Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles Vol. 2

By Edward A. Grainger

Beat to a Pulp Ebook, October 2011

Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles is a western noir, short story collection spotlighting the thrilling tales of two deputy U.S. Marshals working in 1880s Wyoming Territory. Cash Laramie, raised by Native Americans, is known as the outlaw marshal for his unorthodox way of dealing with criminals and his cavalier approach to life. Gideon Miles is one of the first African American marshals in the service and has skills with guns, knives, and tracking that are unrivalled.

Like the first collection of short stories about Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles this volume contains a mix of new tales and a few that have already been published elsewhere. The first collection had a story co-written by Sandra Seamans, and this one follows that tradition by having not one but two tales co-authored by Chuck Tyrell.

Contents:

Origin of White Deer (with Chuck Tyrell)

Maggie’s Promise

Miles in Between

Cash Laramie and the Painted Ladies

Gun Justice (with Chuck Tyrell)

Cash Laramie and the Masked Devil

Reflections in a Glass of Maryland Rye

The first story takes up nearly half the book, and tells us about Cash Laramie’s early years – including how he got the name. Along the way it tackles the problems of racial hatred between white people and Native Americans.

I must admit that overall I felt this collection of stories has a darker tone than those in the first volume. Just read Maggie’s Promise to see what I mean, this probably being my favourite tale, although the last story comes very close to taking that accolade.

If you’ve read my review of the first volume (which can be found here) then you’ll know I thought it to be excellent. This second volume I feel surpasses that. Why? I just felt that the stories presented here are harder hitting, more memorable due to the themes they cover – particularly that of the last story. 

Once finished I found myself wanting more, so any book that leaves me feeling that way just has to be tagged as highly recommended. At just over a dollar (less than a pound in the UK) this ebook offers exceptional value for money.

Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles

By Edward A. Grainger

An eBook, June 2011

This excellent collection of short stories is released today and, even though you may have read a couple of them already elsewhere, this is well worth adding to your library.

Contents:

The Wind Scorpion

Kid Eddie

Miles to Go

The Bone Orchard Mystery

Melanie

Under the Sun

The Outlaw Marshal

These stories offer a mix of the traditional western, although the two men of the title aren’t exactly clean-cut heroes, both are willing to bend the law somewhat to complete their objectives in a way that sees justice handed out according to their beliefs, and those that explore the darker side of Cash Larmaie, such as the final story in this collection. Some of these stories explore problems that still exist today; just read Melanie to discover what I mean – in fact you can read more of my thoughts on this particular tale here.

Edward A. Grainger also includes mystery elements and neat twists that hook the reader and make the book difficult to put down. The Bone Orchard Mystery is a fine example of this; I doubt any reader could put this story aside before finding out what is going on after reading the eerie opening scene.

Under the Sun was co-written with Sandra Seamans, and has a slightly different approach to the other stories in that Laramie and Miles are on the sidelines for most of the tale.

The collection also contains some well-done artwork to illustrate a number of the stories.

As I said at the beginning, this really is a eBook that should be in every western fans collection. Edward A. Grainger (real name David Cranmer) definitely knows how to write gripping and fast moving adventures filled with memorable characters that I’d like read more about someday.