Leaving Epitaph: The Sons of Daniel Shaye

Sons of Daniel Shaye

by Robert J. Randisi

The sheriff of Epitaph, Texas, Dan Shaye was a hard but just defender of the law -- a devoted husband and father who kept the truth about his violent past from the townfolk he protected. But then the hardcase Ethan Langer gang galloped into town looking to rob the local bank. And when they rode out again, Dan's beloved wife Mary was lying dead in the Texas dust.

Now the time has come for Daniel Shaye to leave Epitaph, maybe for good, with his three motherless adult sons at his side. For the only justice that will serve is going to come from a rifle or a rope -- as the four Shayes band together to uphold a new law ... called revenge.

Genres: Westerns

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Robert Joseph Randisi was a prolific American author, editor, and screenwriter, best known for his work in detective and Western fiction. He wrote over 650 books, including The Gunsmith series under the pen name J.R. Roberts, and edited more than 30 anthologies. A co-founder of Mystery Scene magazine, the American Crime Writers League, and Western Fictioneers, he also established The Private Eye Writers of America and created the Shamus Award. Randisi collaborated on novels with Eileen Davidson and Vince Van Patten, and created memorable characters such as Miles Jacoby, Joe Keough, and The Rat Pack. He received multiple lifetime achievement awards and the John Seigenthaler Humanitarian Award.

Reviews

[David Cranmer]

Leaving Epitaph combines several popular Western themes, including blood vengeance, boys becoming men on the trail, and the bonding of father and sons. What advances Randisi's tale above countless, comparable fare is that he probes into the mindset of each of the individual points of view. One paragraph starts you off with one of the brother’s innermost concerns, and the next passage seamlessly flows into Daniel’s own apprehensions on a related subject. And it’s not just the “white hats.” Randisi delves into the hastily-diminishing faculties of the lead outlaw. Ethan Langer has become unhinged by the lasting impression of his horse grinding Mary Shaye into the earth. As leader, he can’t exhibit weakness, but his fraying conscience begins to spill over into public short temperedness and questionable decision-making which doesn’t go unnoticed by his men, ultimately threatening his control. As a result of this disclosure in a back-and-forth storytelling method, the suspense intensifies until the unexpected and tragic conclusion.

[Malia]

A simple western, but entertaining anyways.

[Susan Moore]

Fairly good western.

[Mikel Rhodes]

A hard lesson.

This is a good story about how vengeance can cause more harm that it can help correct a wrong. But sometimes a person has to stop evil.