Regional Fiction Harrison shows mastery of rural life
judgment, beds a 15-yearold neighbor. he and his cohorts are an engaging bunch. They include a mentally and physically challenged cousin, Beau; Sonny, a gambler who teaches Willy the tricks of the trade; Lisette, a mulatto prostitute; and Panther Jack, the man who owns Lisette.
The plot may be a bit improbable, but the characters and the land ring with authenticity. “The Gambler’s Apprentice” is an absorbing tale that leaves readers wishing for more — a good thing, since it is the first of a trilogy. which are about a Santa Fe sheriff, author Michael McGarrity began probing Kerney’s backstory. He became intrigued with the history of his protagonist’s family, McGarrity notes in a news release, and decided to write the standalone story of generations of Kerneys. The result is a trilogy of novels that cover a 100-year period.
“The Last Ranch” is the third of the novels, a lengthy story of Kevin and his father, Matthew. It begins during World War II, when Matthew comes home from Sicily minus an eye. He returns to the family ranch run by his father, Patrick. The two have had their differences — explored in the second book — but they have come to terms. More difficult is Matthew’s relationship with longtime girlfriend Anna Lynn, who moves out of Matt’s life after she’s confronted by an old adversary of his. (It helps to have read the first two of the three books, although “The Last Ranch” really is an independent novel.)
While helping his father with the ranch, Matt attends college, where he meets Mary. They marry and have a son, Kevin.
“The Last Ranch” is as vast as New Mexico’s high desert. Readers will come to love the land as much as the Kerneys do and feel their anger as the federal government pressures them to sell their ranch so that it can become part of White Sands. In fact, the fight with the feds — the small rancher against the omnipresent government bureaucracy — is the best part of the book. It’s a good story and brings readers up-to-date on the Kerney saga.
The characters are tough westerners, who can be wooden at times. And there is much extraneous material in the book. But McGarrity is a prolific author, so it’s possible he’s setting us up for more Kerney books. Sandra Dallas: sandradallas@msn.com