The last wild days of the Old West

In Death in the Tallgrass, author Don Willerton spins a tale of the last wild days of the Old West as a young man comes of age trying to right grievous wrongs that have haunted his family.

The Bible says that a man's enemies shall be those of his own household, and that's true for the Bonner family. The novel begins in 1904 in St. Louis when budding law student Harry Bonner uncovers information that upends his family's history. Namely, his mother's uncle has swindled the family fortune and lied about the disappearance and death of her brother Sam at the hands of Comanches some 34 years earlier. 

Harry must journey to his mother's childhood home in Las Vegas, New Mexico, to find the truth about Sam and the uncle's financial evils. But he finds that New Mexico is only a jumping-off point for a grueling quest that leads him across Texas, Oklahoma, and ultimately, Nebraska. Harry experiences tragedy and revenge that force him to mature in the crucible of the fading frontier.

The novel calls to mind John Ford's The Searchers, a classic film about a Civil War veteran and his years-long search to find a niece abducted by Comanches. The obsession of Ford's protagonist is mirrored by Harry, who can find no peace until his family is redeemed. However, he finds that redemption is far less civilized and satisfying than he imagined.

One of the delightful parts of the novel is the journey Harry takes from New Mexico to Oklahoma. He hires Alice Tillson, a Calamity Jane-like character who teaches him the ways of the West and steals his heart in the process. Their trip is equal parts comedy and danger as Alice slowly turns Harry from a dandy into a decent cowboy. 

"I was highly disappointed that my initial fears had come true: there was no cook, no attendant for our daily needs, and no one to take care of the horses and mules. There was only the woman. Was she going to do all the work necessary to go four hundred miles across the country? That's when I realized she wasn't--I would be expected to do a share."

Alice is a well-drawn character who holds her own next to Harry in the story's arc. At times, she eclipses Harry, and I had moments where I wished she was the main character instead of him. A prequel novel about Alice would be welcome.

It was also refreshing to have the setting in the early 1900s rather than the 1870s and 1880s, as is often the case with Westerns. The reader gets to experience the dissolving of the frontier into civilization, which evokes a nostalgic feeling.

A drawback to the novel is overwriting. The best Western prose is clipped and terse. Rather than paragraphs about Harry's thoughts and feelings, a few sentences would have sufficed. The same can be said about descriptions of the place and time. Willerton does hold his own with the action passages, however.

I rate this book three stars and recommend it to readers who enjoy westerns and historical novels. Willerton has created a memorable time, place, and characters that give a fine glimpse of the pioneer spirit and the courage and determination it took to settle the frontier.

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