Shadow on the Trail

In the forward of this book, Zane Grey poses a question which he attempts to answer with this novel: What became of so many desperate outlaws who were never heard of again? From this single query which he asked himself, Zane Grey produces one of his best works of historical fiction. "Ride the Man Down!" was the cry of the Texas Rangers whenever an outlaw would escape, and the Texas Rangers were kind of like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police--they always got there man--almost. Wade Holden, but with a new name, Tex Brandon, and added facial hair, a beard, rides far and wide in search of someplace he could live out his days, live down his past, and he finds it on an Arizona ranch. Their he is introduced to the daughter of the ranch owner, Jacqueline Pencarrow, and they fall in love, yet he fears, "the step on his trail". How this is resolved make for an exceptional novel, a triumph of human spirit and emotion, as seen through the eyes and heart of someone who can't believe in the possible. As one of his later works, this book excels in every aspect--speech, description, characterization, plot, and resolution. Five of Five Stars without question!