UNWANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE

UNWANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE

By Gene Shelton

Cover art by Eric JW Lee

A Jove Book, March 1996

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.

American readers can get a copy here

British readers can get a copy here

Texas Horse Trading Co. #4

DEVIL’S DEATHBED

By Gene Shelton

Jove, March 1995

Sometimes there’s only one place to find justice: on the wrong side of the law. And that’s exactly where the down-and-out duo of Willoughby and Brubs do their business…

The Devil’s Deathbed lies deep in the badlands – a hundred miles from LaQuesta, Texas (pop. 12), home of the Texas Horsetrading Co. There’s no good reason to head for this godforsaken plot of land…until Brubs and Willoughby get mixed up with Blue Davis and his gang. These cutthroats are leaving a trail of bodies in their wake – and one of those bodies belonged to a good friend of the two horsetrading partners. Now the Davis gang is holed up in the Devil’s Deathbed – and when Brubs and Willoughby get there, they aim to make the place live up to its name…

This book begins with a number of different incidents, some of which provide some excellent laugh-out-loud scenes and dialogue, that introduce the reader to the various characters that will play both major and minor parts within this story. Readers of the previous three books will have met many of these people before. I must admit to being quite surprised as to how many were killed off when Davis and his gang go on the rampage in LaQuesta and the surrounding area.

As the Davis Gang hopelessly outnumber Brubs and Willoughby they need help to achieve their mission of revenge. Gene Shelton brings this about by having them team up with another band of horse thieves (who throughout the series have stolen horses from each other on numerous occasions), which adds to the mix mistrusts and the fear of double-cross even though both groups have agreed to set their differences aside until they’ve wiped out the Davis gang.

Once everyone arrives at the Devil’s Deathbed the book becomes one long and well-described gunfight that proves to be exciting, hard-to-put-down, reading. The aftermath of this battle seeing the surviving members of the two horse thief gangs attempting to outwit each other when dividing up the spoils of war.

With Brubs and Willoughby’s return to LaQuesta, Gene Shelton has a couple of intriguing developments waiting to add change to his heroes lives, changes I would like to read more about but sadly won’t be able to as Devil’s Deathbed turned out to be the final book in the Texas Horsetrading Co. series.

Devil’s Deatbed proved to be an excellent conclusion to this very entertaining series that provides a wonderful mix of action and humour throughout. Recommended.

Texas Horse Trading Co. #3

SKULL CREEK

By Gene Shelton

Jove, November 1994

Business is booming for the Texas Horse Trading Co., and the unlikely partnership between the Yankee gent Dave Willoughby and Brubs McCallan the Rebel is paying off in spades. But when a wealthy rancher hires the boys to deliver as many mares as they can round up, their luck runs out – they run smack into the Comanche. It doesn’t take a genius to know they’re the shrewdest – and deadliest – horse thieves in the West, or that they aim to steal the stolen horses for themselves.

It’s gonna be one hell of a week…

Gene Shelton once again produces a fast moving mix of traditional western and humour. Willoughby and McCallan being a very likeable duo, whose banter often raised a smile and laughter from this reader. Their antics get them into all kinds of scrapes that often require fast-talking to stop them ending up swinging from a rope or taking a bullet or two.

The book is filled with a wealth of excellent characters, some of whom readers of the previous two books will have met before such as the Texas Rangers. This story sees our two heroes gather a handful of people around them to help drive their horses to their destination, each of these misfits adding their own problems to the drive. Without a doubt Granny Hooper is the most memorable and has most of the best lines. Her insistence of taking her goats along with her allows for many funny scenes and also provides some of the saddest moments too.

There’s plenty of action of the kind you’d expect in a book about a trail drive, but it’s how Willoughby and McCallan solve the problems that befall them that keeps this story fresh and exciting.

And just when you think you know how the story will finish Gene Shelton introduces a couple more characters who provide a neat twist to the books end, leaving me looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Texas Horse Trading Co. #2

HANGTREE PASS

by Gene Shelton

Diamond, July 1994

Sometimes there’s only one place to find justice: on the wrong side of the law. And that’s exactly where the down-and-out duo of Willoughby and Brubs do their business…

One’s a Yankee, the other’s a Rebel – so you can’t expect these two unlikely partners to agree on much. But when it comes to horse-trading, Dave Willoughby and Brubs McCallan see eye-to-eye: If you can’t buy ‘em, steal ‘em. And better yet, steal from the lowlifes who deserve it. But now, the boys are a little worried. The Texas Rangers have come riding into town…

And they’re looking to string up some horse thieves.

Having enjoyed the first Texas Horse Trading Co. book I had high hopes for this one, would it measure up to my expectations? The quick answer is yes!

Like the first book Hangtree Pass contains a well-balanced mixture of action, suspense, humorous situations and lively dialogue. There are some excellent problems for Willoughby and McCallan to overcome, not least being chased by Texas Rangers, their bluff when trying to talk their way out of this confrontation makes for a great plot thread. Of course this isn’t the only sticky situation they try to talk their way out of; there’s trying to sell a stolen horse to it’s original owner – this ownership something Dave and Brubs are unaware of. And Brubs’ rules for picking weapons for a duel are both hilarious and memorable.

So Hangtree Pass more than stands up to the quality of the first book in this series. It’s packed with incident and exciting reading. Gene Shelton’s writing style is extremely readable, and difficult to put down – not least due to the inclusion of a number of cliff-hanger chapter, and scene, endings that just urge the reader to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next.

Next for me, is the third book in the series, Skull Creek, a book I’m looking forward to reading immensely.

Texas Horse Trading Co.

by Gene Shelton

Diamond, March 1994

They were unlikely partners. Dave Willougby was a Yankee gentleman; Brubs McCallan was a Rebel hellraiser. They met in a barroom brawl and the only thing they had in common was an aversion to work. Flat broke and on the run, they had nothing to lose by trying something crazy - like going into business together. They had high hopes of getting rich quick - providing they could find some horses to trade. The Texas frontier was full of wild mustangs waiting to be roped and sold. Too bad Dave and Brubs knew nothing about catching mustangs. So they came up with their second bright idea... Why not just steal some horses?

This is the first of four books about the Texas Horse Trading Co. and if this is anything to go by I’ll be wishing there were more.

Gene Shelton has written a book that hits all the right spots. The two main characters are perfect opposites allowing for some great banter, not to mention many humorous incidents, especially when they attempt to catch some wild mustangs. Shelton’s experience of being a real cowboy allowing him to add detail usually missed by many other authors.

The supporting characters are just as intriguing and I’m eager to see what happens to those who might be in the following stories.

Texas Horse Trading Co. should be on the must read list of all western fans.