You know what is rare? A book written by an American that actually has the correct Spanish pronunciation!! Why am I so excited about this? And why should you care? Because this novel is about Texas and a sheriff in the ol’ days of the gunslingers. Not too fancy, yes, but it’s super nice to feel the respect for the Latino/Mexican culture and identity from a white author. Nice!

So, from the previous book, we know that there was a war between Texas and Mexico, to which Texas won. Will, our MC, was sent to the region to keep the peace between the parts, but, from the beginning, it seemed like it would be something hard to do, not only because of the tension between the parts, but because of the ruffling of feathers between himself and the Texans.

We have a very interesting, fast-paced novel. It’s interesting not only because of the setting, the period, but also because of the events and dates, treaties and nuggets of history thrown into the story as reference to why things happened, how they happened and its effects. It’s like you are watching Will doing his best to keep peace and justice, and learning things as you go! It’s awesome!!! I didn’t know that Texas was an independent country at the time! Wow!

A murder was commited and nobody is willing to help, so, matters are brought to our MC and, what unfolds is unprecedented as they will discover that this wasn’t the only one. Ok, about this, I have to condone the author for having the guts to stick-it-out-there instead of trying to whitewash or embellish the horrors committed by English troops on Mexico/Texas and it’s territories, so extra kudos for that, I wish more white authors had this attitude.

Although not perfect, but way above the average, Mexican characters are not threated as tertiary characters or shadow characters, but many of them are MCs as well, and the way they were portrait made you look forward to reading them. Yes, one has to consider that the author was trying to stay accurate on the timeline/likely scenario of having to be a ranger/peacekeeper on the Texan/US side of the river, so that would, of course, focus the attention to the Texans, and not the Mexicans.

One trouble will come after the other and rewards for solving problems will aggravate some, as unfortunate circumstances become unavoidable in the wake of pressing issues and opportunities. Another kind of trouble, a walking one, will be waiting for readers in this unpredictable novel, and you will enjoy the way it was descripted.

David A. Bowles, the author, knows how to keep the action going and readers engaged in this story, as every time a conflict ends, be it small or urgent, a relative peace goes around, a little dancing and eating tortillas, then, out of the backdoor, and at times from the front door as well, comes a new problem to solve, ranging from murders to regional conflicts between Mexicans, Native Americans and Westerners from the US, so the reader will always have the mind full of things to get excited about.

This book is so engaging, that at times, you will have the impression that the author didn’t write an original story, but was following Will Smith around and taking notes of what he was doing back at the time when this happened. As things advance, the underlying tension continues to rise in the air, as more and more events seem to lead to a major conflict between New Mexico and Texas, and it seems like other states are joining in as well, leading to a possible bloody civil war.

Given that this is part of a series, many characters from previous books are mentioned, BUT, fortunately, you will not scratch your head about them, because the author points out their relationships from the past, how they met, significant events, and much more in less than 2 sentences, so it’s quick and straight to the point.

This book is a great western novel, that will never allow you to stray your attention away for long, believe me. This is one of those books that simply keeps delivering. Impressive.

Pros:

• Excellent narrative
• Great scenery
• Good emotional depth to the characters
• Great reactions from the characters as they talked, you can feel the tension, anxiety and the nervous energy
• Lots of mystery to the main character
• Believable story overall
• A good mix of humour to the plot
• Consistency with the previous books

Cons:

None.

Favourite character: Will Smith

Lesson of the story: Pretend you have smallpox.

Cover score:

Book score: 8.3/10

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