Bad Day at Willow Creek

I am not a big reader of the western genre, but somehow I ended up with this as a Christmas gift. I was not disappointed. Larry Shaw, a recurrent character of the author Ralph Cotton, teams up with Billy the Kid to fight beside him in yet another range war. In the meantime, he must check his emotions while defending the virtue of a soiled dove. This is a well written rootin-tootin' shootin' wild and woolly novel of the Wild West. As westerns go, this one is worth the read. The short version ..... it was fun! Densel Myers Yukon, Oklahoma

Ralph Cotton has given us another segment in the Lawrence 'Fast Larry' Shaw chronicles, following up his earlier western GUNMAN'S SONG. As usual we find 'Fast Larry", a name Shaw dislikes, trying to aid someone, this time a pregnant woman of very questionable virtue, one Rita Vargas, while at the same time trying to stay out of trouble. But trouble is as usual more than willing to seek Shaw out, and as trouble stalks Shaw, both bullets and blood begin to flow in equal amounts. In the town of Willow Creek and the surrounding rangeland, due to an impending range war, an all out gun-war is soon set to break out. The sides are choosing up with eager, mercenary gunhands flooding into the place, even as Shaw tries to attend to his business, avoiding the Katlin Gang, to quietly get back on the trail. Involved in all this is a stoic doctor, his sex-crazed wife (both characters from a previous Cotton novel), and the usual assortment of heavies and kooks to be found in abundance within Ralph's books, and a notable non-fiction character: Henry McCarty or William Bonney, or Billy the Kid. Shaw and the Kid share drinks, laughs, and at times gunplay; and can you feature Billy the Kid as a father? Well it's all here in Ralph's latest book, and any of you who have read Ralph's work before know the reading entertainment awaiting you. No matter what Ralph writes he always comes across with an easy-to-read, entertaining style. And while it is certainly no historical western of fact, it is a very readable, enjoyable non-historical western of fiction. And though both the women and gunplay can be dangerous at times, all comes out well in the end; and with 'Fast Larry' Shaw bigger than life itself, how could it be any different. Recommended. (If you are interested in another fictional treatment of Billy the Kid see THE STONE GARDEN: THE EPIC LIFE OF BILLY THE KID by Bill Brooks, Forge mass market, October, 2002.) (And Ralph Cotton's next release: FAST GUNS OUT OF TEXAS will be released in March, 2007.) Semper Fi.