The Rustlers of West Fork: A Hopalong Cassidy Novel, by Louis L'Amour

An exciting, suspenseful Western drama, a psychological thriller as Hopalong Cassidy (the good guy) and his handful of cowboys strive to outwit a band of sly and stealthy outlaws who have taken over Cassidy's friends' ranch, home, and lives. The plot includes a harrowing trek across the forbidding peaks of the Mogollon Mountains in unexpected early freezing weather and snowfall, fleeing the crooks and battling Apaches as Hopalong tries to lead a crippled old man and his daughter to safety.

I was only familiar with the character of Hopalong Cassidy from the television shows of the 1950s. As it turns out, the TV shows and movies stemmed from a series of books written by Clarence E. Mulford in the early 20th century. The first of these movies was produced in 1935, featuring William L. Boyd in the leading role, which he continued through the run of movies and TV shows. (Many of us of a certain age have the image of Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy firmly etched in our minds.) In the 1950s, Doubleday Publishing revived the H. C. books to be based on the character as presented by Mr. Boyd, which was considerably different from the rough-talking, hard-drinking cowpoke of Mulford's early novels. Mulford declined to come out of retirement, and handpicked the rising young writer of magazine short stories, Louis L'Amour, to carry the torch. The following four H. C. novels were Mr. L'Amour's first published novels, although they were published under a pseudomyn, Tex Burns. They were The Rustlers of West Fork, Trail to Seven Pines, Riders of High Rock, and Trouble Shooter. Mr. L'Amour went on to write more than 100 novels under his own name, and passed away in 1988.

Rivers West, by Louis L'Amour

I have found that I enjoy Louis L'Amour's western novels. He is a good, descriptive writer, and captures the settings and the emotions of his characters very well. His plots are interesting, and keep me turning the pages to see how they will end.

Rivers West was no exception. Rather than a typical "western," this one dealt with the early days of the United States of America, soon after the Louisiana Purchase during Thomas Jefferson's administration.

Jean Talon, a French Canadian boat builder, was exploring the wild country of the new nation, with the plan of traveling to Pittsburgh to build river boats needed by the explorers and settlers of the new American West. He accidentally stumbled upon a recent murder, one so recent that the victim had not yet perished, and was able to give Jean some information about his attacker.

As he traveled, he met up with Jambe-De-Bois ("Peg Leg"), a former pirate who became his traveling companion and confidante, a beautiful young lady in search of her brother, some inn-keepers, and a couple of shady characters. He also learned of a nefarious plot to seize the Louisiana Territory and make it a kingdom in opposition to the U.S.A.

Radigan, by Louis L'Amour

Read and reviewed in November, 2014

This is not my usual genre, but I enjoyed it very much! I will look for other books by Louis L'Amour.
A fast-paced Western mystery/romance. A lone rancher finds trouble when a mysterious lady with 3000 head of cattle and 30 men comes to take his land.
A psychological thriller disguised as a Western romance. Radigan must out-think, out-track, and out-wit his opponents if he hopes to keep his ranch and even his life. I was kept reading on the edge of my seat! The ending wasn't wrapped up neatly, leaving much to the reader to surmise. I would have liked a wedding!