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Dead Ringer: A Western Trio
In the first in this trio of Western stories by Louis L'Amour-Black Rock-Jim Gatlin, a Texas trail driver, arrives in the town of Tucker where he finds himself quickly drawn into the middle of an all-out battle for the XY Ranch when, due to a case of mistaken identity, he kills the segundo of Wing Cary's Flying C Ranch. Gatlin is a dead-ringer for Jim Walker, who, like Cary, wants control of the XY. Gatlin is thrown into a situation in which all he can do but fight for his life.
Seventeen-year-old Shandy Gamble in Gamble of the KT is in Perigord with plans to buy a new saddle and bridle with the $500 in reward money he had received for catching two horse thieves, but instead he gets conned out of the money. He returns to the KT Ranch never mentioning what happened. But when he learns the con man is back and hanging out with the June gang, he decides it's time to get his money back and even the score.
Always a fighting man, both for the US Army and in battles across the ocean, Tom Kedrick in Showdown Trail has been hired to help run off the squatters and outlaws occupying a strip of land claimed to be unusable swamp. When he learns that he is being misled by his new bosses and that the squatters are honest and hardworking settlers, including one of his father's old friends, he has to determine for which side he will fight.
The most decorated author in the history of American letters, L'Amour's stories are loved the world over.
Seventeen-year-old Shandy Gamble in Gamble of the KT is in Perigord with plans to buy a new saddle and bridle with the $500 in reward money he had received for catching two horse thieves, but instead he gets conned out of the money. He returns to the KT Ranch never mentioning what happened. But when he learns the con man is back and hanging out with the June gang, he decides it's time to get his money back and even the score.
Always a fighting man, both for the US Army and in battles across the ocean, Tom Kedrick in Showdown Trail has been hired to help run off the squatters and outlaws occupying a strip of land claimed to be unusable swamp. When he learns that he is being misled by his new bosses and that the squatters are honest and hardworking settlers, including one of his father's old friends, he has to determine for which side he will fight.
The most decorated author in the history of American letters, L'Amour's stories are loved the world over.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 1948
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215 people want to read
About the author
Louis L'Amour
997 books3,495 followersLouis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed, Hondo, Shalako, and the Sackett series. L'Amour also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 11, 2023
I've enjoyed discovering older, or at least different, versions of some of Louis L'Amour's tales. Showdown Trail offers up two novellas that were published for the magazines that were later expanded into novels.
The first, Trail to Peach Tree Canyon, is a shortened version of Son of a Wanted Man which I read first. I loved how L'Amour explored a nature vs nurture sort of choice for a young man come of age. Raised by an outlaw king and some of his trusted men from a young age, the young man Mike has been groomed to take over an outlaw empire. But, as one of the men reminds him, he's not put his foot to the outlaw trail yet and can still choose a different path. Does he owe a duty to follow the determined path set because a man raised him or does he follow his moral compass? And, of course, there was intense gunfire action and a beautiful woman at the heart of his musings.
The second, Showdown Trail, another version of The Tall Stranger (also titled Bannon), is of a young cowboy found wounded by a wagon train. They nurse him back to health and pay heed to his words about the tough land they are in right up until a stop for supplies at a settlement brings a smooth-talking stranger and his friends into their mix. Unsure of their purpose for directing the wagon train off the good trail to another that leads straight through the territory of a gruff, strong rancher who claimed a mountain valley and the acreage around it, his warnings to steer clear or encounter conflict go unheeded even by the young woman he has grown fond of. The build to a confrontation of the young man and the slick new leader and the confrontation of settlers with the ranch people is inevitable and explosive, exciting action.
Both stories were strong and full of western fiction heart as told by a favorite L'Amour narrator Jim Gough. The attention to setting and background with the rising action is superb particularly for this shorter story format.
The first, Trail to Peach Tree Canyon, is a shortened version of Son of a Wanted Man which I read first. I loved how L'Amour explored a nature vs nurture sort of choice for a young man come of age. Raised by an outlaw king and some of his trusted men from a young age, the young man Mike has been groomed to take over an outlaw empire. But, as one of the men reminds him, he's not put his foot to the outlaw trail yet and can still choose a different path. Does he owe a duty to follow the determined path set because a man raised him or does he follow his moral compass? And, of course, there was intense gunfire action and a beautiful woman at the heart of his musings.
