BOOK REVIEW: The Tarnished Star by Jack Martin ★★★★☆

All Sheriff Cole Masters wants is to raise a family with the woman he loves. However, upholding the law in an era when gunfire speaks louder than words can be a risky business. Cole makes an arrest for the brutal murder of a saloon girl but the killer is the son of a wealthy rancher and it is clear the old man will do anything to see his son set free. Soon the peace of the small town is shattered with deadly force and Cole finds himself a lawman on the run for murder. The rancher wants Masters dead and the two deadly gunmen on his tail are sure they can do it. Soon blood will run as Cole Masters attempts to reclaim his tarnished star.

When I say western, what comes to mind? Instantly it’s the cowboys and Indians, small towns and rugged vast plains, the occasional jailhouse and saloon business. Plus you have to have the marshal, the outlaw and rancher somewhere in the mix.

Most of the time, especially day time television, you’d see the mid-20th-century western films starring John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Amanda Blake. Usually the plot centres on revenge crime stories, ranchers, with outlaws and marshals and Native Americans and even gunfighters. From what I remember from these old movies, it’s usually the hero’s journey, justice served, law and order plus guns like the Colts and the Winchesters.

Visually everyone knows what the western genre entails but I really wanted to read this genre for quite a while. I’m usually sucked into the romance, horror and short stories. The huge collection of A Black Horse Western at the library invited me to read this 160 paged book at random. Nothing can go wrong.

The storyline is straight forward. In the small town of Squaw the main character the respectable Sheriff Cole Masters goes against a rich rancher, Clem Bowden when he arrests the man's son, Sam Bowden for a brutal murder of a nameless saloon girl. Cole’s mission, after made into an outlaw, is to get the judge to put his case forward before the Bowdens’ can conspire and corrupt the town. Support characters include Cole’s fiancé Jessie, the school teacher and Emlyn Royston Tanner, the old-time gunslinger.

Reading the western genre for the first time, to me it had everything you would expect in this genre. It was a quick read and the storyline was fast-paced, full of action, great description and engaging the right kind of emotions throughout.

The only reason why I am not giving this western a full five star is that of the predictable ending. Yes, it was evident that Cole would beat the baddy, after all, you’re rooting for the hero to win.

Other than that I would most likely recommend this book, the Tarnished Star to anyone who wants to get into the western genre. Martin’s style of writing is simple and I look forward to reading his other work in the Black Horse Western Arkansas Smith.

Rating 4.5/5
Publishers: Robert Hale Black Horse Western
Publication date: June 30th 2009
Genre: Western