Moment of Vengeance and Other Stories: Seven Classic Western Tales of Fatal Decisions in the American West

by Elmore Leonard

The New York Times-bestselling Grand Master of suspense deftly displays the other side of his genius, with seven classic western tales of destiny and fatal decision . . . and trust as essential to survival as it is hard-earned.


Trust was rare and precious in the wide-open towns that sprung up like weeds on America's frontier—with hustlers and hucksters arriving in droves by horse, coach, wagon, and rail, and gunmen working both sides of the law, all too eager to end a man's life with a well-placed bullet. In these classic tales that span more than five decades—including the first story he ever published, “The Trail of the Apache”—Elmore Leonard once again demonstrates the superb talent for language and gripping narrative that have made him one of the most acclaimed and influential writers of our time.

Genres: Westerns, Short Stories, Fiction

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 27, 2006

About the author

Elmore John Leonard lived in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Memphis before settling in Detroit in 1935. After serving in the navy, he studied English literature at the University of Detroit where he entered a short story competition. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.

Father of Peter Leonard.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the best Elmore Leonard stuff I've read. All the studies were pretty strong and none of them were quite stereotypical. They had the western tropes but worked through them slightly differently. Two particular favorites were "The Rancher's Lady" and "Moment of Vengeance," which was originally published in The Saturday Evening Post.

Other tales included, Law of the Hunted Ones, The Hard Way, Trouble at Rindo's Station, No Man's Guns, and The Nagual. Good stuff.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having enjoyed the hit series Justified, I was eager to check out something written by Elmore Leonard. This is a solid collection of westerns full of gritty tales of ranchers, lawmen, outlaws, and Indians who face off in a variety of situations in a battle of wits, marksmanship, and mettle.

[Plum · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first three stories are good, solid, typical Western stories. But from chapter four on, Leonard presents four outstanding stories, comparable to the best stories in any genre.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

7 stories:

Law of the Hunted Ones
The Hard Way
Trouble at Rindo's Station
No Man's Guns
The Rancher's Lady
Moment of Vengeance
The Nagual

[Scott Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story collection by Elmore Leonard is just as good as the last. Moments of Vengeance and Other Stories is a collection of Western tales, some of which are classic Western fare, full of gunslinging and Indian warfare, while others are completely different from anything I’ve read in the genre.

“The Rancher’s Lady,” for example, is about a man who finds a wife through a matchmaking service, only for the two of them to grapple with a town heckler who constantly questions his new wife’s moral character.

“The Nagual” was another brilliant and completely original story. It’s a Western tale unlike anything I’ve read before, about an old vaquero who witnesses a man transform into a beast and commit murder.

Leonard manages to take the familiar setting of the Old West and tell stories that feel surprisingly varied and original. A brilliant and entertaining collection from beginning to end.

5 stars.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is hard to review some books, but this is not one of them. Elmore Leonard has a way with his story telling. When you read them you feel the heat, the sweat and the sand that gets in the creases and folds of your skin. You also smell the smells of the frontier; the horse sweat, the human sweat, the smoke of cookfires on the trail. I guess what I mean is you are in the story. I know of few writers of this caliber writing Westerns, but they are true Western writers known to many and this is one of them.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Short Stories

Mr. Leonard has written stories that are 70 years old! These are simple stories of people surviving in the West! Each one stands on its own as a very interesting story! They are fast reads and cover different aspects of Western survival!

[Alexander Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elmore Leonard is a master

[Seth Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seven fantastic tales of the west from Elmore Leonard. These stories ranged from what could be considered a standard western to less traditional. Moment of Vengeance, The Nagual, and the Rancher's Lady are in my opinion the three best stories in this collection and none of them are your standard western stories. If you like the west and want to see how one of America's best writers tells about it, then this book is for you.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid stories right here. Good stuff.

[Mark Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

None of these stories can be considered among the best of Leonard's Westerns, but there are some good stories in here, most notably the Nagual and The Rancher's Lady. A good read on a slow day.

[Chad Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven short westerns that read like epic tales of manhood