The second, Showdown Trail, another version of The Tall Stranger (also titled Bannon), is of a young cowboy found wounded by a wagon train. They nurse him back to health and pay heed to his words about the tough land they are in right up until a stop for supplies at a settlement brings a smooth-talking stranger and his friends into their mix. Unsure of their purpose for directing the wagon train off the good trail to another that leads straight through the territory of a gruff, strong rancher who claimed a mountain valley and the acreage around it, his warnings to steer clear or encounter conflict go unheeded even by the young woman he has grown fond of. The build to a confrontation of the young man and the slick new leader and the confrontation of settlers with the ranch people is inevitable and explosive, exciting action.
Both stories were strong and full of western fiction heart as told by a favorite L'Amour narrator Jim Gough. The attention to setting and background with the rising action is superb particularly for this shorter story format.
December 7, 2025
This paperback has two of L'Amour's first western works, written under his pseudonym Jim Mayo, for Giant Western magazine in 1948 and 1949.
"The Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon" (1949) stars the 22-year old Mike Bastian who has been raised by a foster father who also happens to be the leader of a large outlaw empire working in the west. This 1949 tale is an early version of 1982's "Son of a Wanted Man" (my review #631) but it is different enough that I didn't feel like I was rereading a story I had heard before, and with its shorter page count is actually an easier and more interesting read.
"Showdown Trail" (1948) is the lengthier of the two tales. Rock Bannon has joined a wagon train heading west, and this group is mostly made up of naive greenhorns who take the advice of a smooth-talking frontiersman who sends them on a less-traveled trail that leads to an Indian ambush. Bannon has now set himself up as a hard fighter with a suspicious past that the party is firmly opposed to, but a sense of obligation and responsibility has him stay with them. He doesn't want to just let these people end up dead, especially the beautiful Sharon Crockett. I had read this one before ("Bannon," my review #256) and it was a great one then and is still great as a reread.
Verdict: Two short western classics by the great Louis L'Amour.
Jeff's Rating: 5 / 5 (Excellent)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
"The Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon" (1949) stars the 22-year old Mike Bastian who has been raised by a foster father who also happens to be the leader of a large outlaw empire working in the west. This 1949 tale is an early version of 1982's "Son of a Wanted Man" (my review #631) but it is different enough that I didn't feel like I was rereading a story I had heard before, and with its shorter page count is actually an easier and more interesting read.
"Showdown Trail" (1948) is the lengthier of the two tales. Rock Bannon has joined a wagon train heading west, and this group is mostly made up of naive greenhorns who take the advice of a smooth-talking frontiersman who sends them on a less-traveled trail that leads to an Indian ambush. Bannon has now set himself up as a hard fighter with a suspicious past that the party is firmly opposed to, but a sense of obligation and responsibility has him stay with them. He doesn't want to just let these people end up dead, especially the beautiful Sharon Crockett. I had read this one before ("Bannon," my review #256) and it was a great one then and is still great as a reread.
Verdict: Two short western classics by the great Louis L'Amour.
Jeff's Rating: 5 / 5 (Excellent)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
July 31, 2023
Stories full of action, right vs wrong, your regular wild west full of dust, horses, pretty ladies and strong riders fighting for what’s right. There are three different stories in this book:
First one: a case of mistaken identity; Jim Gatlin makes a stop on a town from his way back from delivering some cattle, then, all of a sudden, a beautiful woman comes to warn him that he shouldn’t be in the open like that and just when he is explaining he isn’t who she think he is a man walks in with the deadliest intention, also calling him by the name the woman did, but before he has time to argue back the shooting starts…Jim is now in the middle of a battle for the XY ranch; will he stay? will he just take off?
Second one: Underestimated youth; Shandy Gamble, a seventeen-year-old who just won some good money and plans to buy himself a new saddle, but he gets tricked by a seasoned crook, when he realizes that the man has taken off with his money, he embarks in a journey to find the man to take back his money and set the score. Will he succeed? Will he get himself killed?
