Over on the Dry Side

The abandoned cabin seemed like a good place to settle down . . . except for the dead man in the front yard. But Doby Kernohan and his father had traveled a long way seeking a new start, and they were in no position to be choosy. Unfortunately, the mysterious man’s violent end was an omen of darker events to come, for a cycle of violence that had begun long ago was about to reach an explosive conclusion. Caught in a tangle of murder, greed, and blood vengeance, the Kernohans have no choice but to get involved. And when a mysterious beauty from deep in the surrounding hills and a deadly stranger named Owen Chantry arrive, what had at first seemed like good fortune suddenly becomes a terrifying fight for life itself.

I keep expecting L’Amour’s books to be less enjoyable. Its been a long time since I read the first one. I just finished two I had as paperbacks - wanted to clear out my paperback backlog. Now I wish I’d reqd them sooner. My reading habits are inclining towards reading everything written by an author I have enjoyed. With L’Amour that would/will keep me busy a long time.
The stories are simple.
I recall years ago telling my father that L’Amour’s stories were too simple. My father had become a big L’Amour fan - he belonged to the book club called the Louis L’Amour collection. When he got older he used to read them at night if he awoke.
He was in his 80’s by then. He said L’Amour always told a good story, and usually it show more involved the struggles a guy went through to win the heart of a woman.
True - and in a way that describes an awful lot of story telling.
L’Amour’s characters are clearly drawn and often seem true to life. He is describing a ‘simpler’ time 150 years ago. His characters likely wouldn’t have called it a simple time.
I find the books are a good escape and make me feel good about being human. Not something you can say about a lot of books. show less

Owen Chantry came to look up his brother only to find him dead and the cabin and land he had homesteaded occupied by a man named Kernohan and his teenage son Doby. Owen soon learns that the Kernahans felt the cabin too well made and the land to fertile to leave abandon and they decided to bury Owen's brother, Clive, and plant crops and wait for relatives to show up.

Owen shares the land with them and searches for who murdered his brother. While doing so, he meets a beautiful woman and a mysterious mountain man who through his observation of the surrounding area with his binoculars is able to fill Owen in on who is dangerous and who he will have defeat and probably kill.

Typical L'Amour western with almost constant action.

An adequate story of the Old West by one of my favorite authors. The switch back and forth from first-person to third-person narration is distracting, but this book is still worth reading, especially if you like L'Amour.

A boy and his father find an abandoned ranch, and move in. One day a stranger comes along, who seems to know a lot about the place - it was his brother's place, and his brother was murdered there. Told mostly from the boy's perspective, as he admires, resents, and fears the mysterious stranger.

Western

Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures