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Tangled Trails
Book by Raine, William MacLeod
272 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1921
About the author
William MacLeod Raine
490 books15 followersWilliam MacLeod Raine (June 22, 1871 - July 25, 1954), was a British-born American novelist who wrote fictional adventure stories about the American Old West.
William MacLeod Raine was born in London, the son of William and Jessie Raine. After his mother died, his family migrated from England to Arkansas when Macleod was ten years old, eventually settling on a cattle ranch near the Texas-Arkansas border.
In 1894, after graduating from Oberlin College, Macleod left Arkansas and headed for the western U.S. He became the principal of a school in Seattle while contributing columns to a local newspaper. After leaving Seattle, he moved to Denver, where he worked as a reporter and editorial writer for local periodicals, including the Republican, the Post, and the Rocky Mountain News. At this time he began to publish short stories, eventually becoming a full time free lance fiction writer, and finally finding his literary home in the novel.
His earliest novels were romantic histories taking place in the English countryside. However, after spending some time with the Arizona Rangers, Macleod shifted his literary focus and began to utilize the American West as a setting. The publication of Wyoming in 1908 marks the beginning of his prolific career, during which time he averaged nearly two western novels a year until his death in 1954. In 1920 he was awarded an M.L. degree from the University of Colorado where he had established that school's first journalism course. During the First World War 500,000 copies of one of his books were sent to British soldiers in the trenches. Twenty of his novels have been filmed. Despite his prolificness, he was a slow, careful, conscientious worker, intent on accurate detail, and considered himself a craftsman rather than an artist.
In 1905 Mr. Raine married Jennie P. Langley, who died in 1922. In 1924 he married Florence A Hollingsworth: they had a daughter. Though he traveled a good deal, Denver was considered his home.
William MacLeod Raine died on July 25, 1954 and is buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
William MacLeod Raine was born in London, the son of William and Jessie Raine. After his mother died, his family migrated from England to Arkansas when Macleod was ten years old, eventually settling on a cattle ranch near the Texas-Arkansas border.
In 1894, after graduating from Oberlin College, Macleod left Arkansas and headed for the western U.S. He became the principal of a school in Seattle while contributing columns to a local newspaper. After leaving Seattle, he moved to Denver, where he worked as a reporter and editorial writer for local periodicals, including the Republican, the Post, and the Rocky Mountain News. At this time he began to publish short stories, eventually becoming a full time free lance fiction writer, and finally finding his literary home in the novel.
His earliest novels were romantic histories taking place in the English countryside. However, after spending some time with the Arizona Rangers, Macleod shifted his literary focus and began to utilize the American West as a setting. The publication of Wyoming in 1908 marks the beginning of his prolific career, during which time he averaged nearly two western novels a year until his death in 1954. In 1920 he was awarded an M.L. degree from the University of Colorado where he had established that school's first journalism course. During the First World War 500,000 copies of one of his books were sent to British soldiers in the trenches. Twenty of his novels have been filmed. Despite his prolificness, he was a slow, careful, conscientious worker, intent on accurate detail, and considered himself a craftsman rather than an artist.
In 1905 Mr. Raine married Jennie P. Langley, who died in 1922. In 1924 he married Florence A Hollingsworth: they had a daughter. Though he traveled a good deal, Denver was considered his home.
William MacLeod Raine died on July 25, 1954 and is buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 24, 2024
Tangled Trails: A Western Detective Story, by William MacLeod Raine
A quickly paced and fun story by MacLeod. Nothing thought provoking here, with some casual racism that is not uncommon from books from the 1920s (stereotyping Japanese characters and not Indians or Blacks, who apparently didn’t exist in this version of the West). The murder mystery is sleuthed and solved by a particularly strong, tall, lithe, and steely-eyed rancher who is mistakenly suspected of the crime. The plot is puzzle-like, much like most English novelists’ who-done-its, which makes sense because the author was born in England and his first novels were (according to what I have read about him) English period pieces. His family moved to the American West when he was ten, but he only embraced the western genre after his career began. He eventually became mostly identified with his western themed fiction, which he churned out methodically. I listened to the free audio from LibriVox, and it was worth the drive time.
A quickly paced and fun story by MacLeod. Nothing thought provoking here, with some casual racism that is not uncommon from books from the 1920s (stereotyping Japanese characters and not Indians or Blacks, who apparently didn’t exist in this version of the West). The murder mystery is sleuthed and solved by a particularly strong, tall, lithe, and steely-eyed rancher who is mistakenly suspected of the crime. The plot is puzzle-like, much like most English novelists’ who-done-its, which makes sense because the author was born in England and his first novels were (according to what I have read about him) English period pieces. His family moved to the American West when he was ten, but he only embraced the western genre after his career began. He eventually became mostly identified with his western themed fiction, which he churned out methodically. I listened to the free audio from LibriVox, and it was worth the drive time.
November 30, 2016
Good
To all a very easy read. Tell th rtf takes takes gay center by night zoo do not want q
To all a very easy read. Tell th rtf takes takes gay center by night zoo do not want q
March 30, 2017
Excellent
It was an exciting and at times suspenseful story that kept you on your toe's trying to guess who was involved in the events.
It was an exciting and at times suspenseful story that kept you on your toe's trying to guess who was involved in the events.
August 20, 2017
Interesting, classic mystery (spunky sometimes). Very well narrated and recommended.
Free on
LibriVox and Gutenberg
Free on
LibriVox and Gutenberg
October 17, 2019
Very enjoyable murder mystery, investigated by a handsome young rough rider cowboy for the sake of his close lady friend (also a rough rider) whose sister had been wronged by the family involved.
May 25, 2026
Read this book!!! Mystery, Western Setting, Loyalty...
William McLeod Raine is AMAZING. Kirby Lane is someone I want to be like. Brutally honest, noble and always smiling.
William McLeod Raine is AMAZING. Kirby Lane is someone I want to be like. Brutally honest, noble and always smiling.
November 9, 2022
Heavily relied on a cliche that was already on its way out of fashion at the time. Breaks one of the golden age rules hard. Interesting in that sense-- cliches are cliches because they were at one time ubiquitous, and here is an especially outdated one in its natural habitat. In some way, it is a piece of history. But, readers were tired of this by 1929, and it's still disappointing now.
Distractingly racist to a modern reader.
Distractingly racist to a modern reader.
December 7, 2013
This was. a very different western story. He started out as the usual rodeo cowboy but wanted to help a special friend. Things just moved on into murder and he became entangled. He showed his stubbornness and decided that he had to find out who actually did kill his uncle. The story had so many tangled trails that you had to keep reading. A very. different Raines book.
January 29, 2013
2-2.5 stars; read it because it was free and thought I'd go try something different.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews