‘Proving Trail’ another L’Amour great

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When I’m looking for something to read, but just don’t know what I’m in the mood for, I find myself returning again and again to Louis L’Amour because you just can’t beat the classics. L’Amour wrote many different books, but he’s always been known for his Westerns. What he was is a good storyteller. 

Kearney McRaven came down from herding cows to find his father dead, supposedly of a suicide, but Kearney doesn’t believe it. At 17, Kearney may be young, but he’s smart. He overhears that his pa had won a lot of money just before he died. The problem is somebody wants to keep that money instead of handing it over to Kearney. 

Getting out of the high country isn’t easy, it’s spring and blizzards come late – and can bury the mountain passes so deep you can’t get out for weeks. But Kearney knows this country and he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve. Before long, there are other players involved and Kearney will be in the kind of trouble that a gun can’t handle. 

Can he stay in front of the people hunting him while he pieces together his father’s past and finds out why someone would want Pa dead – before Kearney himself ends up the same way?

L’Amour always knew how to draw in a reader and set up the story quickly. A wanderer in his younger days, he used his experiences to color his stories and give them authentic detail, from the bare-knuckle fights to describing the terrain and using it as characters. L’Amour also wrote in dialect, telling the story from his main character’s point of view, letting the reader feel the story as it happened. 

He does this with Kearney, as the reader can see him adapt along the way. People grew up quickly years ago, especially in the Old West. I’m not sure many 17-year-olds today would have the know-how that Kearney has or the ability to adjust on the fly the way he does.

The best L’Amour stories always have a little extra. In “The Proving Trail” it’s the mind games between Kearney and a mysterious stranger he meets while on the run. Kearney can’t figure this man out: he knows he’s dangerous, but there’s a connection Kearney just can’t pin down. This is more than a Western shoot-‘em-up, it’s a mystery with a touch of sinister other-worldliness and a modern touch.

That’s the thing about L’Amour’s writing, there’s always another one to read with something a little different to offer.

If you want to find out more about Louis L’Amour or his books, visit louislamour.com.