The Shopkeeper by James D. Best

Bueno

Let's see, the last western I probably read was Lonesome Dove (which qualifies as a Stonewall Five Star, since I would read it again). I'll take that back: I read a couple of John Locke's Emmett Love books (good, quick reads, by the way).

So, with my predilection for free books (or the actual search for them, as discussed here), I stumbled across James D. Best's The Shut Mouth Society. Recognizing his name a few weeks later with yet more libros por no dinero, I hit the free book hat trick: three free Best westerns (get it?) in his Steve Dancy series.

At this point in my life, I'm looking for quick, fun, interesting reads. Enough of reading the description of an azalea for five pages - I want some fun without all the prose.

The Shopkeeper did not disappoint. It's well written with deep characters (that we care about) and a swift plot that keeps the pages turning.  The descriptions of the vast Nevada country are ample without the overkill. Great dialogue and a well contrived plot. One caveat: the formatting needs to be fixed, but it didn't deter me from the story.

I'll read the rest of his work at some point. Great yob, Yimmy. Fo' Stars.

Stonewalls rating system here. I think this was originally published by a small press, but I categorize it as an Indie for my purposes.