Holmes On The Range by Steve Hockensmith

Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith has got to be one of the best stories published in 2006. This is Mr. Hockensmith’s first novel.
Otto and Gustav Amlingmeyer, better known as “Big Red” and “Old Red” respectively, are two out of work cow hands in 1893 Montana. They are looking for work and copies of Harper’s Weekly which carry stories of Old Red’s hero, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
The Bar VR is a ranch known for its secrecy and inhospitably. Their riders never come to town and people are quickly and forcibly warned off the land. It foreman and hands are all hard cases. So when the foreman shows up at the Hornet’s Nest looking for hands, Big Red is glad that he and his brother aren’t so desperate that they have to sign up. Old Red on the other hand smells a mystery and a chance to practice his “deducifying” skills and where he goes his brother goes.
It doesn’t take long to figure out that things aren’t what they should be, but when the ranch manager is found dead after a cattle stampede, Old Red is convinced that it is murder. Armed with his belief in the methods of Sherlock Homes he sets out to solve it. What follows is trail full of twists and turns which will both amuse and surprise you.
The Amlingmeyer brothers are a wonderful addition to the lists of both fictional detectives and cowboys. They are as realistic and earthy as fictional characters can be. They are men of their times, living by the rules and standards of that time.
Steve Hockensmith has written a gem of a book. “Holmes On The Range” is both a well written western and a well written mystery. The time period is well depicted, the characters real, and the story well written. Mr. Hockensmith has taken two different genres and fused them into a very readable book that will please lovers of both. He has also done both Sir Conon Doyle and Sherlock Holmes proud.
The brothers’ next adventure, “On The Wrong Track” is due to be released in March.