Thunder on the Dos Gatos
This Western with inspirational elements is the fourth in the West Texas Sunrise series. It continues the adventures of Marshall Ben Flood and his sweetheart, rancher Lee Morgan, in 1880s Texas. The collapse of the only bridge over the Dos Gatos River means a huge herd of longhorns are trapped near Burnt Rock. Loose cattle cause the deaths of two of Lee’s prize mares. Flood confronts trail boss Atticus Toole and orders him to move the herd away from the town, but Toole refuses. The conflict between the cowboys and the townsfolk escalates when a threatening storm brings fears of a lightning-sparked stampede through the town.
I was a little skeptical of a couple of plot points, such as Flood single-handedly defeating nine drunken rowdies. Otherwise, it’s a pleasant cross-genre book. The main characters’ Christian beliefs are unobtrusive, so straight Western fans should not be put off. The author’s experiences as a horseman and ex-rodeo rider provide authenticity to the setting.
