Bitter Wind
It is 1876, and people are moving west. Small towns are springing up everywhere. Bill Lang, hired as a gunman to enforce open range claims, leaves for Wyoming to avoid a range war. While stopping in Cheyenne, Lang kills a man in self-defense. Learning that the dead man belongs to the Flynn clan and that they will seek revenge, Lang decides to leave town quickly. Jake Murdock arrives on the trail in time to save Lang from being killed by the Flynns. Lang and Jake become good friends, and together they work the small ranch with the help of Jake’s live-in girlfriend, Ellie, a woman of mixed white and Sioux blood. Jake shares with Bill Lang his plans for someday owning a large ranch and asks Lang to help him achieve his goals. As predicted, Lang falls in love with the pretty half-breed, and that’s when his troubles begin.
The author did a marvelous job of fleshing out his characters. Even though I knew that Jake was going to be the heavy, I could empathize with him. This was a fine western novel, and I will look for more books by Wayne Overholser.
