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Although the Louisiana Purchase opened up the land west of the Mississippi to settlers from the East, most of the images people have of the Old West come from the first few decades after the Civil War. This was the time of the cattle barons, rushing stagecoaches, and famous gunslingers on both sides of the law. Junction City, Kansas was a small community of homesteaders that suddenly blossomed to become an important cattle town during the era once the Kansas Pacific Railroad extended a line to it in 1866. It is here just one year later that the author stages his western novel of mystery and murder.
Frank Cotter, a once-respected newspaperman who has been fighting a losing battle with the bottle, is given a second chance at life through the auspices of an old friend, Dr. Lester Lomax. On the wagon both literally and figuratively, Cotter travels to Junction City by stagecoach, surviving run-ins with bandits, a rattlesnake, and other hazards that leave several people dead by the time he gets there. Unfortunately, he is told on arrival that Lomax's funeral had taken place that very day. With nowhere else to go, Cotter is allowed to stay at the doc's former residence, but on moving in he is held at gunpoint by two government agents. From there it is a wild ride of intrigue and murder as Cotter finds himself embroiled in a mystery involving patent medicine, Indian unrest, and a highly disturbing revelation.
Bex manages to capture much of the gritty ambiance of the period complete with all of its rough-and-tumble characters and social vices. Although further editing is required, the book is still quite enjoyable.