Book Review of The Unhired Hand by R.O. Lane
This book is a short western featuring frontier justice. The bad guy is motivated mostly by greed and evil not vengeance. No redemption that I’ll give credit for, but there was an opportunity. This is the first western I’ve read in some time. And through my life I’ve only read a handful. Westerns and crime fiction have much in common. To me, a different setting is all. This seemed like a familiar story. After the first several chapters I thought of Shane, as well as High Plains Drifter or Pale Rider. The latter two faded out as the hero is alive and has not revenge-driven backstory. I read the author’s bio. Shane and that author were early influences on him.
Dutch is a former soldier in the Civil War for the south and a former cattle hand that is drifting through Wyoming. He stops at a homestead for some water and is drawn into their battle with a large cattle association rancher that wants all the homesteaders, or nesters, out of the valley so he can take all that land. Dutch sticks around and helps the family. One thing missing from this story is motivation for Dutch to do this. Other than being a nice guy, we don’t get enough backstory to indicate why this would be something he’d latch onto. Like Shane, it could be the relationship he develops with the young boy, who narrates much of the story. The book is less than 180 pages, so the author had space to explore this further.
Much of the story is told in first person point of view by the young boy. It’s structured in a way that the boy is looking back to this event. There are deviations into third person point of view from other characters. As a reader, these POV shifts don’t bother me. Some writers who belong to the POV Police would probably object to the structure.
One other aspect I thought could have been explored more was the Federal Marshall. He definitely treads in gray areas of law enforcement. This was one character where redemption could have been explored. Something happens to him that I believe is a result of his non-conventional techniques. But nothing beyond that is explored.
Overall, this is a clean story. Some profanity. No sex. And the violence is not over the top. I enjoyed the story as I’m usually a fan of a hero stepping in to help those oppressed by evil. If you enjoy traditional westerns, I believe you’ll enjoy this one as well. As for ranking, I put this one at number ten. This year, so far, 15 of the 18 I’ve read are 4 and 5 star reads. The other three are 3 stars.
Love’s True Calling by Lori DeJongThrough Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. HuntThe Seven Day Resurrection by Chevron RossWith Mercy’s Eyes by D.T. PowellJustice by Jeff HillAlready in the Kudzu by Hannah Hood LuceroThe Last Wife by Matt McGregorThe Misadventures of Itchy Izzy by N.Y. DunlapRanch Showdown by Tina WheelerThe Unhired Hand by R.O. LaneThe Shocking Truth by Steve RushDaughter of Darkness by Ed GormanBurning Angel by James Lee BurkeDeath in the Kremlin by E.J. SimonIrresistible Impulse by Robert K. TanenbaumLine of Fire by Taylor S. NewportThe Longest Day by Terry TolerLeft to Die by Lisa Jackson
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