Guns Along the Brazos

by Day Keene

1st Panther 1968 edition paperback vg book In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

220 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1967

About the author

Day Keene, whose real name was Gunnar Hjerstedt, was one of the leading paperback mystery writers of the 1950s. Along with writing over 50 novels, he also wrote for radio, television, movies, and pulp magazines. Often his stories were set in South Florida or swamp towns in Louisiana, and included a man wrongly accused and on the run, determined to clear his name.

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Day Keene was one of a group of Florida friends and crime novelists that included such 1950s stalwarts as Harry Whittington, Gil Brewer, and Talmadge Powell. He wrote close to 50 crime novels. Guns Along the Brazos, published in 1967, was one of his last novels and his only western. The plot is a bit far-fetched; a big ranch trying to secede from Texas and become its own state. The driver for the plot, Cora Royal, a femme fatale in the best noir tradition, is quite the character. Her husband, Major John Royal, whom we begin the novel with, as he heads to a Mexican prison, is a strong character, too. But will he be a match for the wife who betrayed him? That is the plot point that keeps this moving page after page. Keene knew how to do that so this is a page turner. A quick two-hour read that I enjoyed, but nothing spectacular here.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Major John Royal returned to Texas after the Civil War to discover his wife with another man. He road away, but years later he finds that he can't leave his hometown and his ranch to the vicious control of his ex. With the odds against him and only an ex-Yankee officer and a beautiful Mexican widow on his side, Royal comes home.

[Ron Zack · Rating 2 out of 5]

The civil war has ended (sort of) and Texas is having a difficult time in Day Keene's "Guns Along the Brazos." But not as bad as Major John Royal, MD, a confederate soldier who fled to Mexico. "He'd come a long way in three years, all of it downhill."

The action moves from Mexico to Texas, and involves crime, official corruption, illicit sex, adultery, and even escape from a firing squad. Royal becomes involved with a saucy Mexican widow half his age and returns to his ranch and his cheating wife.

Day Keene has done much better in other genre. This western is sappy, superficial, and trite. As pulp, it borders on romance with saloon girls and guns. The end is unlikely, not because it is unpredictable, but because it is unbelievable.

The plot does pose some interesting legal issues. Can a man declared legally dead get divorced? Can he recover property already inherited? These questions are brushed over by the author. So much more could have been done with the material. "Adventurers and salesmen, would-be office holders and favor seekers, gamblers and fancy women had swarmed into the town like so many ants attracted by the frosting on a cake." This should have been far more interesting.

I have read and liked Day Keene's crime novels, but could have done without this one.