as with chapter two the story really picked up. Complication upon complication befell our now out of work cowboys.
Our two leads couldn’t be more different. Garrett is impulsive, all for charging into any situation without giving it a second thought. Hawkins is the exact opposite, careful and needing to spend time considering their options. One thing they agree on is the need for money, so Garrett talks Hawkins into becoming an outlaw. Holding up people and stealing their money can’t be difficult, can it?
What follows is a series of attempted robberies, a trading post run by a woman, a stagecoach and more. Their major problem is that they only have one gun between them and that doesn’t work, so bluff is the name of the game and they soon learn that being an outlaw isn’t easy as none of their robberies go according to plan or result in riches. These attempts at a life of crime are exciting and often comical. In fact, a lot of the book has a humorous tone coming from situations and the banter between the main characters. Once they team up with Marylou, Hawkins and Garrett are forced to realize how useless they are. An attempt to rob a train emphasizing that point as does their lack of shooting skills.
Can they turn their lives around? Will their plan to get even with the banker succeed? Will they continue to be wanted for crimes they didn’t commit? Will Marylou ever see them as more than hopeless? These, and more questions have to be answered before the end of the tale.
After that first slow chapter, the pace of this book really picks up. Dialogue is lively and at times offers laugh out loud moments. The robberies are tense and the build up to the final confrontation with the banker is extremely well told. The final showdown providing some gripping reading that also tied up all the hanging story threads and left me eager to read the second book, How the West Was Lost, as soon as I can.
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