Dark Prairie

by John D. Nesbitt

A Spur Award–winning AuthorA stranger named Dunbar comes to the town of Winsome, on the plains of Wyoming, on a summer day in the 1890s. He goes to work at the Little Six Ranch and begins to look into the affairs of Tut Whipple, a water project developer. The investigation starts small, with the tracking down of stolen beef that was delivered to the crew working on the reservoir and canal project. Whipple sends his hired men to intimidate Dunbar but has no luck. Whipple himself avoids Dunbar, even when the newcomer develops an acquaintance with Whipple’s wife. As the antagonism between Dunbar and Whipple becomes stronger, with one of the Little Six riders being killed by one of Whipple’s men, it seems that the disappearance of a young woman might be related to Whipple’s other shady dealings. The stakes go up as Whipple’s men come after Dunbar again, now with guns, and Whipple can no longer avoid a showdown on the dark prairie.

Genres: Westerns

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2013

About the author

John D. Nesbitt is the author of more than forty books, including traditional westerns, crossover western mysteries, contemporary western fiction, retro/noir fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

He has won the Western Writers of America Spur Award four times–twice for paperback novel, once for short story, and once for poem. He has been a finalist for the Spur Award once as well as for the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award twice and the Will Rogers Medallion Award four times. He has also received two creative writing fellowships with the Wyoming Arts Council (once for fiction, once for nonfiction).

John has had a distinguished career as a college instructor, most notably for thirty-eight years at Eastern Wyoming College. He lives in the plains country of Wyoming, where he stays in touch with the natural world and the settings for his work. He writes about lifelike people in realistic situations, people who deserve justice and a fair shake in life.

Recent works include Castle Butte, a young adult novel; Dusk Along the Niobrara, a frontier mystery; and In a Large and Lonesome Land, a CD of western songs for which he wrote all the lyrics.

Reviews

[Roger Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

John D. Nesbitt is a cowboy; the evidence is in his descriptive words of Cowboy's tools of the trade. My daughter lived for a time in Powell Wyoming, the setting of Dams and Canals being carved out of cow country in Dark Prairie, took me back to Powell. The mystery and romance were as unpredictable as they come. Well done!

[Sandy Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first of the series. Very good.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, this western is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. The enigma in this case is a man who rides in to a small Wyoming ranch, the Little Six, and gets a job as a cowpuncher. The puzzle for everyone, including the reader, is what he’s really up to.

Like Shane in many respects, he goes by a single name, Dunbar, and he offers no other information about himself. He pokes around a dam-building project that will bring irrigation to the rangeland. And when he doesn’t disappear for days on his own, he hangs out in a nearby town. We witness all this through the eyes and ears of a young cowhand, Grey Wharton, who narrates the story. Is Dunbar a range detective? Some kind of troublemaker? Or just a drifter? . . .

Read my review at my blog.

[AmsD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story. My second Nesbitt read. Got it after reading "Across the Cheyenne River" which I also liked.

I enjoyed the mysteriousness of Dunbar as the story was told by Grey who was often left in the dark.

Did I miss it? We never found out about the scarring on Dunbar's hand. Let's hope we learn about it in a future Dunbar adventure!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. It was fun to read and interesting. I love books that take place back in the prairie days, and this was one, but the only thing I didn't really like is that it was a little predictable. I like to be surprised. :) I would definitely read it again maybe some time in the future.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A western/mystery about water rights in a small town in Wyoming. A fun, short read.

[Muld00n · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheer entertainment / escapism. My first book by John D. Nesbitt. An easy read; read it in one day.