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Captain Culpper #1
The Missouri River Murders
Captain Culpepper refurbished his steamboat to withstand the rigors of navigating the Missouri River from St. Louis to Fort Benton, Montana. The vessel would be the largest steamboat to ever make the trip, but it was well equipped, powerful, and had a shallow draft. He hired the most competent pilots and officers available as well as a young Civil War veteran, Danny Barton, to keep the peace on board. The Captain's careful preparations promised an uneventful trip, but that was before he took on passengers.
226 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2011
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11 people want to read
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June 2, 2022
The Missouri River Murders by David E. Unruh is a western/mystery novel that mostly takes place on the Barnard Clinton, a steamboat traveling along the treacherous Missouri River to Omaha, Nebraska. On board are gunslingers, wealthy men, Civil War veterans, a charming woman, a woman on the hunt for her brother's killer, and a murderer, all presided over by Danny Barton, the steamboat's security officer.
I took this novel off of the Western shelves at my local library, and I saw the initials "BMc" and the word "good" underlined- my grandpa, Bob McDaniel, would write this in the westerns he read, indicating his favorites with "good." He was a voracious reader for all of his life and he had read nearly every single novel I pulled off the shelves. Hundreds of westerns. He passed away nearly three years ago, and so it makes me feel closer to him to know which books he read and which ones he enjoyed.
I have to agree with him. I enjoyed The Missouri River Murders immensely. I liked the characters, and I liked how all of the action mainly took place on the steamboat, trapping all of the characters together as they each schemed and plotted and tried to achieve their means. The perspective was third-person omniscient, so the reader can really see what everyone is up to. My favorite characters were Danny Barton, Josephine Wainwright, and Melinda LaFramboise. This was a fun western mystery novel. Thank you for the rec, Paw.
There is a sequel, The Last Voyage of the Steamer Barnard Clinton, that I look forward to reading.
I took this novel off of the Western shelves at my local library, and I saw the initials "BMc" and the word "good" underlined- my grandpa, Bob McDaniel, would write this in the westerns he read, indicating his favorites with "good." He was a voracious reader for all of his life and he had read nearly every single novel I pulled off the shelves. Hundreds of westerns. He passed away nearly three years ago, and so it makes me feel closer to him to know which books he read and which ones he enjoyed.
I have to agree with him. I enjoyed The Missouri River Murders immensely. I liked the characters, and I liked how all of the action mainly took place on the steamboat, trapping all of the characters together as they each schemed and plotted and tried to achieve their means. The perspective was third-person omniscient, so the reader can really see what everyone is up to. My favorite characters were Danny Barton, Josephine Wainwright, and Melinda LaFramboise. This was a fun western mystery novel. Thank you for the rec, Paw.
There is a sequel, The Last Voyage of the Steamer Barnard Clinton, that I look forward to reading.
Displaying 1 of 1 review