Along with my current obsession with all things Peckinpah, my current love of comics like JONAH HEX and THE LONE RANGER completely has reopened the doors to my passion for the Western. While it’s not an art form that’s dead, it’s definitely on life support in today’s pop culture, so anything to keep it alive is worth it in my book.

But the only way to do that is to take the same, tired, old Western clichés and punch them up enough to keep today’s audiences enthralled. Author Michael S. Katz does just that in his fresh and interesting take on the hunt-down-the-baddies story with Michael S. Katz’s SHALOM ON THE RANGE, which – if you’re smart enough to tell from the title – is Jewish-centric.

David Goldstein is a detective for the Kansas-Pacific Railroad and displays a keen intellect and a real nose for crime-solving. Too bad he has no idea about what’s it’s like in the wild West. When he’s sent on assignment to track down a group of bandits that not only robbed a train, but also killed its passengers, he teams up with two grizzled bounty hunters also on the case: a sarcastic Indian tracker and a lady Pinkerton.

Between gunfights and religious arguments, David also is attacked by a case of constipation from his first encounters with beans. Hey, in this story, it works.

While the history lessons and anti-Semitic prejudices can be a bit heavy-handed at times, it’s easily forgiven because SHALOM is just so damn entertaining. Katz has a very laid-back, matter-of-fact storytelling style that seems more suited for a film novelization than a real novel. As a matter of fact, this book is so ready-made to be transformed into a movie, I’m sure you’ll see this on TNT soon enough.

Recommended if you’re on a Western kick like me or just looking for some current lit to draw you back in. –Louis Fowler

Buy it at Amazon.