Marshal of Medicine Lodge: A Merlin Fanshaw Western, by Stan Lynde

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The first time I read Stan Lynde was just a few months ago when I received a copy of The Bodacious Kid. In fact it was the first time I'd ever read a traditional western novel. I was hooked! The first book in the Merlin Fanshaw series was fun, engaging and cozy. So when I received a copy of Marshal of Medicine Lodge I was excited.


It's later in the series and young Merlin has become a law man. He's assigned a post at Medicine Lodge, a town embroiled in racial and territorial disputes. He no sooner gets there then he finds himself smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation.


It has all the elements of an entertaining read, but I did not find myself responding to it as much as I did The Bodacious Kid. Maybe it's partly because the physical aspects of the book are a little off--it's printed as a large, slender paperback on pure white stock with academic font so it resembles a university poetry textbook more than a drugstore novel that you would put in your purse and take on vacation--but I don't think that's the real issue. Unfortunately, I didn't find Marshal of Medicine Lodge as charming or as believable as the previous book I'd read in the series. The characters don't ring as true and I couldn't seem to get invested in them. 



I almost hate to say this because The Bodacious Kid made me SUCH a Stan Lynde fan, but Marshal of Medicine Lodge was only okay.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for writing a review, though the review did not necessarily need to be favourable, just honest. I frequently read and review books for this reason, but I am always very truthful (and, I hope, fair) in my reviews. Therefore any opinions expressed are strictly my own.