Third one: Not the job you signed for; ex-military Tom Kendrick is looking for a good job that will help him settle well somewhere and retire, he takes a job where he has to help to remove some trespassers on a land that is claimed by the company who hired him; when he gets to the town, he starts to see that things aren’t as clear and direct as the boss laid out to be, the supposed trespassers are hard working families that settled on the land fair and square. Would he continue doing the work he was hired for, or will he side with those who are fighting against the injustice?
First one: a case of mistaken identity; Jim Gatlin makes a stop on a town from his way back from delivering some cattle, then, all of a sudden, a beautiful woman comes to warn him that he shouldn’t be in the open like that and just when he is explaining he isn’t who she think he is a man walks in with the deadliest intention, also calling him by the name the woman did, but before he has time to argue back the shooting starts…Jim is now in the middle of a battle for the XY ranch; will he stay? will he just take off?
Second one: Underestimated youth; Shandy Gamble, a seventeen-year-old who just won some good money and plans to buy himself a new saddle, but he gets tricked by a seasoned crook, when he realizes that the man has taken off with his money, he embarks in a journey to find the man to take back his money and set the score. Will he succeed? Will he get himself killed?
Third one: Not the job you signed for; ex-military Tom Kendrick is looking for a good job that will help him settle well somewhere and retire, he takes a job where he has to help to remove some trespassers on a land that is claimed by the company who hired him; when he gets to the town, he starts to see that things aren’t as clear and direct as the boss laid out to be, the supposed trespassers are hard working families that settled on the land fair and square. Would he continue doing the work he was hired for, or will he side with those who are fighting against the injustice?
April 21, 2018
I received the audiobook free in exchange for an honest review.
One thing I love about L'Amour's work is the poetry of his words, his love of nature and the country, and of the history of the country/world. This story does not disappoint.
Rock Bannon joins a wagon train heading for California. He had been injured and Sharon Crockett nurses him back to health. The train stops at an army fort and is joined by Mort Harper, a smooth talking man with ideas of his own.
Crossing the salt deserts of Utah, on a trail suggested by Harper, the train stops in a rich valley owned by Rock Bannon's father. The settlers are persuaded by Harper to stop there and raise a town, rather than move on towards California. Little do they know the Harper has his own reasons for befriending the settlers. He wants the valley. Soon there are lines in the dust and hell to pay.
As usual, there is action, there are fights, and there is gunplay. And at the end of it .... Rock goes after the woman he loves.
Another great read from L'Amour, but I never expect anything less.
One thing I love about L'Amour's work is the poetry of his words, his love of nature and the country, and of the history of the country/world. This story does not disappoint.
Rock Bannon joins a wagon train heading for California. He had been injured and Sharon Crockett nurses him back to health. The train stops at an army fort and is joined by Mort Harper, a smooth talking man with ideas of his own.
Crossing the salt deserts of Utah, on a trail suggested by Harper, the train stops in a rich valley owned by Rock Bannon's father. The settlers are persuaded by Harper to stop there and raise a town, rather than move on towards California. Little do they know the Harper has his own reasons for befriending the settlers. He wants the valley. Soon there are lines in the dust and hell to pay.
As usual, there is action, there are fights, and there is gunplay. And at the end of it .... Rock goes after the woman he loves.
Another great read from L'Amour, but I never expect anything less.
November 27, 2011
The book contains two novellas originally published in magazines by L'Amour. They were later expanded into novels. Typical stories by the famous Western authors of lone men dealing with situations and the women with whom they fall in love.
"The Trail to Peach Tree Canyon" was published with addtional material as a novel under the same name. The "Showdown Trail", with changes, was released as "The Tall Stranger" and later adapted into the film by that name with Joel McCrea and Virginia Mayo.
No surprises for fans of L'Amour, just the usual gunplay, misunderstandings and eventual triumph of good over evil. Old fashioned stuff that once filled magazines and the pulps.
"The Trail to Peach Tree Canyon" was published with addtional material as a novel under the same name. The "Showdown Trail", with changes, was released as "The Tall Stranger" and later adapted into the film by that name with Joel McCrea and Virginia Mayo.
