Dusty Richards' "Pray for the Dead"

Pray for the Dead is another novel in the Byrnes' family series by the wonderful story teller and writer Dusty Richards. This one was given to me by my wife while on the Kansas trip and I'm glad she did. Although I'm missing a novel or two before this one, it picks up at the Byrnes ranching empire and Chet Byrnes has been made a Deputy U. S. Marshal. The novel is generally about the progress of the ranching business and takes on another big job to provide a stage coach line across northern Arizona from Gallup, New Mexico, to the Colorado River. Chet's daily routine is frequently interrupted by someone asking for help to catch cattle rustlers, horse thieves, killers, and rapists. He takes on thse tasks with a vengeance with his two main cohorts Jesus and Cole, who work for him on the ranches and are capable gunmen. Oh, yes, his wife Liz, goes along with them whenever she can. She looks after the horses on these forays when they become dangerous.

In this story, Chet also has to track down some stage coach robbers, which requires him getting his southern border force involved to help him out in Tucson and Tombstone.  Some of these episodes are bloody and involve women who are taken advantage of.

I'll give this story four stars for all the action in it and the enjoyment I got from it. The publication was a pocket book, 376 pages long, put out by Pinnacle Books. Dusty Richards has written many westerns and they always provide great entertainment.