Wyoming Giant

Luke Baynes, the antihero of this fast-paced third book in McCord's Baynes Clan trilogy ( Montana Horseman ; Texas Comebacker ) is a man quick with fists and gun. Arriving in New York in 1869 to read the law as a clerk to one of the city's power-brokers, Luke is soon drawn into bare-knuckle boxing and Tammany Hall intrigue. Too morally inflexible to thrive in smoke-filled rooms, Luke is offered a position as a federal judge in the Wyoming territory. Though he fears that influence-peddlers have engineered the appointment because they expect him, as a member of a ranching family, to rule in favor of ranchers' interests over homesteaders', Luke is determined not to be bought. When he uncovers a gargantuan land swindle in the territory, he quickly becomes unpopular and is targeted for elimination. Through brisk plotting and snappy prose, McCord conveys the period flavor of both New York and the frontier. While the characters sometimes seem too contemporary, they are skillfully drawn; only Luke's improbable rescue at the end seems forced. All in all, a fine finale for the trilogy and an appealing entertainment on its own. (Oct.)