Easy Pickings

Easy Pickings

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A widow must defend herself and her property from greedy townsfolk in Easy Pickings, a new tale from renowned master of the Western novel, Richard S. Wheeler

Life hasn’t always been easy for March and Kermit McPhee, but things are looking up. March gives birth to a healthy son, and their small gold mine is looking better and better as Kermit blasts his way along a good seam of ore. Then Kermit is crushed by a cave-in.

As soon as her husband dies, crooks are at March’s door, eager to get their hands on the mine. The peaceful town of Marysville, Montana, is peaceful no more. March’s home is burned and her baby killed. Terrified and threatened, she is targeted by the wealthy and powerful.

March fights back every way she can. She discovers she has allies: a saloon man named Tipperary Leary, an assayer named Rolf Wittgenstein, and a slippery lawyer named Hermes Apollo. Still, March must ask herself whether it is worth it; whether a gold mine, or wealth of any sort, should be defended at such a price.

Reviews

“Wheeler is a master storyteller.” —Library Journal

“No one does it better than Wheeler . . . an extraordinary writer.” —The Round-Up Quarterly

“Passionate, intelligently written, thoroughly entertaining historical fiction.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review, onThe Richest Hill on Earth

“Wheeler captures the roughneck atmosphere of the mining town and brings to life the social problems of the Gilded Age. . . . A multilayered world as versatile and enduring as the copper that inspired it.” —High Country News on The Richest Hill on Earth

“One of the best Western writers around today. . . . Fascinating characters, vivid imagery, subtle action, and carefully drawn historical detail.” —Publishers Weekly

“[Wheeler] is among the top living writers of Western historical novels—if not the best.” —Tulsa World

“Wheeler is a genius of structure and form.” —El Paso Herald-Post

About the Author

Richard S. Wheeler (1935-2019) wrote over fifty novels and several short stories. He won six Spur Awards (for Fool's Coach, Sierra, Masterson, Drum's Ring, Vengeance Valley, and The Canyon of Bones) and the Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement in the field of western literature. His series include Skye's West and The Witness.

Before turning to fiction he was a newsman and book editor. Wheeler lived in the literary and film community of Livingston, Montana.

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Books By Richard S. Wheeler