cover image Twin Rivers

Twin Rivers

John D. Nesbitt. Walker & Company, $19.95 (188pp) ISBN 978-0-8027-4152-3

In a western driven more by character than by plot, Nesbitt (One-Eyed Cowboy Wild) takes a look at the modernizing West, where land claims and the encounter between Hispanic and Anglo cultures often turn violent. Stalwart cowpoke Clay Westbrook is looking forward to retirement. He's staked a claim on a few acres in the Wyoming Territory, where he plans to start his own spread. But a wrench is thrown into his idyllic plan when he runs afoul of powerful local land baron Theodore Sutton and his hired thug, Alex Thode, while they're roughing up Tony Campos, an immigrant Mexican shepherd. Unable to stand idly by and watch the unfair fight, Clay intervenes. The run-in sets in motion a complex plot involving an irrigation scheme, a land grab, fraud and corruption. Along the way, Clay falls for and woos Tony's beautiful young niece, Lupita. Nesbitt demonstrates himself a skilled wrangler of detail and character, and, although much of the plot doesn't rise above the level of a formulaic oater, Clay is more than affable and solid enough to retain a partner's loyalty and a reader's attention. (Jan.)