End of the Trail by Jane Elliot

Title: End of the Trail
Author: Jane Elliot
Publisher: Manifold Press
Length:: Novel/180 pages ebook
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Blurb:

Will Connors is struggling to hold together a failing farm; his wife has died, his son has gone, he’s not without enemies and he’s dealing with the after-effects of a debilitating accident.  It’s a life of toil which doesn’t allow for very much pleasure, and he’s in danger of becoming embittered until a chance acquaintance wanders back into his life and everything begins to change.  The problem, however, is that John Anderson has a price on his head – and, very soon, Will and John find themselves desperately concealing more than one dangerous secret.

Review:

Manifold Press is off to a pretty impressive start with a few intelligent, exciting offerings. The press has just published four gay romance stories and one of those is End of the Trail by Jane Elliot. This undemanding cowboy story set in the historical west offers an authentic atmosphere, great characters, natural companionship, and an ease to the story telling that lets the pages fly by. There is a good progression and happy ending, but the slight possibility for more. Hopefully this is just the start and there is at least one more book about the infamous John Anderson and his partner Will Connors.

Set in the wild west, although no specific time frame is mentioned, the story follows Will Connors. He first encounters John when the man stumbles onto his land, shot and bleeding. Will and his family take the man in and nurse him to health, never realizing until after that John is actually a wanted man. When John returns to Will’s home three years later, circumstances for both men have radically changed. Will’s wife has died, prompting his son to return east with his wife’s family. Will himself has an injured leg and struggling to keep the ranch going without help. John steps in and the two form first a friendship, then later a much closer sexual relationship that lends to a solid companionship between the two men.

The progression and pace is very nice as the story is almost entirely character driven. There is action with daily chores, cattle drives, and so on but there is no big show down or evil character in the wings directing things. Instead the characters gradually form a friendship, which turns into something more. The easy pace and interesting storytelling keeps the pages turning, almost without notice. The writing is pretty good, although there are a few obvious editing errors with wrong words used, but these are minor and don’t detract from the reading experience. Instead the dialogue and internal thoughts are well crafted and fitting, incorporating the time frame and setting without long descriptions.

The characters are three dimensional and complicated men, yet not equally so. Since the story is told from Will’s third person perspective, we understand his motives much more than John. Will’s desires slowly come through as we learn that he’s not a rancher at heart but did so happily with his wife. He loved his wife and misses his son, yet is open minded about a relationship with John. Will is somewhat of a gay for you character but he also experiences no real angst or drama about getting with John. It takes him some time to reconcile his desires but he does so in a rather low key, yet absorbing manner.

John remains somewhat of a mystery and his choices are also not fully known. He’s seen through Will’s eyes, which is not always the most reliable. Yet John is a nice counterpoint to Will’s stubborn nature and he adds a bit of humor and excitement to the everyday life. John’s life as a railway robber and his tragic past comes through bit by bit and the markers that shaped his life offer more depth to the man. The two men are very complimentary in their actions and fit nicely, making the story undemanding but engaging.

One last thing to mention is the descriptions of the wild west. These tend to be worked into a scene very well where the characters, dialogue, and landscape offer the most information rather than lengthy internal descriptions. There are clues to the time frame and area but nothing is ever specifically said so there is also vagueness to the world building. I would have liked the story to be more specific about the location and time, especially considering the references to the east coast. The pacing can be somewhat slow at times but not necessarily to the story’s detriment. Overall the narrative is a solid offering with interesting characters that hopefully will make a second appearance.