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| Hardback |
Barry first told you about this
book back in 2012. After it came up in my Facebook feed of memories this week,
it seemed to be a good time to run his review again to remind you. Todd Mason
over on his Sweet Freedom blog
will have the rest of the FFB reading suggestions for today sometime soon.
TANGLED TRAILS: A Western
Detective Story (1921) by William MacLeod Raine
Reviewed by Barry Ergang
A
lifelong mystery reader, several years ago I renewed the old pleasure of
watching western films which in turn led me to read some western fiction for
the first time in my life. Thus I must mention at the outset that Tangled Trails: A Western Detective Story,
despite its billing and though written by an author primarily known for
westerns, has nothing to do with the conventional western apart from its geographical
locations, Wyoming Colorado
Cowpuncher
and sometime rodeo competitor Kirby
Lane McLean from Cheyenne Denver
Cunningham
is a wealthy and successful businessman, "a grim, gray pirate, as
malleable as cast iron and as soft...the kind that takes the world by the
throat and shakes success from it....Cunningham had always led a life of
intelligent selfishness. He had usually got what he wanted because he was
strong enough to take it. No scrupulous nicety of means had ever deterred him.
Nor ever would. He played his own hand with a cynical disregard of the rights
of others."
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| Back of Hardback |
Tangled Trails is a fairly straightforward detective
novel with little in the way of subplots, so I don't want to give away too much
of the story and spoil it for readers. Suffice it to say, then, that when Lane
discovers that Cunningham has been brutally murdered, and is seen exiting the deceased's
apartment in an unconventional manner, he finds himself at the top of the list
of suspects and is determined to clear himself by bringing the real murderer to
justice, all while trying to keep Esther McLean's name out of it lest she
forever be dishonored.
He has
plenty of suspects to choose from, all of whom were in or near Cunningham's
apartment within a short time of one another. They include Mr. and Mrs. Hull, the
mister being Cunningham's erstwhile partner in a legal but unethical irrigation
scheme that bilked residents of Dry Valley; Olson, a farmer from Dry Valley who
wants restitution or revenge; "Wild Rose" McLean, who wants him to do
right by her sister; Shibo, the apartment building's janitor; Horikawa,
Cunningham's valet; Phyllis Harriman, Cunningham's fiancée; and the deceased's
nephews, one of whom is also named James, the other Jack.
Sorting
out the time element to determine who the murderer is proves a tricky business,
but at the end, in the grand tradition, Lane gathers all of the suspects in one
room to reveal and elucidate.
The
author's prose style combines telling with showing. The description of James
Cunningham above demonstrates the former. The style reminds me of many a story
from the hero pulps, especially when Raine takes time to remind the reader of
the hero's strength, determination, unflappability, and physical prowess. When
someone takes a shot at him, for example, the reader is told:
"Arrow-swift, with the lithe ease of a wild thing from the forest, Kirby
ducked round the corner for safety." And "It was characteristic of him
that he did not fly wildly into the night. His brain functioned normally,
coolly."
Available
for free in a Kindle edition, Tangled
Trails is a short fast read to have fun with but not take seriously. Even
in the context of its times it's hardly credible that Kirby Lane, a murder
suspect from Wyoming, would be released on bond and allowed to roam at will
around Colorado (or flee the state altogether), and that he'd manage to
ingratiate himself with the chief of police so as to solve crimes the law apparently
couldn't because no mention is made of an ongoing police investigation.
Suspend
your disbelief and it's entertaining.
Barry
Ergang ©2012, 2020
Among other works, Derringer Award-winner Barry
Ergang's own impossible crime novelette, The Play of Light and Shadow, is available at Amazon and Smashwords as is his recently
released book of poetry, Farrago, and other entertaining
reads. For more on Barry’s books as well as his editing services, check
out Barry’s website.
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