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The Fugitive Trail

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The Fugitive Trail

Written by: Zane Grey
Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
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Zane Grey’s bestselling novels have thrilled generations of readers with heart-and-guts characters, hard-shooting action, and high-plains panoramas.

When his brother, Barse, pulled one of the biggest hold-ups Texas had ever seen, Bruce Lockheart took the blame for it, leaving Barse clear to marry the beautiful Trinity Spencer. Bruce takes to the fugitive trail for a crime he didn’t commit and is hotly pursued by a relentless ranger and the woman who loves him, fighting to clear his name. If she failed, he would have to hide for the rest of his life—or die!

©1957 , 1985 by Zane Grey, Inc. (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing Genre Fiction Romance Western Romance Westerns Fiction Heartfelt
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It's pretty clear that the screenwriters for the 1993 Harrison Ford/Tommy Lee Jones film 'The Fugitive' borrowed heavily from this book. Like Dr. Kimball, the wrongfully-accused 'Bruce Lockheart' goes undercover but can't resist righting wrongs and pursuing romance - while staying one step ahead of an admirable Texas Ranger/US Marshall (named 'Captain Maggard') + his team hot on his tail. Neither of the erstwhile antagonists in the story are anything but paragons. Zane Grey writes a moderately silly tale about a hard (very hard) gunslinger who is nonetheless morally impeccable - riding the range among the chaparral, working as a cow-punch, and shooting it out with cattle-rustlers while doing his best to get the girl. Think of a Western trope, and it's here.
Fortunately, Grey is a master at this stuff. This book (almost) reaches the excellence of 'Riders of the Purple Sage'. Set your reservations aside and simply bask in some standard-setting stuff.

As to presentation: reader Patrick Lawlor reads the book with "above-average" skill, too. Lawlor tends to slur his hard 'S's (Blackstone Publishing Inc. Sound Engineers struggle to soften his sibilance a bit) - but I was impressed with the narration overall. Lawlor's diction/timbre/pacing are unimpeachable and his voice-acting is capable and mercifully free of drawling accents (that seem like they would be almost mandatory given the author's written dialogue - using words like "cain't" instead of "can't", for example). His tone isn't perfect, but absolutely serviceable.

Altogether, I give 'Fugitive Trail' 8.5 stars out of 10. It's definitely not "literature" - rather a solid genre entry written exclusively for fans of Old West fiction - but if that's what you're looking for, this is a genuinely great book. I am grateful to Audible for offering this audiobook in the 'Plus' catalog, because it would merit a Credit if they asked for one.

Absolutely Classic Zane Grey

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