Official Review: 1874 by RJ Bessonette

[mratdegraff91]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "1874" by RJ Bessonette.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Author R. J. Bassonette shares his love of history in this exciting western novel, 1874, inspired by the life of his grandmother. He uses ideas from her personal experiences out west within his novel. Published in June 2016, this author creates a magnificent piece to spark the imagination of the old west.

Oregon territory in 1874 was raw open country proven to change the lives of those daring to live on its land. The discovery of gold in California brought even more individuals west during this time. In the small town of Dalles, in Wasco County Oregon, a murder took place on a local homestead. Sheriff Donnley decides the person responsible must not escape especially with winter moving in early. He involves native tracker Three Fingered Jack to locate the man while he forms a posse to bring him down. Their task takes them all over the rugged landscape they call home, to track down this former hired hand and bring him to justice. Along the way, significant people join the posse to take down this man including a Texas Ranger, local ranchmen, townspeople, former army men, and a fantastic cook. They encounter a variety of Native American tribes and dangerous winter weather that they must overcome to locate this rouge.

This novel focuses strongly on the theme of justice while tying in loyalty. There has been a murder, and many seek to bring about justice to keep the rouge from killing again. Loyalty is shown in the men of the posse as they develop loyalty to sheriff Donnley as a leader, and also to the cause to bring this man to justice. Even when different characters show distinct differences in how they would go about locating this man, they continue to follow Donnley.

The characters of this novel were creative and came from different backgrounds. Sheriff Donnley is an Irishman, Three Fingered Jack is native American, Florez is Hispanic, and Tyler, a Texan. The story focused mostly on Donnley and Jack until the end of the novel. They worked together to track this mysterious hired hand known later as Hank. Donnley is the first Irish sheriff west of St. Louis, and strives to fill all his duties for his town. Tyler joins the posse along the way, and is a former Texas Ranger now living in Oregon country. Florez works for Donnley and assists in all his sheriff duties. These men play strong roles in the posse and help develop the plot.

The story had great attributes when it came to characters, scenery, and imagination. The posse grew larger as the story progressed and seemed to draw me in more as they moved further from home to locate Hank, the killer. The story goes back and forth between Jack and individuals of the posse as they travel, transitioning the reader smoothly along to see how these people adjusted to the landscape and weather. The plot of the story was easy to follow with these transitions.

Something I did not like as I finished the novel, was the fact that at no point did it explain why Three Fingered Jack had such a nickname as a tracker with no missing fingers. The author mentioned that he was an amazing tracker, the best in the west, back in his younger days but not where his nickname originated. I also observed a few grammatical errors towards the end. There weren’t so many errors to detract from the flow of the story which lead me to give this book a solid 4 out of 4 stars.

The novel had several scenes involving fighting but nothing dealing with a lot of blood or gore. This book would be a great story for younger readers and anyone interested in westerns. It was a short read lasting only 162 pages according to Amazon making it an easy page turner for a variety of readers.

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1874
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[Reuben 92]

I love a good historical novel, and a nice quick read too Thank you for a lovely review!

[Ubyamos]

Nice review.
It will be really nice to know how police investigations was done in the 1870's

[Zelinda]

Thanks for your review. I hadn't heard of this book before; it sounds pretty interesting from your description. It doesn't sound like the mystery of the naming of Three-Fingered Jack ever gets solved.

[kandscreeley]

Sounds like stories I've heard of that time before. At least it sounds like the author put his own spin on things. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Elle Howard]

Thanks for the review. This sounds like a really good novel and I look forward to reading it. I like mystery and suspense novels. This book seems like a combination of that genre with the historical genre. A win win situation all around. Great review!

[RegularGuy3]

Like many of the others above, I also enjoy great historical fiction. Or maybe semi-fiction in this case. Will keep this in mind next time I'm feeling old-timey.

[Kimbo93]

I've put this on my to-read list. I enjoyed your review.

[Yoli García]

I like the diversity of the characters, which represent how people in the US came from different backgrounds since its origins. Historically, it is true that Irish, Hispanics, Native Americans, and colonists lived in the West. There was also a big immigrant wave from China.

Thanks for the good review!

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

Judging from your review, the cover of this book fits in perfectly with its plot. I was drawn in by the cover. I think I would enjoy this book. Thanks for your review.

[MrsCatInTheHat]

Most of the fiction that I've seen from this era is more focused on romance. It's nice to see something that is focused on the issues of the time period.

[Cloe101]

It sounds interesting judging from your review, I may decide to go with this one

[Job Njoroge]

I love that book. A combination of loyalty which which cannot be bought and a sense of duty seem to drive the men in their quest. The book also shows how difficult it was to enforce the law at that time due to lack of infrastructure and communication. Great review I love it

[KeriCraven]

This sounds like an amazing story. I too would wonder why three fingered Jack received his name. This will definitely go on my to read list.
Thank you for your review