Book review: Kapinallinen (Range Rebel)

Kapinallinen (Range Rebel)
by Gordon D. Shirrefs
translated to Finnish by M. Hossa
Montana-kirja,
Oy Kodaprint Ab 1961

 This review is based on the Finnish paperback edition 

In this western adventure a former Confederate soldier Dave Yeamans is living as a hermit on mountains. One day a search party almost lynches him and accuses him for being a cattle thief. Dave clears the accusations but decides to move to some less dangerous place. On his way he meets a pretty rancher Leslie Waite and decides to help her find her missing father. As father is found murdered, hero decides to stay and help the girl to defend herself against local cattle baron Edrick's men.

More cattle is stolen and soon the hero gets into trouble with local gunmen and corrupt sheriff. After the ranch lady hires some more gunmen to defend the cattle, Dave soon finds himself accused of murder and flees. He gets into contact with an underground bunch of worried cattle owners and becomes their agent trying to find the stolen cattle.

The book is kind of mixture of western and detective novel with usual fist- and gunfights. Towards the end the real bad guys are exposed and some romance follows. Some books of Shirreffs have been made into less known westerns, such as A Long Ride from Hell (1967) and The Lonesome Trail (1955). The book Range Rebel was pretty basic pulp western, not a lost classic but fun while it lasted.

Rating: Average