This Gun for Hire by Jo Goodman

Narrated by Tom Zingarelli

In Jo Goodman’s new historical Western, This Gun for Hire, Quill McKenna, former cavalryman and current lawyer, is working in the mining community of Stonechurch, Colorado, in 1888, for Ramsey Stonechurch himself. The mine owner suspects someone is tampering with his mines and means mischief – or worse – for him and his daughter, Ann. McKenna recommends another bounty hunter when Stonechurch requests someone to guard Ann – the infamous Katherine “Calico” Nash. Think Annie Oakley, but don’t tell Calico that! She’s one of the best in her field and a crack shot as well.

Calico passes as Ann’s private tutor while assisting Quill in solving the mystery of what is going on in the Stonechurch mines – missing ore, rumblings of organizing the workers, and other signs of unrest have been occurring ever since Ramsey’s brother Leonard died following a mining accident. Leonard left behind a widow, Beatrice, who now lives with Ramsey and Ann; not a day goes by that Ramsey doesn’t feel the loss of his brother, and survivor guilt. But the mischief has escalated, and there have been “accidents” that lead Ramsey to believe he, his daughter, and his sister-in-law are being stalked and targeted.

The story and the writing are classic Jo Goodman. She creates a Western tale worthy of her previous hero and dime novel protagonist, Nat Church – who is referenced in a book Ann is reading on the sly – complete with wily villains and heroic sheriffs. Quill first meets Calico in the opening scene that takes place in a brothel, where Calico is posing as a whore to catch a wanted criminal. I loved every minute of the witty repartee between Quill and Calico, as well as the suspense and action adventure that follows their somewhat inauspicious cathouse “meet-cute”. Goodman pens a wonderful heroine in Calico – she’s feisty and independent, but never mean or bitchy to Quill. She’s his equal in many ways, and they both know it – they make great partners in solving the crime.

I’m conflicted about the narration, though. On the whole, Zingarelli did a good job with the material. He has the sound of someone reading a detective novel, or – as this could be considered – a historical Western (think Shane). It’s low, and sometimes gritty, and always sounds older than either Quill (30s) or Calico (24). His pacing and storytelling are both good. However, he created a character for Calico that was nothing like I would have imagined for a young woman – his voice often cracks and slips into falsetto for both Calico and Beatrice, while he’s able to control it better for Ann, who is only six years younger than Calico. He also gives Calico more of a country accent – again, reminiscent of Annie Oakley – that he does not give Ann or Beatrice. For the male characters, I often had trouble discerning any difference between Quill and Ramsey – it seemed like he placed Quill lower in his speaking voice, but it was awfully subtle and often indiscernible. He did a good job of the humor and goodwill between Quill and Calico, delivering Calico’s deadpan responses well. If the choice of this narrator was to give the feel of historical Westerns, it succeeded; however, I would have preferred a narrator who could read women’s dialogue better, and who would not have made both the hero and heroine sound as if they were much, much older than they were.

Melinda

Narration: B

Book Content: A+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: Fighting

Genre: American Western Historical Romance

Publisher: Tantor Audio