A Tale Out of Luck

Nelson, Willie and Mike Blakely. (2008). A Tale Out of Luck. New York, NY: Center Street.  

Pages: 250

ISBN: 9781599957326

Genre: Western, mystery

Annotation: Retired Ranger Tomlinson’s future is endangered by his past.

Summary: Captain Tomlinson has reason to be happy: two adopted sons and a prosperous ranch. Then his sons, through inattention, let a newly acquired and expensive horse get stolen. He decides to let them run off to find it: it’s better than facing his temper at the moment. Things get even more complicated when a man is found scalped and dead. Tomlinson is not disturbed to see a clue pointing to an enemy from his past. Some people say the Native Americans killed the man, but a hotshot Texas State Policeman thinks he did it. Between the Native Americans, and other complications including the State Policeman, Tomlinson’s going to need all the help he can get to keep all dear to him safe.

Evaluation: Good read

The characters are fun to spend some time with. Tomlinson cares about the people in his life and tries to right by them. His oldest son, Jay Blue, is a bit single-minded, but still a nice guy. Tomlinson’s adopted son, Izquierdo Rodriguez or Skeeter, makes the reader snort in amusement at times and think at other times. The female characters are practical without being cold and are not shrinking violets. The Native American character, The Wolf, felt more real than a stereotypical Native American. The storyline is engaging because I did not catch who the villain was. When he was revealed it made sense, but I had thought of his actions came from other motives.  The story was paced well for the most part. One thing that threw me, though, was that one of the characters seemed leading towards a certain course of action but then changed their mind too quickly. (I know that sounds vague but I don’t want to spoil the book!). An explanation for why was given, but it seemed rushed. If the character had changed their mind slowly, or had some more doubt first, it would have been more believable. I had mixed feelings about the ending. A relationship between two characters that was revealed seemed a little too much a ‘feel-good’ development. Also, the last two sentences confused me a bit in how to take them. Besides those issues I liked the storyline. I also liked the atmosphere. The different types of characters and points of view used gives the reader a look into the different types of people who could have lived in the West: women, men, white, Native American, African American, etc. Interactions as well as descriptions of the landscape and horse ranching put the reader in the feel of the West. I would have liked to have seen some more English slang, but maybe it did not stick out as much because only Spanish words were in italics. The use of Spanish words and phrases in the book added to the atmosphere, but I could see where it might detract a bit. I know some Spanish, but a reader who does not might have been thrown having to look for the translation in the next sentence or understanding by reading the context.  This book is a good read for those wanting a fast paced and/or feel-good Western.

What else to read:

Other books by Willie Nelson and Mike Blakely.

Shane by Jake Schaefer is a fast paced and feel-good Western.

True Grit by Charles Portis is also a fast paced Western.