"A Highly Recomended New Historical Mystery series"
No paranormal elements, romance, or sex. Crude language and
some violence. Imagine Larry McMurtry (LONESOME DOVE) writing a Sherlock
Holmes mystery, and you have a pretty good idea of what
Steve Hockensmith's mystery, HOLMES ON THE RANGE, feels
like. Brothers Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer are down-on-their
luck cowboys forced to take jobs at the Bar VR cattle ranch.
The Bar VR has a bad reputation among the local cowboys, and
the foreman and his cohorts are bullies with unsavory
pasts. Big Red is very uncomfortable in this new job, and he'd like
to light out, but Old Red feels a mystery is brewing, and he
wants to stay and see it out. Old Red has a secret passion--Sherlock Holmes stories, and
his secret ambition is to solve cases like his hero Sherlock
Holmes. Old Red's instincts are correct, and several murders occur.
Big Red decides to stay and like a good brother and a loyal
Watson guards Old Red's back and helps in the detecting. Big Red narrates the novel, and his voice is very true to
that period and the harsh realities of a cowboy's life. The brothers Amlingmeyer are wonderful characters with a
depth and reality rarely found in books these days, and the
mystery and the suspects kept me engrossed in the novel.
Several of the plot points harkened back the Conan Doyle's
stories in a playful manner. I highly recommend this new series, and since Sherlock
Holmes is a real person, not a fictional character in this
series, I hope that Old Red and his idol Holmes will be able
to share a case or two in the future. Marilynn
Byerly,
author Copyright © 2006
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted December 21, 2006
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