Dead Man's Ranch

by Matthew P. Mayo, Ralph Compton

Brian Middleton left his father's ranch long ago to make his own way. But now, he's returned to claim the land his late father left him -- and learns the hard way that if you want to keep something in the wild West, you have to fight for it. With local lowlifes and shady con-men after the Dancing M ranch, Middleton has no choice but to make a stand....

Genres: Westerns

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Matthew P. Mayo is the award-winning author of thirty-plus books and dozens more short stories. His novel, Stranded: A Story of Frontier Survival, won the prestigious Western Heritage Wrangler Award for Outstanding Western Novel by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, as well as the Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Fiction by the Western Writers of America, the Peacemaker Award for Best YA Novel by Western Fictioneers, and the Willa Literary Award for Best Historical Fiction by Women Writing the West. His novel, Tucker’s Reckoning, won the Spur Award for Best Western Novel, and his short stories have been Spur Award and Peacemaker Award finalists.

He has been an on-screen expert for a popular TV series about lost treasure in the American West, and is an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.

Matthew and his wife, photographer and videographer Jennifer Smith-Mayo, along with their indefatigable pup, Miss Tess, run Gritty Press (www.GrittyPress.com) and live in the deepest, forested wildlands of Maine. When they’re not battling belligerent bigfoots and foiling the filching ways of hordes of gray squirrels, they rove the byways of North America in search of hot coffee, tasty whiskey, and high adventure. Be sure to rummage at Matthew’s website (www.MatthewMayo.com) for updates about spurious projects, outrageous outings, and a few surprises, too….

Reviews

[David Burnworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early on in this story, I could see one of the two love stories that were going to happen in this one. But before either could happen Brian Middleton (MacMawe) would have to head to New Mexico where he planned to sell the land to his late father's ranch. A man he never knew thanks to his rich conniving grandfather.

There is death in this one near death and so much more in this one. Land is the cause for so much evil in this story though end the end love and good will win.

[astacia tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first western. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. The book did take a little longer for me to read because I just couldn't get through it. There were some good parts that kept me reading, but so many times, I just wanted to put it down and never come back. The ending was good.

[Neville · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor story

Poor stuff....i really struggled to read this book i have many ralph cromptons books which i apprreciet very much but i could not read this one

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

From The Spur & Lock Mercantile:

<<
I'm not usually a fan of the plot that features a dude or greenhorn heading west and colliding with the earthy western customs, only to end up won over by the locals and having the “veneer of civilization” (in the words of Edgar Rice Burroughs) stripped away to leave something more straightforward and honest. But Matthew P. Mayo's considerable storytelling skills excellently overcome the obstacles inherent in this vintage plot, and he delivers a well-told, nicely paced, exciting novel that any western reader will find very satisfying.

In Dead Man's Ranch, a stranger — Bryan — comes to town, but everyone recognizes him as the spitting image of his father, who died recently and left one of the finest ranches in the territory to this son, who was sent East to be raised by his mother's parents after she died. There are complications to Bryan's taking over the ranch, of course: he's an Eastern dandy and doesn't have a clue to his family's story (his grandfather, who raised the boy, had disinherited Bryan's mother when she married the rough-and-tumble western rancher, and subsequently kept Bryan in the dark about his beginnings as he raised the boy, even returning unopened any letters and gifts from Bryan's father when they came to the house); his dead father left behind the kindly Esperanza, unmarried, but with a grown bastard son, good-hearted Brandon, who has spent most of his time in a bottle since his father's death.

There's also the owner of the neighboring ranch—also a widower—who wants Bryan's new property; his reckless, hot-headed, and frequently drunken son, who will perform any violent act necessary to get hold of the dead man's ranch to gain favor from his hard-nosed father; and the rancher's daughter, who frequently mediates between the two hot-headed men of her family.

Throw in a psychopathic serial killer who has heard about the complicated mess about settling the dead man's property from a lawyer who was in his cups at a poker table (and who later ends up dead in an alley—guess who does him in?), and you've got all the ingredients for a western stew that is muy caliente.
>>

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

FIRST-- I think it is a DIRTY marketing trick to use Ralph Compton's name to sell books by another author. Of course, publishers have used pen names for multiple authors for years, but this would be like using Louis L'Amour's name to sell novels written by a different author. At least, the real author got his name on the cover.

This novel had a lot of the familiar western cliches-- but the author managed to use them to his advantage adding a more modern character, a type of serial killer that must've existed in the west---

There are two ranches sitting next to one another-- owned by one-time friends... they are large ranches, and the two owners have not spoken to one another for many years. As the novel opens--- the owner of one of the ranches has died, and the other owner wants to purchase and combine the two. Into the mix is the dead ranchers housekeeper and illegitimate half-Mexican son. (yes, there are some of the old west's attitudes towards people of color in this novel)... And who should show up, but the rancher's long-lost son... raised in the East by his grandparents. Another killer comes into the mix, hoping to find a way to profit by stirring up trouble. The children of the rancher hoping to purchase the dead man's ranch also become involved in ways that are at times, cliche, and at others offer very interesting plot twists.

This one is better than most generic westerns, even with its generic cliches-- the author manages to build a strong plot, much like the great western films with deeper themes. The son of the living rancher is a lot like James Dean's "Rebel with a Cause"-- seeking to find some way to please his father... The killer would almost fit into a modern murder thriller.

I still think the marketing plan stinks.. but I have enjoyed several in this series, even though they are stand-alone novels.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review upcoming at my blog.