Río Chama: A Western Story

by Johnny D. Boggs

After a priest is lynched, gunfighter Britton Wade is the only one left who can guarantee justice!

In Santa Fe, Jeremiah Cole has been convicted and sentenced to hang for the lynching of a priest. Still, most people believe Cole will never be executed. He is the son of Senator Roman Cole, a man with both the wealth and political power to stop the hanging. The odds are so good that Jeremiah Cole will escape execution at Chama, where he must be taken to be hung, that a reward is offered to anyone who will successfully transport the prisoner.

Britton Wade, a gunfighter and gambler, accepts the challenge. Wade’s reputation as a gunfighter might stop most people dead in their tracks, but that’s not likely to deter Senator Cole’s riders. To further complicate his mission, Britton Wade is in dire health, and doesn’t know just how much longer he has to live.

The greatest mystery of all is that Wade doesn’t seem the least interested in the money. Why has Wade accepted such a dangerous challenge? What is he hiding from? Will he make it to Chama with the prisoner in tow alive? Río Chama is a nail-biting classic Western from a modern master of the genre.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns—books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians—are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: Westerns

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

Johnny D. Boggs is a Spur- and Wrangler Award-winning author of the American West and frontier. Born in 1962, Boggs grew up on a farm near Timmonsville, South Carolina, around the old stamping grounds of Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion (chronicled in his frontier novel The Despoilers). He knew he wanted to be a writer at an early age. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, Lisa Smith; son, Jack Smith Boggs; and basset hound, June.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was time to read one of the westerns I have sitting around here in my house, while sitting it out in this time of pandemic. And this one, published in 2009, fit the bill. the author Johnny D. Boggs (born in 1962 in South Carolina) has become one of my favorite western writers. This one is a good example of his writing. Set in northern New Mexico Territory in 1898, the story involves a gunslinger and gambler named Britton Wade. He decides to take on the job of escorting condemned Jeremiah Cole to his hanging. Cole committed a horrendous crime--hanging a Mexican priest and the local Mexican population want to see justice done and Cole dead. The problem is that Cole's father is a rich and powerful landowner in the territory, Senator Roman Cole. And he does not want his son to hang. With his money, he can hire killers to rescue his son and hide him away. Wade may not be able to survive long enough to carry out his mission... One of the things I liked best about the book was Boggs' describing the arid and starkly beautiful mountainous region that the story is set in. I sure do wish I was riding a horse across such a wild wide-open landscape--as long as no one is shooting at me!

[Steven Walle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reo Chama was a decant book. It contained all the aspects of a good western, plenty of horses and cattle, cowboys and outlaws, and Indians and Mexicans all battling over a man's life.
It seems this young man had hanged a Priest and was sent to get hanged himself, but the young man's Father was the goveignor of the territory. There were a lot of people trying to keep him from getting his necked stretched, and a lot of people looking to kill him.
I will let you read and find out how it ends.
Enjoy and Be Blessed.
Diamond

[Andrew Pender-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly engaging story with all the ingredients of a traditional western: horses, cowboys, shooting, fist fights, murderers, outcasts, and more. The author’s often vivid descriptions of the countryside lift it to an above-average read. He knows what goes into the making of a good western, and the book is recommended to all lovers of the genre.

[Joe Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I was reading this story, I thought it was going to rate two stars. The author was keeping my interest, but the story just seemed to be a standard western. Then came the latter part! The story's shift surprised me and made it more than a standard western plot.

[Gerald Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy following the works of Johnny Boggs. In this book, the author takes a familiar western plot and makes it very readable and interesting. Hid humor is subtle and adds a great deal to the flavor of the story. A very good read.

[Plover · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story overall, but what really struck me was the fate of the hero. Not just what happens, but the WAY it happens. Such a different approach from the rather typical blaze of glory ending of a lot of westerns. I will check out other titles by this author.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was kinda fun. But what do I know? I never read Westerns.