Lone McGantry has done a lot of
things over the years and some of the jobs were difficult and nasty. The latest
job has the potential to be seriously annoying. He really does not want to be a
taking a bunch of wealthy English folks on an excursion from North Platte,
Nebraska out to the Sandhills. But, he got roped into this mess by Buffalo Bill
Cody himself. Telling Buffalo Bill no is a near impossibility and as a result
McGantry said yes when contacted by the foreign nobility. Even if he is increasingly
of the mind that this is a super bad idea, McGantry isn’t one to go back on his
word. There also a nice payday in store once all is said and done. As Buffalo
Bill pointed out in his telegram, the English folks have money and are willing
to spend it so at least some of it should come his way.
For Lone McGantry there are not a
lot of ways to make money in the Nebraska panhandle of the 1880s. An English
Lord by the name of Reginald Haddenforth, his wife, Lady Claire, and several
others in the party intend to sightsee and hunt Buffalo. Lord Haddenforth and
his wife have hunted boar in Germany’s Black Forest as well as gone on safari
to Africa three times. Lord Haddenforth writes books about his adventures and
intends to do the same regarding the Sandhill extension. All that is well and
good, but Lone McGantry is of the opinion that women should stay in town where
they belong and those going out on the expedition need to understand that the old
west is dangerous and needs to be taken seriously.
For Lone McGantry and his men, life
in the old west is not some grand adventure to be had before returning to a
plush chair to sip cognac by a roaring fire. For men of McGantry’s ilk,
the old west is their way of life and absolute reason for being. It is in their
soul. It comes with, at times, a brutal cost. It isn’t to be trivialized in
some book. A hard and painful lesson Lord Haddenforth and his party have
repeated opportunities to learn over the next few days.
Originally published several years
ago by Oak Tree Press, an e-book version was recently published by Bil-Em-Ri-Media.
First of a series, Dismal River is another example of why author Wayne D. Dundee is nominated for many awards and wins quite a few. Complicated characters,
plenty of action, and plenty of mystery in a western setting makes Dismal
River a mighty good read.
Dismal River (Lone McGantry Book 1)
Wayne D. Dundee
Bil-Em-Ri-Media
October 2015
ASIN: B0164ADFM4
E-Book
281 Pages
$1.49
Material was recently picked up to
read and review by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2015
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