No surprises for fans of L'Amour, just the usual gunplay, misunderstandings and eventual triumph of good over evil. Old fashioned stuff that once filled magazines and the pulps.
February 19, 2011
*** "Showdown Trail" by Louis L'Amour was later expanded to The Tall Stranger, and begins with "The Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon", later reworked into Son of a Wanted Man. Both tales have brave foster sons of men, large of body and spirit, who trail cowardly villains that kidnap girls too silly for me. We feel like we have breathed old western air, whether hot and dusty, or cool and clean, and wish we were worth, or able to undertake, such determined pursuit.
Mike is the foster son of a major outlaw leader. The day he is told to take over by planning a big gold heist is when he meets his mentor's family, ignorant of their true heritage, and he falls for the lively Drusilla. The wily second-in-command plans a takeover, and the meeker daughter gets abducted in a shootout. Mike and Dru ride hard and track obscure signs. Peach Meadow Canyon hosts one showdown, and the home ranch another. [Spoiler: Mike chooses to settle the canyon over criminal life.]
Bannon was twenty-some before seeing his first white woman, and glorious red-gold haired but silly naive Sharon keeps him guarding the wagon train through heat, dust, and Indian raids, trying to talk sense into her fellow settlers. Smooth talker Harper persuades even the gulllible girl to settle in beautiful land, he knows is already claimed by Bannon's foster father. Bannon convinces his parent to allow the town, but Harper wants everything. Two innocents are shot in the back, and others down, before Bannon gives up talking peace. Then Harper kidnaps Sharon, and Bannon must fight cold driving rain in the dark, blaze his own trail across the crags, and read ambiguous tracks, before a final shootout.
Mike is the foster son of a major outlaw leader. The day he is told to take over by planning a big gold heist is when he meets his mentor's family, ignorant of their true heritage, and he falls for the lively Drusilla. The wily second-in-command plans a takeover, and the meeker daughter gets abducted in a shootout. Mike and Dru ride hard and track obscure signs. Peach Meadow Canyon hosts one showdown, and the home ranch another. [Spoiler: Mike chooses to settle the canyon over criminal life.]
Bannon was twenty-some before seeing his first white woman, and glorious red-gold haired but silly naive Sharon keeps him guarding the wagon train through heat, dust, and Indian raids, trying to talk sense into her fellow settlers. Smooth talker Harper persuades even the gulllible girl to settle in beautiful land, he knows is already claimed by Bannon's foster father. Bannon convinces his parent to allow the town, but Harper wants everything. Two innocents are shot in the back, and others down, before Bannon gives up talking peace. Then Harper kidnaps Sharon, and Bannon must fight cold driving rain in the dark, blaze his own trail across the crags, and read ambiguous tracks, before a final shootout.
October 3, 2011
Includes the original short stories published by Louis L'Amour, both of which first appeared in Giant Western magazine, and both of which were later re-worked into full length novels. Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon became Son of a Wanted Man, and Showdown Trail became The Tall Stranger. These were OK, and it was mildly interesting to read the originals, but I liked the full length novels better. Perhaps L'Amour re-worked because he knew that, with his added years of experience, he could make them better.
April 10, 2021
The characters and much of the action are standard western tropes, especially in the first of the two stories in this book ("The Trail to Peach Meadow Canyon"). "Showdown Trail" at least has enough plot to make the reader what the bad guy is up to for much of the book. Despite the cliches, though, the characters and action make for a quick and satisfying read.
April 23, 2022
I definitely enjoyed both stories, but I preferred Showdown Trail slightly more even if the amount of characters to follow proved a bit confusing to listen to in spots. Other than that you can’t really go wrong with either story for good examples of classic western storytelling.
