When Ruben Beeler finds a rancher friend shot to death and mutilated, he calls on Marshals Marion Daniels and Homer Poteet for help. That call begins a chase that takes the men from St. Joe into Kansas and down to Hell on the Border and the Fort Smith court of Hangin’ Judge Issac Parker. In pursuit of the killers, the marshals venture into the Oklahoma Territory, or “The Nations” as it was known at the time, following a path of bloodlust that began before the killing of Arkansas Bill Cole. Serial killers are nothing new, as the marshals find out on the Cutthroat Trail.
I am yet another embattled crusader in the writing wars. I live in the wilds of the Missouri outback with two cattledogs, a belligerent cat named Grizz, and my bride of 42 years, the coveted Laura. In my rather extended life I have been a musician, a metropolitan cop, a ranch hand and cowboy, and (shudder) a writer of radio and television commercial copy. Now before you run for the Pepto, let me say that there are some benefits to be had from such mundane labor. After a writer has ground through twenty to thirty thousand pieces of commercial copy, one of two things will happen. He will spend the last years of his life in Sunnydale Acres grinding his teeth and staring blankly at the sun, or he will have learned to write for Theatre of the Mind. In my case, some would claim the jury is still out but, since no nice young men in white coats have arrived at my dusty door sporting smiles and a jacket with extraordinarily long arms, I am free to keep the Theatre open . . . this time on my terms.
Even though I don’t care for bandwagons, I was browbeaten into writing two of my novels because I disliked the genres and trendiness from which they sprang. Oddly enough, they are two of my favorites. They are significantly different than others of their breed because I am a grown-up, and I write for grown-ups.
My novels are character-driven because life is character driven. As we move through the years, snippets of plots rocket by, but very few ever pan out. Characters, however, stay with us through thick and thin, rich with remembered dialogue and situation, four dimensional on the big screen in our Theatre of the Mind.
As a writer for grown-ups, my function is entertainment. Because I am a grown-up I indulge myself and write what entertains me: rich characters, tight dialogue, and uncomplicated storylines. Check out my website at www.ironbear-ebooks.com. Or, if you’d just want to jaw here for a while, great! Grizz won’t like it, but he’s just a cat.
I'm not sure that this author will be writing more of this series but I will be first in line if he does. I will truly miss these characters and their fantastic friendship wrapped around justice on the trail. After the first book in the series I could not read them fast enough but wanted to savior them as well. A series not to be missed.
The Urban Dictionary offers this definition for the term "book hangover": "When you've finished a book and you suddenly return to the real world, but the real world feels incomplete or surreal because you're still living in the world of the book."
I didn't intend to read all seven of David R. Lewis's Trail series one right after the other, but I did it. And now they're done. It's time to read something else. But I don't particularly want to. I need an eighth book, man! What's Little Bill doing now? Don't hold out on me!
Well, anyway, in this installment, Rubin is the one to call in Marion and Homer when a new friend of his is murdered. The villain in this case likes to cut the throats of his victims, and he just happens to be the man who laid the final blow to Arkansas Bill Cole, which just doubles Rubin's desire to bring him some Western justice. I found the resolution in this one to be a little anti-climactic, but honestly, the whole series proves the adage that it isn't about the destination, it's about the journey to get there. The real story is always about the relationship of the three men and their encounters on the trail. In a real positive, we meet another interesting new character, and he doesn't die.
As always, Lewis reading his own words was half the enjoyment here. His writing gives the three men (and minor characters) different syntax and vocabularies, but he really brings that to life when he speaks it. I'm very glad to have discovered Lewis through algorithms on Audible.com.
Edited to note: This book is no longer the end of the Trail series. Woohoo!
To all who decide to read this adventure will truly enjoy these three United States Marshals. These men represent the western men who settled the west and protected the innocent from men who traveled the " Cutthroat Trail." They truly all had effervescent personalities. Their speech, will have you laughing, while your reading, you may have to read the sentence twice...and to this day certain parts of the deep south you hear these words. It's truly the way of how they were raised to speak. David R. Lewis it's a pleasure, their was empathy radiating from these three marshals regarding how the Native Americans, Afro Americans and some whites all lived in the Indian Territories. How the herds of buffalo were almost destroyed which in turn was suppose to help destroy the American Indians, leaving them without their main source food this resulted in a form of genocide...very very sad..he included a lot of history about those who settled the west. This was an enjoyable experience which you feel as you read this western..you will laugh😉
Maybe the best of the series. Finally a meaningful and insightful encounter and developed relationship with a Native American. Only one more Trail series to read. Gonna miss these characters!
Hurry up David with #8! What a great story and all the people are so real. I can't say who my favorite is Ruben, Marion, Homer? The stories wouldn't be complete without all three! I love the dialogue.....truly sounds like living in those days. I really will hate it if you ended the series. You know, Robert J Thomas has 53 in his Jess Williams series and I've read every one. I'll do the same with the Trail series.....wow wouldn't that be grand....it surely would!
Fantastic!! This is the seventh book in the David R Lewis' trail series. It was wonderful to connect with Ruben. Marion, and Homer, three US Marshals in the early west. I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series. I want to read them all in a hurry but am savoring them! I have been listening to them from audible, they are read by the author who is a wonderful narrator! I must confess I have the books too. I am hoping Mr. Lewis read the last in the series. Thank you for a great fun time
Perfect reading, lots of action. I love reading about little Bill. When I bought the first book I was looking for something entertaining. What I got was the perfect western. I hurriedly purchased the next six books. When is number eight coming out? Thank you for an excellent read, I love this series so much I went and bought Incident Among the Savages. Another excellent book.
I have truly enjoyed this series and look forward to Glory trail. The plot moves along well with out leaving gaps in the story. Some of the prose and language becomes repetitive after seven go arounds but it is also familiar and friendly. Highly recommend this to readers of western genre novels. Compares well with authors such as Peter Bowen, James Lee Burke, Larry McMurtry......
I have read all of the books in this series and they are awesome. The stories are not only great but very entertaining as well. Would highly recommend to anyone that likes western. Great sense of humor Mr. Lewis.
After seven books in this series, I still enjoy them. There's a lot of violence, a lot of bad guys but lots of emotion, action and excitement. Little Bill was adorable and the animals' personalities were great.
I have really enjoyed reading this series of books. I really hope there will be more books on these Marshall's. The author has done a fantastic job on these books. Will be reading more of his books for sure.
If you enjoy westerns save some time and go ahead and buy the entire series, it will sAve you time and. Money and you will be able to finish one and go directly to the next one in the series.
Just read the first seven books of the cutthroat trail series and I'm looking forward to the rest as they are released. You will love the banter and comradery of these three marshals as they hit the trail to keep the old west safe
I sure hope more people will find this unusual western series. So much enjoyed the audio version as read by the author. I will be truly sorry to come to and end of the adventures of these three Marshals and will miss Little Bill and Miss Harmony. Sure hope we haven’t heard the last of all of them.