I enjoyed this contemporary Western Novel. The story is centers on two brothers in California, their loves, their rivals and their downfalls. The story moves along very quickly. The author does a very job with setting and the characters. Even though the book is short the length is perfect. I look for word to reading more by this author. Enjoy the horseback ride through the California Coast.

Not my favorite genre, but interesting and thought provoking. Will be an easy readers advisory sell!

I thoroughly enjoyed this contemporary western (I'm not ususally a fan of the genre). The Cain and Abel theme is not a new one, but the author does an outstanding job of providing an intriguing history of the dysfunctional relationship between Silas and Frank. The characters were very well developed, and the equestrian setting so well described that I could easily envision the horses, barns, stalls and scenery of the chase, as Lena sets out to track down her husband's murderer. There's a lovely plot twist at the end that I didn't see coming that made the book more redemptive that I thought it would be. Very well done!

I couldn't open the PDF, no rating

THE LAST COWBOYS OF SAN GERONIMO by Ian Stansel in some ways is a western and in some ways is a murder mystery, but mostly it is about the relationship between two brothers, Frank and Silas Van Loy. They, along with Frank's wife, Lena, are horse people so there are plenty of tales of training horses and riding, including competitions and a hunt. Perhaps different from your typical reading choices, but well worth checking out.

When the story opens, Frank has been killed and Lena decides to track his murderer, brother Silas, who has fled on horseback. As they travel, Lena and Silas separately reflect on their lives and thus recount the story of events leading to such animosity between the brothers. With a contemporary setting in northern California's Marin County near Highway 101, the natural vistas described are beautiful and all of that contrasts even more with the ugly competitive rivalry, violence and ill feelings between the brothers. Since it is only 208 pages, I plan to suggest THE LAST COWBOYS OF SAN GERONIMO as a title for multiple levels of our Senior English seminar on Good and Evil. Ian Stansel's short story collection (Everyone’s Irish) was a finalist for the PEN/Bingham Prize and this debut novel received a starred review from Library Journal.

When I dove into this book, I thought it would be a tale of two brothers at war with one another. Clearly I skimmed the description, found it compelling, and didn't revisit it before reading the book properly. When we open, Frank is dead. His brother Silas has shot him and flees on his horse. Not much of a revenge story? Well, we do get flashbacks to various points in their feud. Oh, and then there's Lena, Frank's wife, tracking him down...

Stansel's poetic writing is thoughtful without being floral, personal without getting bogged down in the details. It evokes the sense of a dying breed, which is fitting for a Western of this title.

This is the tale of two battling brothers. They both work with horses, Frank is married but Silas isn't, and they couldn't be more different from each other if they were strangers. They play mean tricks on each other, fight when they have too much to drink, and Frank even shot Silas once. Now they aren't speaking to each other anymore, so why is Frank on his porch?

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published July 4th.

Lena loves Frank and has stuck with him through good times and bad. She took care of his father while he was dying of cancer. When his father didn't recognize him, it shattered his world. Now he finds out he's got the same disease. He asks his brother for an impossible thing: To kill him before he gets bad. Silas doesn't want to, but his brother tells him if he ever loved him to pull the trigger. Silas does. Then he gets on his horse and rides away.

Lena climbs on her own horse and heads off on his trail. This is set in present day but there are plenty of woods and greenery on the coast and the horses take them places cars can't go.

As they traverse the countryside, you get the backstory of the cowboys and by the time Lena catches up to take her revenge, she realizes what must have happened. She doesn't kill Silas.

The ending is sad but not unforeseen. Life was never easy for the Van Loy family.

The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo by Ian Stansel is the story of two brothers who spent their lives feuding until one fateful act ended it all. The story opens with the death of Frank Van Loy, the older brother, and his younger brother, Silas, has killed him. Silas goes on the run, knowing the authorities will be after him. What he doesn’t realize is another is on his trail too. Lena, Frank’s wife, is determined to find the man who murdered her beloved husband. As the search for Silas continues and Silas tries to stay one step ahead, the brothers’ history is revealed and the truth behind their feud is much more complicated than a brothers’ fight. Did Silas kill Frank in cold blood and why? Will Lena catch up with him? What will she do if she does?
The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo is a contemporary western about a lifelong feud. While the book wasn’t my cup of tea, Mr. Stansel’s descriptions of the locations are beautiful and how he describes the horses and their movements is poetic. However, I didn’t care for the language he uses for some of the character. I realize that the language fits the characters, I just don’t like it being used in life and in books. The story does leave the reader questioning Silas’ true motive in killing Frank. I like that the truth behind why he did it wasn’t so cut and dry and the reactions of Lena and others as they hear his motive is believable. I recommend The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo for those who enjoy a good western with a family drama twist.

The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo
will be available July 4, 2017
in hardcover and ebook

I enjoyed this book. I love contemporary Westerns, and this one is filled with satisfying details.

I cannot review this because the publisher didn't make it readable on Kindle.

I didn't get to read it because the protected file does not work in OverDrive or any other ascm file converter I tried. Yes, I followed all instructions to the letter and yes, I tried on separate days, tries, and downloads. If you want reviews of your books, maybe you should include a file that works.

4.5 stars! A modern day Western, this is the story of two feuding brothers, and that fine line between love and hate, friends and enemies, and what you do for family. From page one you know that one man has killed his brother. Then you discover that the dead man's wife is on a mission to hunt down and kill her renegade brother-in-law. This near perfect tale of the manhunt that follows relates the family history that led to these events, with several perfectly placed revelations along the way. Ian Stansel has written a pretty amazing story here, one that pulled me in from the very beginning. Fairly short, but so beautifully plotted and written, there's not one false step here. Even if you don't think you like Westerns, I suspect you'll love this one - it's very much a timeless story of the troubled relationship between competitive brothers. Many thanks to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for a review. One of the best books I've read this year!

Woah! Talk about dysfunctional family dynamics. My first reaction was this is too over the top. Brothers like this would just drift apart, rather than antagonize each other for decades. Then I started comparing them to people I know and my opinion mellowed somewhat.

This novel about a lifetime of love and resentment between brothers is the best book I have read this year. I found it basically pitch-perfect.

All year, I've been giving books that I really, really liked 4 stars, and feeling guilty. Now I see why. I was saving 5-star ratings for books like THIS one, that simply blow you away with their downright goddamn readability.

Beautiful, thoughtful, yet somehow still no-nonsense prose tells the story of two feuding cowboy brothers in the competitive world of NoCal horse-training. It also tells the story of Lena, driven near-mad by loss, and possessing glorious, terrible purpose.

I shall not give out a single more detail. They're not needed. Give this book two pages, TWO PAGES, and see if you aren't as instantly engaged and interested as I was.

This is a debut novel? No. Lies. Cannot be. This is a pinnacle, not a first swing.

Unfortunately I am unable to download the book in this format but thank you for giving me approval for recommending and review purposes.