The concept in MISSING COWBOY MILLIONAIRE by Chet Cunnningham was full of promise. I envisioned a “duck out of water” story, with an eastern dude in the Old West or a cowboy in New York City in the vein of Crocodile Dundee. In fact, the story did have some amusing moments when the son of an East Coast millionaire gets involved in a stage coach robbery and is tracked down by a United States marshal and safely returned to the city.
The problem I had with the story, however, is that it was too short and just one of three stories about Chance Thorn, United States Marshal, and the only one that involved Anthony J. Holt, the city dude. It was the first story in the book. From there subsequent stories involved more traditional Indians and outlaws.
The stories were all enjoyable, no doubt of that, but due to the shorter lengths seemed to lack sustained suspense or complexity. The three stories, except for the United States marshal, also seemed to lack a strong thematic connection.
The result could be more of a short, relaxing, read for a fan of traditional westerns than for a reader looking for a more sustained or suspenseful work.