"Toby Ryker" Will Steal Your Heart! Great Book! by B.R. Jones
The title character in this powerfully woven western novel rides into
Laramie, Wyoming, looking for a friendly scuffle. An aging mountain man,
built like the mountains he rode out of, Toby Ryker still has enough
fight and spit left in him to wrestle with the best of them and an
overwhelming urge to satisfy his lust for brawling. He finds just what
he’s looking for at Kelly’s Saloon—a room full of cowboys he can easily
aggravate. The fighting ensues, tables and chairs are broken. He pays
the bartender for the damages, impresses everyone as the friendly but
cantankerous fellow he is, and leaves Kelly’s a happy man. Then drops
from a heart attack right outside of the saloon.
After regaining his strength and begrudgingly accepting a bottle of
nitroglycerin tablets from a frustrated Doc Swensen, Toby sets out to
complete the mission that brought him to this area in the first place—to
look up an old Cavalry buddy, David Stewart, who has a ranch a few
miles outside of Laramie. After arriving at the Stewart ranch and
spending some time with David, his wife and children, Toby suggests to
David that they go off on a high country hunt in the Medicine Bow
Mountains, just the two of them, like old times. David readily agrees,
but what he isn’t aware of is that a bounty hunter named John McQuiston
is tracking Toby for the murder of a banker in Deadwood.
McQuiston is a nasty, soulless character, intent on collecting the
reward money. Whether he brings Toby back to Deadwood dead or alive is
of no consequence to him. Toby and David set out for the mountains on
their much anticipated hunt, John McQuiston sets out after Toby, and the
sheriff of Laramie, upon learning that McQuiston, himself, is
responsible for a murder in Laramie, sets out after McQuiston. They all
come together high in the mountains in an explosive ending that will
leave you anxiously awaiting the sequel.
Written with marvelous detail and rich characterization, Steven Ulmen
has done a wonderful job capturing the texture and quality of the
Wyoming Territory of the late 1800’s. Toby Ryker is an endearing bear of
a man whom you’ll come to love. I laughed heartily throughout the book
at the witty and humorous dialogue, especially the exchanges between
Toby and his friend, David Stewart.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking to satisfy their hunger
for tales of the old west. From quirky cowboys to brave and
compassionate heroes to saloon girls and sinister bounty hunters, this
novel has become one of my favorites.
Read the story in the format of your choice at Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/Toby-Ryker-Steven-Merrill-Ulmen/dp/1411660390/ref=la_B004S7CJ1Y_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358470725&sr=1-2
Read the story in the format of your choice at barnes and Noble here:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/toby-ryker-steven-merrill-ulmen/1007688586?ean=2940016061887
