“Northfield” by Johnny D. Boggs, $24.95
American frontier stories about bank robberies have long been familiar fare. Yet “Northfield,” bySpurAward winner Johnny Boggs, is one of the more intriguing to come along in recent years.
The year is 1876. The Civil War is history, but the James boys and the Younger brothers still nurse their hatred of the North. And after considerable debate, they decide: What better way to right some of the wrongs perpetrated on the Confederacy than to hit a bank in the North?
Bill Stiles claims the credit for the final choice of Minnesota. Of the gang, he is the one who brags that he knows all the state’s towns, and Northfield is chosen. The appeal of stealing bona fide Yankee money for a change is too strong for even Cole Younger to resist. Plus, that far north, no one will recognize them. First, however, they will need spending money, so they rob a train at Rocky Cut.
Told by gang members and townspeople, the tale of the daring exploit gradually unfolds. A prominent whore in Northfield remembers Jesse James well and still resents serving time for receiving a stolen shawl he gave her. The owner of a Northfield hotel recalls his first glimpse of two well-dressed riders coming down the town’s main street and how impressed he was with them.
According to plan, three men ride straight to the bank while a few others stand guard. If the setup satisfies them, a signal will be given “to start the ball.”
A young bank teller recalls how he couldn’t believe the men in linen dusters who had entered the bank actually intended to rob it. The owner of the hardware store thought the ruckus he heard was caused by a group of actors who had come to town. Nothing goes as planned. Chaos and carnage reign until finally there are the inevitable courtroom proceedings and the memories.
With a keen ear for the distinctive voice of each storyteller, the author offers a fast-moving and strangely poignant tale that never pauses to rest.
“Something More” by Janet Daily, $22
Prolific romance writer Janet Dailey centers her latest around an unsolved mystery concerning a tale of hidden gold stolen years ago by a band of outlaws and said to be hidden near the tiny town of Glory, Wyo.
To all outward appearances, the surrounding ranch country is a beautiful, peaceful oasis. But for Luke
McCallister, one of the area’s successful ranchers, every day is still filled with grief over the death of his wife and children in a fire on their ranch. Now nothing matters but his next drink, not even the arrival of Angie Sommers, a beautiful teacher from Missouri, in search of buried treasure.
But Angie does matter to the rest of the town that gathers at the Rimrock Cafe, where people still speculate about where the treasure might have been buried. Now it seems Angie might have the vital clues in a letter she inherited that was sent to the wife of the only survivor of the outlaw gang before he was hanged.
And there are some in town who also have more than casual interest in the news. One is Tobe, a ranch hand for Luke. Orphaned and responsible for his little sister, he has always seen the gold as his way out to another life. And there is Griff, the cafe’s co-owner, and the strange old man, known as Saddlebags, who has wandered Luke’s ranch for years.
But not until someone breaks into Angie’s trailer does the sheriff get involved. Now there is talk of a map, and the entire town is abuzz. Yet Luke continues to keep his distance. Only when he is confronted with Angie’s firm belief in the existence of the gold does he know he has no other choice but to join the search.
“Something More” is a pleasant read with a nice twist on a satisfactory ending.
Sybil Downing is a Boulder novelist who writes a regular column on new regional fiction.
