Book Review: Settler's Chase

Settler’s Chase by D. H. Eraldi brings the Old West to life. Eraldi’s  rich descriptions of people, Montana’s landscape and bitter winter weather, transport the reader to this 1880's gritty time and place.

Sett Foster’s plan of setting a trap in a box canyon for wild horses  was falling nicely into place. He’d break these horses and sell them for a good price to the Army. But suddenly a strange sight comes into view. A spotted Indian pony happens along, causing a disturbance among the small wild herd. But wait, the pony is wearing a crude saddle of some sort with a blanket flopping off to the side.  As Sett watches the horses he almost has trapped run away in fright, he spots a cradle board swinging from the saddle with a tiny face peeking out of the tight laces.

In the meantime, Sett’s half Blackfeet/half white wife, Ria, is at their cabin alone, struggling with yet another miscarriage. Heartbroken, she knows she will never bear Sett’s child.

When Sett returns to their cabin with the infant, Ria is thrilled. Finally, a child! Sett knows it isn’t as easy as that. This is a white child and people will be looking for it. Stricken with more dashed hopes, Ria obeys her husband and they set out for the closest town to find the child’s family. She fiercely protects the baby and forms a strong bond; so strong, Sett dreads the time when she’ll have to relinquish the child. It’s an arduous trip with the weather turning colder and threatening snow.

Finally arriving in town, they find doing the right thing doesn’t always bring the desired results. Although they are met with kindness by some, others are suspicious and hostile toward Ria. Sett Foster’s tainted background arouses suspicion. The baby’s family has offered a reward for his safe return and there are townspeople who will stop at nothing to get that reward money.

Settler’s Chase is a fine western and a WILLA Literary Award Finalist. The author excels in portraying realistic, believable characters and bringing landscapes to life. I could feel the bitter cold during the desperate chase into the Montana wilderness.

Settler’s Chase is a sequel to Settler’s Law, another well-written and suspenseful western. Both novels, published some years apart, stand alone. For more information about the author, visit visit www.eraldi.net.

Review: Ride a Shadowed Trail by Eunice Boeve

Ride a Shadowed Trail, a western by Eunice Boeve, is well written with interesting twists and turns. Boeve skillfully maintains the story’s suspense around well-developed characters.

Josh Ryder, eight years old, loves his mother and knows she loves him. But his life isn’t like other boys. Alone much of the time while his mother entertains men, he dreams of what his father must have been like. He pretends they do things together like other boys and their fathers. His mother often talks about what an honorable man his father had been and about his sudden death with a fever. When his mother is mysteriously killed, Josh’s world changes into a frightening nightmare of events he can’t control. Finally, he can take no more and runs away.

Good fortune draws him into the world of Pete Waters, an old widower who sees an opportunity to have the son he always wanted. The two make a fine pair and Josh grows up in Pete’s tender care on a small ranch.

Life is good except for the dark memory of his mother’s murder and the man who committed the terrible crime. As he grows older, he realizes what his mother’s occupation had been. Pete helps him understand that sometimes people have to travel down roads they might not like, but must to survive. Josh can forgive his mother, but he had two burning desires: find out more about his real father and find his mother’s killer.

As Josh travels, he learns many of life’s lessons–both joyous and bitter. He joins a cattle drive and falls in love with the rancher’s daughter. But nothing permanent can happen in his life until he avenges his mother’s murder. He learns that the man who killed his mother, Cole Slade, is feared by many, that he kidnaps Mexican girls, abusing and killing them for sport. Can Josh bring this lowlife to justice? At only eighteen years old, will he stack up against a seasoned killer?

Boeve speaks with expertise on the business of cattle drives in the mid-1800s and the cowboy’s life of that era. Her characters have depth, evoking the reader’s emotion. She maintains a good balance between tenderness and violence as the story weaves its way through ten years of the protagonist’s life. People who enjoy westerns will love Ride a Shadowed Trail.