ROBERT PEECHER'S THE LAST TWO MEXICAN TRAILS

Last summer, I read and reviewed the first of Robert Peecher's, Along The Restless Trail, the tale of Tommy Duvall, a good cowboy with a bad past who travels down to Mexico with his crew of cowboys to rob a gold for guns exchange between criminals and politicos. The exciting story kicked off a trilogy of an epic powder burner that followed with The Restless Trail Home, then Back On The Restless Trail, putting all three book on my best westerns of the year.

The Restless Trail Home picks up right where The Restless Trail left the reader. Tommy and his friend, Pablo, the only survivors of the sojourn and robbery attempt to get back across the border with a few gold bar they were able to get and Marisol, the woman who Tommy fell in love with as she healed him. Their main problem is he is being hunted by Manuel Hermosilla, the rich rancher and power broker behind the exchange. he also happens to be Marison's father. Pursued by Federales and Hermosilla's men and plagued by other violent encounters, the two lovers are put through a test of survival that tests their love for one another.

Back On The Restless Trail picks up a few years later. Tommy runs his own ranch, married to Marisol, both raising a son. When he gets an order to bring cattle down to Mexico, she insists on going along to see relatives. It should be safe now, since word went out that her Don Hermosilla was hung. When they cross the border, they learn old grudges never die. Marisol comes her own to this story when Tommy is arrested by Federales and she, Pablo, and some gunmen Tommy hired to protect her fend of bandits, Apache, and other troublemakers as she and Tommy fight to get back to one another.

Peecher brings a balladers scope and romanticism to these books. All three are told with a bold grandness, yet the author always finds the human core to each of the books. The friendships Tommy has with his men he works with or he hires are ones we both recognize and long fore. The relationship between he and Marisol becomes forged in fire, making its balance of strength and tenderness more appealing. While delivering intimate moments,it has shows no fear in going big.

Both of these books build on the first in their style and characterization. With The Restless Trail trilogy, Robert Peecher has created an epic version of a Marty Robbins cowboy ballad. It's tales of love, loss, comaries daring gunfights, and will have you restless for more trails.