BENEDICT AND BRAZOS
# 19 : Echoes of Shiloh
By E. Jefferson Clay
Bold Venture Press
110 pgs
The Civil War is over but the hatred it spawned remains in the survivors, both victors and losers. Saddle mates Duke Benedict and Hank Brazos find this emotional residue in ex-Confederate Colonel Stanton Claiborne. A bitter man who rebuilt his southern estate, Shiloh, in Ohio country next to the town of Resurrection; an enclave of Northern veterans. Clayborne is deeply protective of his daughter Emma and his mentally disturbed son Lonnie. Due to his success at ranching, he’s generally despised by the majority of townspeople.
Resurrection is run by saloon owner Troy Ridge, a man of ambition who secretly aspires to destroy Claiborne and take control of Shiloh. When Missouri-born Ma Halloway and her three boys arrive in the territory, things get heated up fast. During the war, Colonel Staton’s troop had killed her husband and a fourth son. She too is obsessed with seeking vengeance on the rich Southerner.
Benedict and Brazos have their hands full trying to aid Sheriff Chad Madison in keeping the peace. The inevitable transpires at the annual Founders Day Dance and someone is shot. The fuse had been lit and unless the two pals can find a solution, the Civil War is about to erupt all over again.
Once again Jefferson Clay offers up a fast-paced western yarn only this one is more a tragedy than an action tale. Skillfully written, it focuses on the aftermath of the five-year war that nearly destroyed this great country.
