The Guns of Ridgewood, A Western of Modern America

The Guns of Ridgewood, A Western of Modern America, is Aaron Cooley’s third novel and the second one reviewed in this blog. I kid you not, and excuse my graphic image, but except for occasionally attending to bodily functions, I did not put this book down until I read the last page.

Cooley opened his book with a brief and chilling prologue:

           

            They rode in silence, their mission heavy on their souls.

            And on their minds, the horrific events for which this was to be their response.

            They knew vengeance could never be achieved like in the stories they once told their children,

            but believed this was the only quest that might bring quiet to their pain.

            Only a soul as tortured as their own would have any prayer of stopping them.

And then in his first chapter, Cooley told the story of the bloody and successful assault against a Congressman and his family, a week after a similar assault had occurred against a Congresswoman and her family. The assailants in both case left their weapons to be discovered, as if they were leaving a message. Cooley had this reader in his grip from that point, and he never let go until this political drama had been told.

Yet another Congressman, Homer Blunt, thought he might be the next target, and it was his decision to bring in Clayton “Sour” Manco, who had previously been the lead agent for the FBI’s High Value Targets team. But, he had left the FBI with a stain on his reputation and had deteriorated into a deep depression and deeper alcoholism. Blunt knew that Manco was the guy to protect him if he could just get him off the juice and focused on the task at hand.

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The author skillfully advanced his story with complimentary characters while occasionally giving the hungry reader some details about Manco’s backstory. The timing of the story development was perfect. I can tell you that the author was writing about a crucial and current political topic that is quite real, but I don’t want to give away the plot. I gave his other novel Four Seats great praise, and this master storyteller has done it again.

Note the reference to this blog on the cover of the book - how cool is that?!