Review: Return of the Wolf by Larry D. Sweazy
THE RETURN OF THE WOLF: A JOSIAH WOLF, TEXAS RANGER NOVEL
Larry D. Sweazy, Five Star Publishing, 2020, $25.99, hb, 300 pp. 978-1432868925
[Note: A version of this review of The Return of the Wolf appeared first in Roundup Magazine.]
There wasn’t much to keep Josiah Wolfe in the Texas Rangers or in Austin once his wife and daughters died. Besides, he had a place back in East Texas that still seemed like home, a good spot to raise his little son. The only problem was, he was walking into a war.
Two families, the Langdons and the Halversons, are hard at work gobbling up vacant land in the county while many of the honest folk pull up stakes and move on. Josiah would just like to be left alone, but his wife was a Halverson. On the other hand, now a Langdon daughter steps into the picture when she shows Josiah that not everyone in that family is vicious. After a confused confrontation that leaves a local lawman shot dead, Josiah’s old Ranger unit rides in to restore law and order. But things are never that easy, are they?
In Return of the Wolf, Larry Sweazy shows his knack for making down-to-earth characters who are imperfect enough to be believable and humble enough to engender sympathy. The writing is smooth, the pacing feels right, and the scenes transition naturally from one to the next. While the novel doesn’t take the reader on a heart-pounding thrill ride or answer the great moral questions of the day, it does something equally important—presenting a realistic character who acts in the finest traditions of the Ranger service.
I don’t know about you, but I’m glad Josiah Wolfe returned.
Loyd Uglow