McCutchen's Bones

Lost DMB Files #25

by David Mark Brown

Kung Fu Vs. a zombifying plague

"Haunting and Emotional. If Ghost Rider were a cowboy, this would be his backstory."

Product Description:
For a man who has the courage to look life in the teeth, everything is black and white. J.T. McCutchen has made a living by this philosophy. So far it's served him well.

Busted down From Texas Ranger to private security for an oil company in a muddy boomtown, McCutchen is holding his life together via discipline and sheer will. But attempts on his father's life combined with a plague ravaging the countryside threaten to open a closet full of bones. Now the ex-ranger's about to learn, when you've seen things that won't let you live, it's either you or the bones.

"Originally published as part of a serial entitled, Reefer Ranger Rides Again, the short story McCutchen’s Bones appeared in a pared down manner, names and places altered to avoid undue scrutiny from the powers it laid bare. What you have before you is the unabridged version. Consider yourself forewarned, the contents of this horrifying and heroic tale are as volatile as a truckload of nitro-torpedoes en route to the oil fields described within!" ~ Professor Jim Buckner, Geology Dept.; University of Texicas

"A more efficient beauty amidst mud-encrusted gore can't be found."

Letter from the Editor:
The Truth in History Society (THS), commonly known as lost file conspiracists, have beat their drum for nearly a dozen years. I, like most, ignored them. Unlike most, I was kidnapped. While initially ticked off by this, not getting exploded (another story altogether) ultimately balanced the scales.

Since then I have rigorously set about curating and editing all known Lost DMB Files while maintaining as scientific of an approach to these pulpy stories as possible. Now I count myself among the zealous believers in their authenticity, not simply as pulp fiction, but as journalistic tales preserving historic fact.

My promise to the reader is to seek out these Lost DMB files and present them to you unabridged and unaltered from their original intent for as long as I am able. I also vow to do my best to allow you to draw your own conclusions as to their historical value and contemporary commentary. (I’ll refrain from my preachy tendencies as best I can!)

Finally, be forewarned. Becoming lost in these “lost files” and the world they reconstruct is difficult to resist. May what once was lost be found.

Professor Jim “Buck” Buckner

All known Lost DMB Files (including assumed gaps):
Reefer Ranger (#9)
Del Rio Con Amor (#14)
Fistful of Reefer (#17)
The Austin Job (#18)
Hell’s Womb (#22)
Get Doc Quick (#24)
McCutchen’s Bones (#25)
Twitch and Die! (#26)
Paraplegic Zombie Slayer (#35)
Fourth Horseman (#43)

ebook

First published February 10, 2012

About the author

Raised in Central Texas, David Mark Brown learned to ride horses at a young age. Then learned to hate them after a disastrous attempt to impress a girlfriend. He was five.

Turning instead to a life of poetry and prose he eventually migrated north to the University of Montana (the Berkeley of the Rockies) and became the Redneck Granola.

Falling in love a chainsaw wielding mountain woman forced him to reconsider his chosen career path--Hemingway on a sailboat. Instead he illuminated the path of life to college students as a spiritual guide for over a dozen years while his wife (now a pharmacist) squirreled away enough acorns for David to embrace the sultry world of commercial fiction.

After legally snatching a little Vietnamese boy and creating another son via more natural means, the happy family settled in Idaho. David still rides horses, but only in black and never for fun.

Pull up a chair at www.thegreenporch.com, and I'll pour you some sweet tea.

Reviews

[Joseph DiCristofano · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Mark Brown first introduces us to McCutchen in "Fistful of Reefer." From the get go, I loved this character. McCutchen is a personification of the kickass Western mythos. He is the Texas version of Jason, minus the Argonauts. His archetype is the reason young boys gesticulate pistol shapes with their hands and emulate *bang*bang* sounds. Far from one dimensional, David Mark Brown paints a picture of a solitary man who is content in having Chester, his loyal and incredibly intelligent horse, be his only companion. He has his demons and is haunted by regrets, but handles them with a quiet shrug and the occasional funny cigarette. His grim determination and solitary nature makes for a heroically stoic character that, love or hate him, you can't help but find interesting.

So, naturally, when "McCutchen's Bones" was disinterred from the anals of weird history (thank you Truth in History Society) I found myself curious to find what lurked beneath the bones.

Our story begins with McCutchen easily dispatching a group of roughs. he is no longer a law man and now works as a freelance security officer. If you love detailed action sequences, then David Mark Brown is a writer that does not disappoint:

"Elbows in and muscles relaxed, I focus my forty-year-old frame. Eyes open, the saloon returns. Strike one hyperextends Yokel's thrusting elbow. He drops the knife. Before it falls six inches, strike two, a vertical-fist straight punch to the solar plexus, stuns him. As the knife hits the floor, strike three, a finger punch to the throat, drops him faster than the knife.
Upset at the intrusion, Irish announces his intentions with an ejaculation of inane banter. Lunging with a left at the back of my head, he barely ducks a wild right from Plus One who cracks his knuckles across the jaw of Plus Two. Invitations are flying faster than I can seat the guests.
I dip and spin, letting Irish's blow whiff over me while sweeping his feet. Catching him, I bury my knee in his groin before hurling him backwards. He strikes Plus Two, a burly roughneck with tightly wound hair bursting from his neck and sleeves, and bowls him over."

From there we are introduced to Trip Jones, the head honcho of J&J Southern Oil and Gas Company and McCutchen's boss. Trip informs McCutchen that his father's land is worth mucho grande' because of its untapped resources. He also informs him that nefarious rival organizations are set on forcing him to sell, or worse, taking the land by force. Trip makes McCutchen "an offer he cannot refuse." In otherwords, he offeres to buy the land at a very reasonable price. McCutchen respects the man's honesty, and so sets off to discuss business with his estranged father.

This is where the real story begins. I won't go into details, but the tale moves at at a perfect pace: not too fast, not too slow -- frenetic when it needs to be and endearing when necessary. Think Goldilocks finding a story written by baby bear, just right.

David Mark Brown floods the reader with a deluge of detailed descriptions, that contrary to my description, does not drown the reader in self-indulgent prose, but welcomes him/her to swim or boat the phonetic waters of brilliant writing. This Universe is Mr. Brown's baby and he tends to and nurtures it as any loving parent would. With that stated, "McCutchen's Bones" is another solid entry to the Lost DMB files and definitely worth digging for.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Another "hang on and enjoy the ride" piece of the puzzle that Brown is constructing in his incredibly developed alternate history of Lost DMB Files.

I've read several of his books now, and I don't know why I'm still so amazed at how deeply I get sucked into this crazy world of his. He constructs this distant yet familiar world and breathes life into with characters that are so distinct and real.

I'm ready for the next installment! Let's hope some more Files get found. :)

[David Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another digital short of the Lost DMB Files: http://davidmarkbrownwrites.com/lost-...