Champagne
Cowboys by Leo Banks brings
back the character Prospero “Whip” Stark. This
western genre intertwining with a murder mystery makes for
a fun read.
The author explained, “I read a piece, can’t remember
where, in which Louis L’Amour, one of the 20th century's
most successful writers, expressed his objection to the term
'Western,' a means to categorize his genre. He defined a 'Western'
as historical fiction that took place on the far side of the
Mississippi River, and wondered why The Last of the Mohicans
wasn't called an 'Eastern?' He thought literature could take
place on either side of the river and bristled at the East
Coast bias against anything set on the western side. About
the bias, he was surely right. Plenty of great writing takes
place out here that doesn't get noticed because the editors
and agents who do the buying are so far removed from life
here. What's most interesting to people, all people everywhere
is what's right outside their window. That's their world,
and that's what they want to see reflected in books. Same
with me. I'm looking out my window now, and there's a big
sky, saguaros, and nearby some pretty deep canyons where you
can lose yourself for a day or two, or the rest of your life.
So, Louis l'Amour's point was that a good story is a good
story, regardless of the genre name attached to it."
The
plot has smugglers trudge through the desert routes, and a
trio dubbed the Champagne Cowboys who are putting their government-trained
military talents to personal use. They think of themselves
as modern Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich but giving the
money to themselves. After Ash Sterling, the Afghan war hero
and admitted leader of the Champagne Cowboys disappears, Whip’s
girlfriend, KPIN-TV reporter Roxanne Santa Cruz, asks him
to check up on Ash. Unfortunately, Whip finds Ash with a bullet
to his head, and so the investigation begins.
“For me, the setting of Tucson is definitely like a
character. In the two books in the series, Double Wide and
Champagne Cowboys, I try to make Tucson and its surroundings
as much a character as Prospero Stark, Roxanne Santa Cruz,
and all the others. I know the area well, and there's much
here for a writer to work with. It's a unique place geographically
for sure, with these huge, weird-looking saguaro cacti watching
over us from every vantage point, and the Sonoran Desert leads
the world in attracting wanderers, dreamers, and misfits."
This book is something of a sequel. In addition to the main
story, the book expands at least two subplots from the first
book, one concerning one of Whip’s tenants, seventeen-year-old
Opal Sanchez, and another concerning Whip’s quest to
prove his father innocent of the murder for which he’s
been convicted.
The banter in this novel enhances the plot, keeping the narrative
lively and entertaining. The Tucson backdrop of mountains,
valleys, and small surrounding towns plays a strong supporting
role.
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