COVERING A LOT OF RANGE: BILL PRONZINI'S THE HANGING MAN & OTHER WESTERN STORIES

In the forward to his latest collection, The Hanging Man & Other Western Tales, Bill Pronzini, takes certain critics to task. He chides those who believe the western is limited in plot characters, and theme. He then unleashes a dozen and a half of his stories that prove his point.

Also, working as an accomplished mystery writer, he often injects that form into a western. With the title story, two volunteer lawman solve a murder made to look like a suicide . It's a great way to kick it off, showing examples of his clear, concise prose, well defined characters, use of humor that keeps it human. but never risks satire, and easy to follow action. His nineteenth century private detective, Quincannon, travels to a town where a "Burglarproof" safe has been stolen and opened. The reveal is brilliant in its simplicity. A turn of the century sheriff is tasked with the cas of a stolen "Wooden Indian". Once again, another great reveal.

Besides the pulp and paperback writers, O. Henry, also seems to be an influence on Pronzini with his characters who are questionably moralat time and twist reveals. "All The Long Years" plays out the relationship of a rancher and son of an old adversary he caught switching brands that forces him to contend with the actions in his past. He puts a great spin on the High Noon style showdown with "The Gunny". One of the funnier stories deals with a sheriff questions two old boys about the out house they are hauling in "Not A lick Of Sense."

He also has a penchant for a story told by a witness in that person's voice. In "McIntosh's Chute", an old cowhand tells a tale around the campfire about an incident at a logging camp he worked on. Pronzini takes the role of a newspaper man who recalls a typesetter "Give A Damn Jones" who worked for his father when he was a boy. The author captures the personality and the cadence of the teller as they spin their yarns.

The last story is a western noir he wrote with his equally accomplished wife, Marcia Muller, "Crucifixion River". Told from multiple points of view it portrays several people stranded together at a ferry crossing on a stormy night and their secrets that become revealed. It serves as a convergence of all the other stories with it's well crafted plot and prose, well defined characters, some of untypical western roles, a mix of genres, all accumulating in great action finale.

The collection has eighteen tales. They include an eulogy for a gambler that rivals Kenny Rogers songs, a fateful meeting of a wandering widower and an abused ranchers wife, and the humorous results when "Doc Christmas Painless Dentist" comes to town. In The Hanging Man & Other Western Stories, Bill Pronzini demonstrates the vast possibilities of the western stories.