February 2023 MBR The Western Fiction Shelf

The Western Fiction Shelf

Half a Pig and Other Stories of the West
Matthew P. Mayo
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432898090, $25.95, HC, 303pp

https://www.amazon.com/Half-Pig-Other-Stories-West/dp/1432898094

Synopsis: "Half a Pig and Other Stories of the West" is a collection of eighteen frontier tales by Matthew P. Mayo that includes his previously unpublished novella, "Trouble at Tall Pine", starring ever-popular Roamer, noble loner forever trying to lose himself in the West.

In this special anthology the reader will find the lynching-inspired Spur Award finalist title story, 'Half a Pig'; the bone-cold, eye-for-an-eye drama of Will Rogers Medallion Award-winning 'Peaches'; the clanking, clockwork gundown of Peacemaker Award finalist 'Scourge of the Spoils'; and numerous other critically acclaimed short stories, including the noir-tinged pages of 'Snows of Montana' and 'Snake Farm.'

The there's the classic Western barroom showdown in 'Just Once,' the time-travel nightmare of 'Been a Long Time,' and the brutal hunter/hunted chase novella 'Bloodline.' The freaky shaman's subterranean rituals in 'The Witch Hole' rival the grim comeuppance of a truly bad seed in 'Pay the Ferryman.' And then there's the mysterious journal of the gritty disappearance of an inveterate rover in 'Lucky Tam'.

Of special note is the inclusion of five bold and brassy adventures of that silent, noble loner, Roamer, and his jug-hoisting mentor, crusty mountain man, Maple Jack, including the heretofore unpublished 'Trouble at Tall Pine.

"Half a Pig and Other Stories of the West" is a memorable compendium of short stories that are as varied and as surprising as the assortment of bottles lining the mirror-backed bar in Lucky's Gambling Hall and Saloon!

Critique: A fun and memorable read throughout, "Half a Pig and Other Stories of the West", is an anthology of short stories by western author Matthew P. Mayo that is particularly and especially recommended for both personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Matthew P. Mayo (www.MatthewMayo.com) is the author of thirty-plus books and dozens more short stories. His novel, "Stranded: A Story of Frontier Survival" won the prestigious Western Heritage Wrangler Award for Outstanding Western Novel by the National Cowboy Western Heritage Museum, as well as the Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Fiction by the Western Writers of America. His novel, "Tucker's Reckoning" won the Spur Award for Best Western Novel, and his short stories have been Spur Award and Peacemaker Award finalists.

Killstraight Returns
Johnny D. Boggs
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432899912, $25.95, HC, 253pp

https://www.amazon.com/Killstraight-Returns-Daniel-Novel/dp/1432899910

Synopsis: Returning home to the Comanche reservation after spending seven years learning the ways of the white man, Daniel Killstraight discovers that his childhood friend Jimmy has been hanged for a crime he did not commit and agrees to help Jimmy's mother prove her late son's innocence -- even at the risk of his own life.

Critique: Part of western author Johnny D. Boggs' Daniel Killstraight series, "Killstraight Returns" is set in the 1892 Comanche reservation in southern Oklahoma and offers the reader a deftly crafted adventure story with a Native American as the hero. Entertaining, compelling, deftly crafted, and highly recommended for community library Western Fiction collections, it should be noted for fans of western action/adventure stories that "Killstraight Returns" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $1.99).

Editorial Note: Johnny D. Boggs (www.johnnydboggs.com) has won six Spur Awards from Western Writers of America, a Western Heritage Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and has been called by Booklist magazine "among the best western writers at work today". He also writes for numerous magazines, including True West, Wild West, Boys' Life and Western Art & Architecture, speaks and lectures often, studies old movies (Westerns and film noir).

Branded
Jon Armour
Decker Place Publishing
https://www.instagram.com/deckerplacepublishing
9798218063870, $24.99, PB, 606pp

https://www.amazon.com/Branded-Jon-Armour/dp/B0BFWNGQZK

Synopsis: Although a work of fiction, "Branded" by Jon Armour is based on a true story of one of the most notorious cattle rustlers in the modern West and details the larger-than-life events and exciting, colorful, humorous antics of a cowboy named Bob as he is chased by the Texas Rangers, FBI, scorned women, fraught investors. His nemesis none other than Diamond Jim and the cowboy is still affixed on those precious thoughts of wide-open spaces, beautiful cowgirls and a herd of cattle as far as the eye could see.

A charming character and bristling, energetic man, will this be the Texas cowboy's final ride into a last sunset? -- Or possibly into something much hotter!

Critique: A massive saga of a story that is all the more impressive when considering that "Branded" is author Jon Armour's debut as a novelist. It is an inherently riveting read and the stuff of which block-buster movies are made. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Branded" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Jon Armour (https://jonarmour-author.com) is a Texas author who has long held an internal yearning to write novels portraying humorous but tragic life situations.

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