A Tale Out of Luck

This is the first novel by music legend Willie Nelson, co-authored with Mike Blakely. Willie built the town of Luck, Texas, which inspired A Tale Out of Luck. Captain Hank Tomlinson, a well-respected retired Texas Ranger, owner of the Broken Arrow Ranch is the main character. He is also known as a famous Indian fighting lawman. The epic tale opens with a mysterious drifter, Wes James, a horse rustler, being found bludgeoned to death and scalped. Hank believes this murder resembles a strange string of murders from his past when he investigated them. Hank is concerned there will be Indian uprisings. He and his son Jay Blue, together with his adopted brother Skeeter, who has never known his parents, are enmeshed in many dangerous confrontations, too big for them to handle alone. Hank's prized Kentucky mare has gone missing and he suspects she jumped the corral fence following El Grullo, aka "The Steel Dust Gray". This stallion is believed to be a ghost and is feared by the Comanche. Trailing the missing horse develops heightened excitement in the desert and in the meantime he tracks James' killer. He believes the Comanche are not involved. Hank's love interest, Flora Barlow, owner of the Luck saloon, eavesdrops on conversations in her establishment and gathers important information for Hank in his quest to find the killer. Colorful heroes make this story appealing while they face incredible odds. A strange hero emerges, Jubal Hayes, an albino-looking man with an uncanny ability to attract horses to follow him. Others include fierce black troopers who come to the aid of Hank and his crew. Matt Kenyon, new lawman in town, jails Hank and his son. He is instrumental in bringing justice to the new frontier. Jack Brennan, a deceitful and powerful man incites a deadly battle between soldiers and Indians demonstrating that fighting is definitely unnecessary when wrongfully provoked. Unusual and fascinating characters abound in this Texas town, making a great old-fashioned western. Just imagine, bullets flying, arrows whizzing, blazing horse barns, and a realistic final bloody battle between Indians, soldiers, outlaws, and lawmen! Clark Isaacs Reviewer

First off, I will say I thoroughly enjoyed this book by both Willie Nelson AND Mike Blakely. This exciting page-turner doesn't trot, it rages at high speed. You will NOT get bored with the story Willie came up with and Mike penned. While there are a few plot twists in this one it was not difficult to keep up with. If all of Blakely's stories are this good, I have got to read them, and we know just how well Willie can spin his web of storytelling (Red Headed Stranger, and his gigantic song catalog, etc.), so in my honest opinion, it would be worth your while to take a trip to Luck yourself. The only wish I have about this tale is I would have liked to have had more background information on some of the characters. I felt the book, in it's entirety, was so well written and the characters were so easily made into heroes and villains for me that I was sad I had come to the end so soon. True, there are bits of character background information, but I feel if there would have been more, it would have only added to the already entertaining tale. It is almost like having mashed potatoes without the gravy. Sure, it is good the way it is and satisfying at the same time, but man that gravy would have made it lip-licking good. So I will end on that note, I'm getting hungry. Hey Beto, fix me some of that fried chicken to go with those potatoes! (After you've read the tale you'll know what I'm speaking of.)

A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson with Mike Blakely Most of us know Willie Nelson as a legendary country singer, and not so much as a writer of novels. But let me tell you, the imagination and creativity he brought to his songwriting, he has brought to his first novel. What a tale he has spun in this book! This book is a western, set in Nelson's invented town of Luck, Texas, in the late 1800's. Just outside of town lies the Broken Arrow Ranch, where retired ranger captain Hank Tomlinson lives with his son, Jay Blue, and his adopted son, Skeeter Rodriguez. Hank has just bought a Thoroughbred racehorse mare from Kentucky, and Jay Blue is supposed to be on night watch. Instead, he gets Skeeter to watch, while he heads into town to try and woo one of the barmaids, Jane Catlett. At some point during the night, Skeeter goes to sleep and the mare disappears. Convinced that the mare was stolen, Jay Blue and Skeeter set off to find her on their own. During this crazy adventure, they meet up with an albino names Jubal Hayes, that is known as a "mustang whisperer." They convince him to help, and in the process end up catching an uncatchable wild stallion. While the boys are gone looking for the mare, an unknown man turns up dead, and Hank thinks a ghost Indian has come back from his past to kill him. While he is busy trying to find out who killed the man, an out of town reporter shows up and starts pointing to Hank as the killer. And while this is going on, the neighboring rancher sets off and Indian attack by killing a hunting party that was just passing through. The twists and turns in this book are really capable of keeping you reading, wondering what crazy thing is going to happen next. And the ending does not disappoint. You will constantly be guessing who did what, only to find some other clue to make you think it's someone else. And when you finally get to know who did it, you will shake your head, as it won't be who you think it is. This was a really good book, especially for his first novel. I am usually not into westerns, but this was a good one. If you are looking for a good story, Willie Nelson has delivered.

I bought this book to give as a gift. I haven't read the book but the cover, binding, and dust jacket are very nice.

Nelson and Blakely deliver an action-packed page-turner with far more substance than the average Western novel. While the mix of intrigue and suspense will keep readers on the trail, the enduring qualities of the characters are what set this novel apart.