Devils on Horseback -- Nate's Story

Oh my, oh my, oh my! Hunks, hunks, and more hunks!! Beth Williamson keeps filling up the pages of her books with delightful and colorful characters that are rooted in the historical development of the Old West. Nate Marchand is a former lieutenant in the Confederate Army who, like thousands of others after the American Civil War, returned to homes and properties in the South that had been torn down, burned down, or otherwise made uninhabitable as well as finding that members of their families left behind in 1860 had died or been killed as "collateral damage" of that armed conflict. Together with four other Confederate soldiers who he fought with for four years, Nate finds himself on the road, searching for employment, finances, and most importantly, roots. Hired as D. H. Enterprises to remove a recalcitrant family from property that had supposedly been sold during the Civil War, the Devils on Horseback (as they call themselves) find themselves embroiled in a situation that involves greed, murder, political and governmental shenanigans as well as a beautiful young woman who rides like one who was born on a horse, shoots to kill and has the moxy which far exceeds some men of her times.

Of course you have the romance between Nate and Elisa, and since this is a romance, that is to be expected. But I found that the author developed all the characters in the Devils in bold strokes of her pen and with a great deal of detail. Those five men really live in these pages. I was also struck with Beth Williamson's sensitive characterizations of the pain of the Civil War, the anger and torment, revenge and grief, external wounds and internal damage that lived on long after 1865. One catches intriguing glimpses of the smells of battle, the horror of the prison camps, the starvation and disease that continued on after the war. There were no Americans whose lives were not changed irrevocably by that conflict. Not only were these five characters comrades in arms but they were "family" and because of that bond, they are always present in varying degrees and in various circumstances. Nate is not related to anyone of the other four except they have become his "brothers" and together they attempt to find healing and a new direction as people who have lived through Hell and survived.

The Old West was never portrayed with better word pictures, an engaging story line, balanced conflict and resolution within the plot, and, of course, the sizzle of romance that seems to creep up on people who not only aren't looking for it (at least knowlingly) but who are surprised by the holes in their souls it fills. I really enjoyed this book and loved the characterization of the Southern gentleman that seemed to have survived the awfulness of way -- a true tribute to those Southern belles who raised their men to be the "iron fist in the velvet glove." Their absolute adherence to the Southern traditions concerning justice, care for others, respect for women, and desire to be productive citizens is awesome and is a critical ingredient in who Nate really is. Williamson tells an awesome story. I hope she keeps right on giving us more glimpses in the hearts and souls of the Devils on Horseback! I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5.

Devils on Horseback -- Jake's Story

The post-Civil War soldiers of the Devils on Horseback continue on with their search for a new life after the horror and hell of war. Now reduced to a group of four -- Nate was married and starting a new life in a small Texas community -- and searching for employment as D. H. Enterprises, Jake and his companions find themselves in a small community that has been nearly destroyed by the deaths of their sons and husbands in the Civil War as well as other difficulties with night raids from a mysterious band of criminals who are sweeping the town and kidnapping any woman they can find under the age of 35. The mayor of the town sends word to the Devils on Horseback that their muscle, their savvy as soldiers and their need for employment would be useful to this small struggling community.

Jake is a former corporal in the Confederate Army and is also being sought by a Union Army captain who was commandant of a Union prison camp. These "devils" were the only Confederate soldiers ever to escape from his "hell-hole" and he has become obsessed with revenge for his "failure" to keep them imprisioned. Jake is also a former thief -- a child who stole in order to feed siblings and himself after being abandoned by his mother and who took the last name of one of the whores in a brothel where he was living. All in all, a very troubled person when he went into the war and who found a "family" of sorts when he found these comrades who have become the only people he trusts. Now the Devils are hoping that their current "assignment" is located far enough off the beaten path that the Union captain will have difficulty finding Jake.

In the midst of trying to solve the mystery of the night raids -- who is behind them, where are the women, how to prevent future raids, etc, Jake meets Gabriella Rinaldi, the daughter of the mill owner who had been beaten almost to death during one of the previous raids. She must now run the mill as well as try to bring some common sense into the town thinking on how to protect themselves. Needless to say, Jake and Gabriella are attracted to one another, but they are also both needing to find that "someone" who will believe in them and will accept them for who they are. Jake struggles with his past, his sense of being a nobody from nowhere and worthless to anyone other than his Civil War buddies. The friendship and love they find together begins to rebuild what fear and hopelessness have destroyed in the past.

