Cooper (The Landon Saga) Paperback – March 1, 2014

Confessions of a Gunfighter served notice that a new and talented practitioner of the art of the Western genre was on the scene. In Cooper, Tell Cotten gives us that same clear and simple style, but the mood and tone of the book is decidedly different from Confessions.Cooper Landon is on his way back home to Midway, TX with his new, true love, Josie, recently rescued from life with the Apaches. The couple gathers themselves a nice collection of beaver pelts, which they pack on their mule. They run into a notorious outlaw (who later turns out to be running guns to the Indians). He takes a fancy to the pelts and to the idea of ridding the world of a Landon (Cooper's brother and sheriff, Yancy, is pretty famous for his quick draw.) Difficulties ensue.In the meantime, said brother Yancy returns to Midway with another notorious outlaw in tow, one whom he stashes in jail awaiting a judge and a trial. There's unfinished business with this one, though, because the money he stole from the beauty in the action hasn't been recovered. Yancy has left the search for the cash to two borderline miscreants. Bothered that Cooper is overdue, he leaves town to find him, entrusting the outlaw to his young deputy, who is several cards short of a full deck.There's a fire, a jailbreak, and the stage is set for what turns into almost a French farce as several sets of good guys and bad guys and a passel of Indians chase one another around the surrounding territory. "Sure is getting crowded in these hills," remarks one character. Well and truly said. That mule and his beaver pelts get stolen and recovered several times. Outlaws get tied up hugging a cactus; a bad guy gets killed by a ricochet, and a fool gets credit for it; infatuated outlaws reform so that the beauty can pursue her man, and half the time people don't know who they're shooting at or who's shooting at them.Much of Cooper is wild and comical, but the serious parts are serious as a bullet in the heart, and there's even some philosophical decision-making about the difference between what's legal and what's just. Quite a package. Go for it.

Tell Cotten's books of the Landon Saga are just plain fun to read, my favorite westerns. As you read the conversations of these characters you get to know well, you can just see them talking. You can see the expressions on their faces. Tell brings the stories and the people alive for you (and some of them very dead for you, too). I've been buying them on Kindle but that doesn't satisfy me; I'm going to get them in paperback also so I can share them and have them displayed proudly on my shelf. Tell Cotten, a rancher, seventh generation Texan, and history buff, knows what he's talking about and speaks it authentically. You'll be drinking coffee by the campfire and it'll be quiet as you think on that. COOPER, the third in the series, could stand alone in its own right (as could CONFESSIONS OF A GUNFIGHTER), as it builds into an epic climax with a great ending; but no, Tell Cotten's not going to have us rest here: More are coming! It's nice to look forward to good things.

I have enjoyed all three books in this series. Confessions of aGunfighter was one of the most unique westerns I have ever read, andEntwined Paths was an enjoyable read too. But Cooper is my favorite sofar. Like a knot slowly being tightened, Cotten brings all thecharacters together for a fantastic read.I absolutely loved the dialogue. Each character says so much with solittle. Cotten is a master of short sentences. One word or a nod sayvolumes and leave you clinging to every word.I also enjoyed the humor in Cooper. While the situations are serious,natural events and great characters bring out many enjoyable moments.I won't spoil the details, but there is one scene where I laughedextremely hard.The only bad thing about this book is that I read it in one setting,and now I must wait for the next one. I also enjoyed the sample forbook #4, and I'm glad that the series is going back to Rondo. Keep upthe good work, and please hurry!

I continue to be impressed with Cotten's ability to weave together an incredible story! Cooper is the third book in The Landon Saga. I have read and enjoyed all three books, but This is my favorite book by Cotten so far! I really enjoyed the dialogue between the characters, the first person narrative, and the humor! I love the originality of the story line and the fact that it keeps you guessing. Cotten does such a great job describing each scene, as one of the other reviewers so eloquently pointed out, that I actually found myself getting drawn into the story. I really loved the fact that we got a peek at Book 4! I too am excited to see the story return to Rondo! Looking forward to reading the whole story! For now, I will settle for a reread of the three books I already own! At least it will take up some time as I wait, impatiently, for the next installment of The Landon Saga by Tell Cotten!

There is nothing more that I can say about this series by Tell Cotton. It has everything from great characters to a great story. I can hardly wait to read the next book in the series. There was only one problem that I had with the book. When I started one of the chapters and was finishing a sentence on the page the next page started out totally different. When I looked back at the previous page I noticed that where a sentence was finished on the beginning of the first page that it started up again on the next page again. But I got past that editing mistake with no problem. All in all I thought that it was a great book and can hardly wait for the next one in the series.

3rd in series still going strong