Gustav and Otto Amlingmeyer are a pair of Montana cowboys in 1893. Gustav has become enamored of the Sherlock Holmes stories being printed in Harper's Weekly. Thoughtful and observant, he is determined to try his hand at emulating his hero and making more of himself than a simple cow puncher. Otto, big, strong, loyal to a fault is, well, the perfect Watson stand in. The two are hired to work on a ranch run by secretive and harsh managers and, when bodies start showing up, Gustav finds the opportunity he desires…assuming they aren't killed first.

The blending of the detective and western genres works very well in Hockensmith's hands and the result is a fun, light-hearted and funny story that only aims to provide some entertainment, and succeeds. ( )

Big Red and Old Red are brothers trying to survive in late nineteenth century American wild west. They take jobs as hands for the Sussex Land and Cattle Company. Everything seemed to be going just fine, until the bodies started piling up. Old Red, being a fan of the great Sherlock Holmes, sets out to solve the mysteries of the deaths and the Cantlemere Ranch.

Steve Hockensmith has created two fascinating characters in Big and Old Red. Their adventures are interesting and down right fun to read. The story is told primarily through the use of dialogue. Hockensmith has taken great efforts to make the dialogue of the characters representative of the era. This adds to the charm of this book.

I look forward to plowing through the rest of the Big and Old Red stories. I can honestly say that Holmes on the Range was my favorite book so far this year. ( )

#1 in the ‘Holmes on the Range’ historical mysteries series, set in 1890’s Montana. Features “Big Red” Otto Amlingmeyer and his brother “Old Red” Gustav, who are wandering cowboys who take temporary jobs offered by different ranches, and in this book they’re hired by Uly MacPherson, manager of the Castlemere Ranche, commonly known as the Bar VR. It’s not an assignment they’d normally take, as the MacPherson brothers and the Bar VR don’t exactly have a great reputation, but Old Red takes the job for two reasons. One, the Amlingmeyer brothers are about out of money, and two, Old Red fancies himself a bit of a detective and he smells a mystery afoot.

Though Old Red doesn’t read, Big Red does, having been the one member of their family sent off to school and having done some clerking in his time. And what Big Red reads to Old Red around the campfire are Sherlock Holmes mystery stories! Old Red loves ‘em and often uses Holmes’ ‘deducifyin methods’ and keen observation to ferret out the answers to questions that most folks haven’t even thought to ask. And he’s right about a mystery afoot, for as quick as you can say beans and bacon, there’s two dead bodies and a host of foreigners moving in to Castlemere, and Old Red aims to figure out whodunit.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and for once I can easily understand why it was a finalist for so many different mystery awards the year it was published. (It’s not all THAT often that I agree with the people who make those decisions. LOL) The characterizations felt real to me and I got to know Big and Old Red quite well early on, and the secondary characters were also diverse and well-fleshed. I also liked that the ‘voices’ of these cowboys seemed to be very realistic and no effort was made to pretty them up—for example, one of the characters in the book is a black man, and there is rather liberal use of the “n” word, which although not pleasant, was common at the time as a part of normal everyday speech. So I guess I should add the caveat that if such things offend you, it’s probably best to avoid this book. While I am not generally a fan of this time period nor a fan at all of so-called westerns (there I go again, jumping out of my niche! LOL) I loved this book and am glad that I’ve already got the second one in the series here on my shelf. ( )

In Holmes on the Range, two unemployed brothers find work as cow hands on a ranch with some mysterious goings-on. Most hands would ride off for greener pastures when bodies start showing up, but not Old Red and Big Red. It turns out that not only does Old Red thrive on the tales of Holmes' cases, but has a real talent for detectifyin' as well. And because he wants to be something more than a run-of-the-mill cow hand, he sets out to solve the mystery.

In spite of the hokey title, Hockensmith has created a pretty good combination of Holmes pastiche and classic western. The story's quite an adventure, the mystery's pretty good, and the characters feel real. I'm looking forward to the sequels now! ( )

Completely enjoyable! The concept of a cowboy who idolizes Sherlock Holmes was a twist I hadn't expected but thoroughly loved. I love a good western, and I like mysteries, so this combination was perfect! The comedy woven throughout made this book a delightful read!