A Spider for Loco Shoat: A Novel

by Douglas C. Jones

In western Arkansas in 1907, seven-year-old Jay Bird Joey Schwartz hides out in the National Cemetery and becomes the only witness to the murder of one of Fort Smith's most prominent citizens

Genres: Fiction, Westerns

482 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Chrisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoy the historical mysteries by Douglas Jones, the trio featuring Oscar Schiller. Re-reads all. Memorable characters and settings. Re-read in 2020. Story not as strong as the other Schiller stories. Descriptions sometimes 'over the top.'
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/sch...
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From Loco some quotes:
page 247 "Pool shooters know that when a cue ball is stroked and begins to travel about the table, it comes in contact with other balls and sends them on their course ... that initial energy ... balls going in all directions ...
"You might compare the entire United States of America in 1907 to such a pool table, where all sorts of energy in the form of information was clicking and clacking along the railroad rights-of-way, or along the telegraph wires, or along the telephone lines, looking for something to kiss no matter where it might be, near or far."
***
http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2007/...
http://www.januarymagazine.com/featur...
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copied and pasted from "KIRKUS REVIEW

The killers who leave a naked corpse on an Arkansas River bank in the spring of 1907 lead legendary lawman Oscar Schiller a merry chase through Indian Country and beyond, in another delightful period piece from Jones (Shadow of the Moon, 1996, etc.). Schiller (last heard from in The Search for Temperance Moon, 1991) has not gone gently into the good night of retirement, so he's quick to take an uninvited hand in the mysterious murder of Gerald Wagstaff, a prominent Fort Smith businessman. After determining that there's more to the case than Sheriff Leviticus Tapp (a Dartmouth man who bears frequent witness to the strength of his religious faith) would have the public believe, the Waspish ex-federal marshall wangles a carte blanche commission from the local US Attorney. With the help of an Osage (aptly named Joe Mountain), Schiller noses about his old stomping ground, the Oklahoma Territory, now in the early stages of a crude-oil boom. While prowling the rapidly changing frontier, he sustains a gunshot wound, but not before he learns that the dead man had masterminded a lucrative scare that involved selling bootleg drilling equipment and holding large American Express under false names. From a half-witted outlaw, Schiller gets a line on Lota Berry, Wagstaff's missing paramour, and back in Fort Smith, the dogged sleuth locates the hapless Lota's body at the bottom of a dry well. Her moonlight disinterment soon flushes out the principal plotters in a sorry tale of betrayal, coerced confessions, embezzlement, homicide, hypocrisy, and torture. At the close, the culpable pay varied prices for their crimes, and the quirky Schiller makes an effort to adapt to a city overtaken by modern conveniences--automobiles, for example, electricity, and the telephone. Entertaining fare expertly set in a turning-point of American history, from a prolific old pro whose oeuvre bears consideration as a national treasure."

[Jackson Burnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Spider for Loco Shoat is an engaging and entertaining Western. Author Jones takes a creative approach to the genre, but in doing so often goes over the top and most of the typical tropes are followed.

[Bill Hooten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was prowling around in a used book store a couple of weeks ago, and found a couple of westerns (one of my weaknesses) by Douglas C. Jones. I read about the author, and discovered that he was born about 30 miles from where I live now; and died about 10 miles away. As I read some of the remarks about the book, I found that it was set in Fort Smith, Arkansas; a city where I lived for about 10 years. All of a sudden, this author and his book became a whole lot more interesting. The book "A Spider for Loco Shoat" was the one that I chose to read first, and I have no good reason for that choice. I don't know if the 17 books by Jones have any order, they appear to me to be stand alone volumes. It took me about 50 pages to sort of get to where I had a grasp of the writing style of Mr. Jones, but I did; and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I know that I am going to enjoy more of his books, and not just the ones that take place in the Northwest Arkansas area. I don't if they are for everybody, but they are for me.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another fine "late-era" western (set in 1907 in Ft. Smith).. The hanging judge is gone and Oscar Shiller sits around thinking about the old days. A grotesque murder calls him out of retirement however, as he manages to obtain a marshall's commission and starts nosing about.

The period flavor of this novel is about as full of flavor as the Lemon Meringue pies described therein. The reader is treated to a lot of neat details about clothing, new technology and its effect on the people, and life in a turn of the century frontier town.

Even the mystery provided is pretty good, though I felt that the identity of one of the villains was pretty obvious from early on and it turned out I was right. Either I'm getting better at spotting the bad guys or writers have began to write more simplistic murder mysteries.

This novel moves rather slowly, but I think the pacing was pretty close to spot on for this novel. The old marshall, who was moving a bit slower, and the dialogues and descriptions all created a nice bouquet for the reader. The challenge was not losing sight of the mystery.

Oh, and the title plays an important part in the book, even though we don't meet Loco Shoat and his spider until nearly the end of the book. While the character's name is Loco-- and IS crazy-- the name is short for Locomotive. Yup, the names in this book provide period details that mate well with the story, descriptions, etc.

[Sammcnair]

Audio read, western murder mystery. Fear of spiders involved.