The Law at Randado

My kind of western. A 24 year-old sheriff, only a month on the job. A rich, villain cattle rancher, due a swift kick across his buttocks. An established county sheriff mentoring our young hero. An immature woman who we’re not sure is good enough for our boy, but he’s sweet on her nonetheless. And the sharp prose of Elmore Leonard. Very enjoyable, quick read.

I listened to the audiobook. The author spins an exceptionally well-crafted western tale. He literally checks all the boxes, including the climatic final showdown, yet his skill makes the story move effortlessly.

Phil Sundeen thinks Deputy Sheriff Kirby Frye is just a green local kid with a tin badge. And when the wealthy cattle baron's men drag two prisoners from Frye's jail and hang them from a high tree, there's nothing the untried young lawman can do about it. But Kirby's got more grit than Sundeen and his hired muscles bargained for. They can beat the boy and humilate him, but they can't make him forget the job he has sworn to do. The cattleman has money, fear, and guns on his side, but Kirby Frye's the law in this godforsaken corner of the Arizona Territories. And he'll drag Sundeen and his killers straight to hell himself to prove it.

Once in awhile I read a western just to keep in touch with the genre. This a story of a western town where the town's elite decide that they don't need the state's judicial system and set up there own court. Of course these are just vigilantes who mete out their own sort of justice. Most of the story is the give and take to get the town back on track. I thought it was a slow starter with the fight scenes dragging on. I pushed on and found it a good story and enjoyed the battle for supremacy at the end. All my reviews and other tidbits can be seen at https://pensionersrants.blogspot.com/