Review: North of Laramie- 5 star

An unusual partnership of necessity that develops into a friendship, of sorts, is the underlying storyline.  One partner is a physically big man with little formal education who has often gotten into trouble in former jobs that included being a saloon bouncer, a policeman and a Pinkerton detective is really strong and often does not know the power in his fists.  His buddy, a much smaller man,  is a dandy with a card shark mentality who received strong schooling.

 There are many underlying storylines in this novel, North of Laramie by William and J. A. Johnstone that end up in a little town that is north of Laramie. One might expect the smaller man, Hagen, to be the one on the receiving end of the largesse of the bigger one, Trammel—but one would be wrong.  Each of the “partners” are giving and taking in the partnership. But it is an unusual partnership.

Travels from Wichita and then across the plains into Wyoming are fraught with adventures – horseback rides, saving damsels in distress, being attacked by various criminal bands, train trips.  There is lots of times when the partnership could be strained but it is holding until Hagen gets to where his estranged father controls a huge ranch and owns many of the local townsfolk in Blackstone.  Trammel stands up for his smaller friend with his father and earns the grudging respect of King Charles, as Hagen’s father is called.

  

Trammel parlays his former experience as a lawman into being named the deputy of the small town.  This rapidly morphs into the being the Sherriff and the former sheriff runs out to be found murdered shortly after he left. As in any small town in the old west, there are undercurrents that are going on.  The power in the town is not as it at first seems and the partners need to adjust to the new reality. Power plays are a constant but just because Trammel is a big man and not one with lots of formal education, he is very wise to the way of the criminal enterprise.  He takes his job seriously and this creates some interesting alliances and antagonisms.

  

The book is an easy read and one that is so exciting that once a reader begins, it is hard to stop before the ending.  The character development is stronger than a lot of western novels that just take the tack of good guys versus bad guys then confusion and finally good guys win.  The partnership of Trammel and Hagen, Hagen’s cattle baron father, to previously injured criminals wanting revenge, to an opium-dealing female, etc.  These characters make the story better with some diversions form the western formula and yields a lot of richness for the reader.