Brokeheart

Very enjoyable 'weird western' vibe set in a Colorado mining town in 1879. I think the author evoked the period very well. There was a great scene where the main character walks into the bar in town and everything screeches to a dangerous halt, trouble is-a-brewing...it is well done.
This is the story of a main character with a disreputable past who becomes the hero of his own story, as well as to the mining town he arrives in.
I thought initially that the character development was a bit sketchy, but this is a fast paced tale and the reader finds themselves stuck in straight away. The details of Kepler's past are filled in a little as we go along. The 'weird' element was lightly done and done well.

Reviewers call this novel ‘weird western’. I, however, reserve my judgement. I think Brokeheart is part mystery, part horror and only a little part western and only when it comes to the setting of the novel (where and when).
Brokeheart is the story of a young reporter who goes around by the name Kepler. He keeps running away from misfortunes and failures in his life only to end up in a tiny mining town of Brokeheart. Kepler is hungry. He is trying to carve a better life for himself, to start afresh. Kepler is hungry for money, fame and adventure. He gets it all in Brokeheart. He gets more than he can handle.
Strange things start happening in town as soon as Kepler arrives. People go missing only to be found dead in the woods. Deaths seem to be suicides or animal attacks, but Kepler sees more.
Town sheriff Beard is doing his best to keep town safe and sane and does all he can not to cause panic. But in the end, even he cannot hide from the truth.
And the truth comes from fancy train carriage. A mysterious couple lives in this carriage. They travel wherever they fancy. They spend money with no reserve. They have parties in the nights. They hunt.
Kepler and Beard face an unnatural enemy, a very hungry enemy and a very ruthless one to boot. Kepler does get his fame and his money. But it turns out to be more than he can handle.
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In a sentence? I enjoyed the weirdness of this western. The story of Kepler is, once again, a story of traveller who is hungry for life and simply does not know how much he can handle until he is faced with all of it and more.
It is a story of good versus evil. It is a reminder that evil, true evil, does not stop, does not cumber itself within rational limits. This evil, be in human or supernatural form, is as primal and anarchic as it gets. One can either run or hunt it… as long as one lives.
Kepler’s story does not end with Brokeheart. It never can. The evil lives on so does Kepler’s quest to get rid of it.
Brokeheart is the story of values and their relativity. Be it new shoes or dollar bills, name on by line or picture in the paper. Everything comes at a price. And only truly important things remain.
Read this story if you are brave enough. Read this story if you still believe in good versus evil. But unlike many other stories, evil in Brokeheart does not have any redeeming qualities. Be warned.

I enjoyed the suspense and mystery of this book. Looking forward to reading more books from Kevin Wolf.

I received a free electronic copy of this 1879 historical western from Netgalley, Kevin Wolf, and North Star Editions in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

The characters in this novel are for the most part either completely sympathetic or outright villainous. As this is the perfect framework for a good western tale, I feel all is right with the world in the old west. Kepler is a newspaper man looking for a job, fired from his former post for an inappropriate relationship with a married woman. Sheriff Beard is a moral man, the only law in the mining town of Brokeheart, CO. You will find him upholding the law Monday through Saturday, and preaching the gospel on Sunday. May is the keeper of the brothel in Brokeheart, the classic whore with a heart of gold, and June another, younger and naive or simple. Joe Medicine Pony is the wise old Indian respected by many townsmen.

The monsters are the heartless mine manager Madison, and wealthy European Nicolae Volker and his young attractive apprentice Landry, shape shifters who travel ever westward to new killing grounds in a customized private train car.

Altogether, they make for an excellent story, one that is hard to put down. This is an author I will watch for. I hope newsman Kepler will return with new adventures in the west.

Kevin Wolf's Brokeheart (Northstar Editions 2017) is the story of a newspaper reporter (Kepler) who loses his job and ends up in the dilapidated mining town of Brokeheart Colorado, accepting an underpaid position on the local paper. His stories bring him to the attention of the town's wealthy landowner who hires him to oversee the building of his house (a bit of a leap of faith here: Why would I believe a newspaper writer could manage construction, but this is the old West--they didn't have a lot of choices back then). Because of the substantial pay raise, Kepler takes the job but can't let go of the mystery he's been pursuing behind a series of local deaths. Some have been murders, one a suicide, but all were unusual. As he works his new job, he continues to investigate and begins connecting the dots in ways that aren't good for his current career or his health.

Wolf's authorial voice is strong albeit a bit dark, but he puts you right into the atmosphere of a late 1800s Western town. I enjoyed following along, always curious about what would happen next.

--will be posted to my blog, WordDreams, 8/25/17