The Man from Yesterday: A Western Story

by Wayne D. Overholser

It was while Neal Clark was in the gunsmith's shop that the Shelly gang attempted to hold up the bank. Neal rushed out of the shop with his rifle, took aim, and fired, repeatedly, killing Buck Shelly and his son Luke Shelly. He may also have wounded Ed Shelly, a teenage boy, who was holding the horses. Ed Shelly made good his escape, but was believed to be mortally wounded. That's what Neal thought until he received a letter from Ed Shelly, declaring that he would be back someday to settle the score.Eight years later, Neal is married with a young daughter and has taken over the town bank. Cascade City is in the midst of a crisis brought about by Ben Darley and Tuck Shelton, promoters of an irrigation project that is an obvious scam, though it isn’t obvious to most people in town or the surrounding ranching community. There is even talk of lynching Neal for his adamant rejection of investment in the project. It is at this point that the letters from Ed Shelly start coming again, this time vowing revenge not on Neal himself, but on his wife and daughter. There seems to be nothing Sheriff Joe Rolfe can do about it because there are no strangers in town except for the two promoters, both too old to be Ed Shelly…The Man from Yesterday is a gripping tale and a modern Western classic written by a Spur Award winning author.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.

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Wayne D. Overholser (born September 4, 1906 in Pomeroy, Washington; died August 27, 1996 in Boulder, Colorado) was an American Western writer.

Overholser won the 1953 First Spur Award for best novel for Lawman using the pseudonym Lee Leighton. In 1955 he won the 1954 (second) Spur Award for The Violent Land. He also used the pseudonyms John S. Daniels, Dan J. Stevens and Joseph Wayne.

Reviews

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice, surprising nugget. Clark was a well-fleshed out character.

A common Western story: hero gets run up a tree and spends the rest of the novel trying to get down without being eaten. Here I found Overholser created such a predicament for Clark that was as good or better hook than a lot of books.

The book managed to create suspense too about whether the Clark's adversary was really back in town or not, and if he was, who he was.

The irrigation scheme added another compelling wrinkle. The fact that Clark was a banker opposed to the scheme, protecting the townsfolk from getting fleeced, was another interesting dimension. A lot of times in books the bankers either serve as villains, or sometimes victims in bank robberies, but rarely as the heroic ones, and I enjoyed how that was handled.

I became somewhat less engaged toward the final third or so of the book. I got a little confused by the literal physical and geographical position of the characters at times, and some of their behaviors seemed far-fetched, so I docked it a star, but my impression is still favorable overall. I had never heard of Overholser before but I'd read more by him.

[Kellyt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t love this one. Kind of an unrealistic story of one man trying to get revenge on another. Would probably give it about a 2.8 if I could.