March 12, 2025
The end is a little drawn out but the match trick is a nice touch
June 11, 2024
This is a novella that feels a touch formulaic but Louis L'Amour is a natural storyteller and it is nevertheless an entertaining read. Rock Bannon, the tall quiet hero has killed but always in self defence. At the beginning of the novella he is picked up by a wagon train heading west, his recent wounds are tended to by Sharon, who he takes a fancy to. A smooth talking stranger joins the wagon train and persuades the pioneers to take a different trail which leads to a lush valley. The trail takes them through Indian territory, where Rock bravely defends the wagon train. The riders on the wagon train are for the most part persuaded to stop in the lush valley and build their town, although part of the group continue on to California as planned. Rock can ride well, shoot fast and hold his own in a fight but he is not used to talking to women, having rarely seen any white women growing up. One of the characters suggests "killin' Indians and killin' white men's a lot different thing!" but on balance the writer seems more sympathetic to Native Americans voicing his views through his characters "Treat Indians good, pay for what you get, and no shootin' Indians for the fun of it, like some folks do!" We don't encounter many hostile natives in the story, the bad guys are those that ride with the smooth talking Morton Harper, though the worst of these is a 'half breed' conjuring up memories of Injun Joe in Tom Sawyer. There are many of the familiar western tropes as we might expect but still an enjoyable read.
March 3, 2024
Excellent book. There are actually two full stories in this little gem. The books follow the typical L'Amour formulaic writing style. A big cowboy who is awkward around woman meets a woman and there is a bad guy introduced. The big cowboy knows how to box or at least fist fight well and he knocks some people around, and then he has to shoot someone else and gets to ride off with the woman. Despite the somewhat predictable L'Amour structuring, the stories are extremely well written and kept me engaged and entertained from start to finish.
September 30, 2024
The author is a legend in the Western genre. When i was a young man I must have read everything oh his that I could get my hands on. The writing, dialogue and basic plot premise is usually the same but somehow that doesn't take away the satisfaction of reading his books. This one is three short stories consisting of two relatively short stories and one that is a little longer and more complex. It is pure entertainment with the inevitable good guy vs. bad guy scenario with a beautiful woman waiting for the hero in the wings. Did I enjoy it? You bet I did pard'!
May 27, 2025
A strong silent man must overcome slander and prejudice of everyone he meets to keep the peace and rescue his lady love. It was a very fun story nothing really unexpected happened, but it kept the suspense going anyway.
Louis L'Amour has a wonderful way of making scenery descriptions vital to the story and using it to move the story along. It always makes you want to travel there and maybe back in time to see it as the settlers saw it.
Louis L'Amour has a wonderful way of making scenery descriptions vital to the story and using it to move the story along. It always makes you want to travel there and maybe back in time to see it as the settlers saw it.
June 28, 2020
I had previously read The Tall Stranger so I read The Trail to Peach Meadow Canon, started Showdown Trail and recognized the story ...
As always L'Amour is an east western read and I enjoy this placement of strong women
As always L'Amour is an east western read and I enjoy this placement of strong women
September 10, 2021
Too long winded
March 20, 2022
Audiobook Review
I’m still not sure that I’m a western fan, but I enjoyed this Audiobook. It was fast paced, now swearing - which I liked, and lots of action.
I’m still not sure that I’m a western fan, but I enjoyed this Audiobook. It was fast paced, now swearing - which I liked, and lots of action.
August 25, 2022
I loved both of these stories so much I think I might actually try and find the longer versions. Especially the first one, the trail to peach meadow canyon.
September 26, 2023
I really liked the first two stories. But Showdown Trail was a yawner.
October 29, 2023
Angst. Scenary and stupid decisions. A louis l'amour flop imho.
February 2, 2024
A trio of stories from Louis L'Amour
May 26, 2025
The stories are interesting, albeit cliche. Aside from a few typos and weird repeating terms or phrases, it was a good generic western. Using the same word in adjacent sentences to describe similar but different actions seems lazy. The first two stories were so predictable I became uninterested. Showdown Trail has too many characters, it gets chaotic and confusing. I stopped caring about who everyone was, blew through it, and didn’t seem to miss anything. The end though was really entertaining and somewhat mysterious, with a classic Scooby-Doo-esque conclusion. A fair read all in all.
August 5, 2016
Comfortable western reading adventure.
July 18, 2015
Usual enjoyable Louis L'Amour western fare. Good but not a favorite, mostly because they were novella not a single book.
May 25, 2020
Showdown Trail is a carbon of Crossfire Trail as are the other short stories. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews