The Guns of Hanging Lake

by Luke Short

From a master storyteller of the Old A ferocious tale of murder, loyalty, and revenge set in a rough-and-tumble frontier town.Tony Braden's first sin was being an Englishman in the American West. His second was being rich enough to try and make a go of ranching.Those two faults were enough to whet the appetites of the fine citizens of Indian Bend, who proceeded to hornswoggle, ridicule, and outright rob the uncomprehending Brit for an outrageous amount of money. Then someone decided to finish the deceptive dance with a knife straight to the gut. No one blinked an eye when Braden died in a pool of his own blood.No one, that is, except Traf Kinnard. Braden had been like a brother to him . . . until the man stole away the woman he loved. Now she's in danger, and to protect her, Kinnard must find his old friend's killer--even if it means turning Indian Bend from a town into a cemetery.Luke Short, along with such legendary authors as Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour, helped transform the stories of the American West from dime-store pulp into a respected and immensely popular literary genre. Guns of Hanging Lake is one of the grittiest and most suspenseful of his classic novels.

Genres: Westerns

Hardcover

First published June 1, 1968

About the author

Luke Short (real name Frederick Dilley Glidden) was a popular Western writer.

Born in Kewanee, Illinois Glidden attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two and a half years and then transferred to the University of Missouri at Columbia to study journalism.

Following graduation in 1930 he worked for a number of newspapers before becoming a trapper in Canada then later moved to New Mexico to be an archeologist's assistant.

After reading Western pulp magazines and trying to escape unemployment he started writing Western fiction. He sold his first short story and novel in 1935 under the pen name of Luke Short (which was also the name of a famous gunslinger in the Old West, though it's unclear if he was aware of that when he assumed the pen name.)

After publishing over a dozen novels in the 1930s, he started writing for films in the 40s. In 1948 alone four Luke Short novels appeared as movies. Some of his memorable film credits includes Ramrod (1947) and Blood on the Moon (1948). He continued to write novels, despite increasing trouble with his eyes, until his death in 1975. His ashes are buried in Aspen, Colorado, his home at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good western tale by one of the masters. A ranch owner was killed and it seemed that an old man may have been a witness. The friend of the owner, a female rancher who seen the old man, and a reluctant deputy sheriff go looking for him. However the killers are looking for him too, just to make sure if he did see something, he doesn't talk.

Recommended, Short does a solid job in creating a reasonable story arch and adding enough to it to keep you interested. Its a short novel but that just means no fluff.

[Harold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your usual Western

This interesting, exciting, action packed and thought provoking story is as far from the ordinary cattle rustling, land grabbing plot as a Western can get. It had me from page one. I knew that I was on to a winner.

[John Ulferts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Luke Short western that I've read. It stands the test of time well. There are better western authors, but Short deserves to be remembered.

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Luke Short western about a man's ex financed who now is engaged to a man who used to be his best friend. The ex meets an old man who wants to pan for gold. The young man hopes to find enough to start his own ranch away from this area. While prospecting the re witness the murder and cattle rustling of the man the rd was to marry. The man leaves turbines with their claim to find inform the law about the death and cattle rustling. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Traf Kinnard's friend, who is engaged to Traf's former fiance, is murdered by a gang of rustlers. The murder was witnessed by an old prospector and Traf, his former girlfriend, and an alcoholic deputy set out to find hum before the rustlers do. Well paced with a fair amount of gunplay. Good western recommended to western readers.

[David Vanness · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy is 280 page Hardcover, Large Print
Published by Thorndike Press