Vehotom

A strong and capable Western

Though a fairly predictable cast of characters and situations - lonesome flawed hero, sassy women and gunplay - I nevertheless enjoyed reading it; the first time I have done so in many years. The authentic Western dialogue sets the pace and tone of the book and it is set against a believable background of 19th Century Western life in all its harsh and squalid detail and is convincing with enough technical minutiae when required. The Arapaho background of Tyree Allison is an interesting diversion from the storyline of similar novels and sits well with the scrapes he gets into. I always look for a timepoint or clue to see the year(s) when the story was set - mentions of the Lincoln County war and the S&W Schofield Model 3 did this (yep, I'm a nerd). The main male characters are well written with a depth of background as required; but oddly, apart from Marcie, I didn't find this with the females whose backstories were limited in scope. That said, from the title onwards (well chosen, I thought) to the end line the story is good, often reading like a Larry McMurtry book. I hope Ms Harvell continues to write and get published and I wish her well for the future. (Tom McMullen - Vehotom on Inkitt)