Again Beth Williamson has populated this book with personalities that are strong, varied, interesting, authentic, and the kind of people-at least in some cases-one would like to have known in real life. Underlying this story is the continuing loyalty and friendship of these men for one another, for respect and value they have given one another because they were soldiers of honor and who sought to be true to their ideals even when war and life in general did everything to destroy their sense of themselves. I still love to read of their Southern charm and the respect they show women -- they all love women in any shape or form, but no matter how disagreeable one of the female characters may be, they are unwaveringly polite and respectful. Oh to have some men in our modern times like that!

I also appreciate the way that the author has not backed away from the debris that war creates in lives and communities, especially as Jake faces himself and his past, as he deals with his need to love and be loved, and as he faces his the reoccurring terror of dark, small places born in the Union Army prison camp. War is indeed hell, but out of that conflict came five men who learned that there were people upon whom they could depend. Gabriella's love and the acceptance of the community are the "medicines" Jake needs and grabs for his hurting soul. This book is a great read and will not disappoint. I give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

Devils on Horseback -- Zeke's Story

Ezekiel (Zeke) Blackwood, his brother Cornelius (Lee) and their cousin Gideon Blackwood are the three remaining members of the Devils on Horseback. In the little community of Tanger, Texas, together with their buddy Jake Sheridan, they have found a welcome and very possibly, a home. They have been successful in ridding the town of the marauders who were kidnapping women and selling them as sex slaves in Mexico. The town's mayor has been found out to be an embezzler and along with Gabriella's mother, have escaped the penalties for their crimes by running away to parts unknown. However, there is trouble in paradise. Zeke has been forming an attachment for the preacher's daughter and during the last raid, this lovely and demure creature has been killed right in front of him as he struggled to save her from capture. His failure to do so and her resulting death have thrown him into a world composed of an alcoholic haze that is now months' long. Zeke's brother Lee is himself a casualty of the War having lost one of his arms to a battlefield surgeon. His continuing anger at this eventuality and his rage over having to live as a partial man (as he sees it) are a part of the background of these two brothers.

In a strange series of events, the town council of Tanger comes to Zeke asking him if he would be the new sheriff--initially on a month's probation -- providing he stayed sober and didn't cavort with whores (another activity in which he indulged repeatedly during his drunken stupors). He agrees and makes a serious attempt to fulfill their expectations as he has come to realize the the drink and the resulting craziness are not how he wants to live. He is hoping that this new job and responsibility to the people of the town will help fill that emptiness he no longer knows how to combat.

Enter Lucy Michaelson -- a young woman who is herself a survivor of the War and who is seeking a job in the local saloon. She is not a prostitute and makes it clear that she does not plan to earn any of her money "on her back" as is often the case with saloon girls. She is a hard worker and an honest person, but because she works in the saloon, she is branded a "fallen woman" -- guilt by association. Even after being put in jail as the instigator of a bar fight--a charge she successfully repudiates--she is treated with respect and kindness by the new sheriff who is attracted to her strength, her obvious survivor skills, and her honesty.

Beth Williamson continues the saga of this little town while telling Zeke's story. She draws a picture of a 19th century community that is populated by good people and not-so-good, people who are anxious to judge others before knowing the facts -- persons who seem to inhabit every town and city in the world--and characters who are normal, troubled, kind, generous, stingy, and who are all wanting to be accepted and nurtured within the context of this town and its dynamic. Zeke struggles with his own demons while trying to correct situations in the town, some immediate like the drunks in the saloon on a Saturday night, as well as problems of long-standing and which could change the course of history for the entire community. He is a character that is very real, and in a world that had no Alcoholics Anonymous, he tries to find the solution to his own problem. His heart is slowly healed by Lucy--a brave, gutsy, brassy, pushy broad of a woman who is not herself whole but who is willing to confront both her own neediness and Zeke's pain in order to bring them both to wholeness.

What is there not to like about this story? Williamson has written brilliantly of the personal story of the main characters while also telling the story of the community and its rehabilitation in a difficult post-war world that will not be fully healed for over a hundred years in the future. This is a warm and winsome story set in the heart of the Texas of old, yet it brings the reader face to face with issues that are as current as tomorrow. Reading this and the other Devils on Horseback stories will never be a waste of time. I hope Williamson plans to tell us Lee and Gideon's story in the future. I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5.