ΤσάντρυΈνας Λ'Αμούρ κάπως διαφορετικός από τα συνηθισμένα, μιας δω έχουμε να κάνουμε με μια αστυνομική ιστορία που εκτυλίσσεται σε μια μικρή πόλη της Άγριας Δύσης, Μάρσαλ της οποίας είναι ο πρώην κτηνοτρόφος και γελαδάρης Μπόρντεν Τσάντρυ. Μια μέρα σαν όλες τις άλλες το πτώμα ενός άντρα ανακαλύπτεται στην μέση του δρόμου και ο Τσάντρυ καλείται να βρει ποιος ήταν και ποιος τον σκότωσε. Θα μου πείτε οι σκοτωμοί μόνο ασυνήθιστο φαινόμενο δεν ήταν τότε μ'όλους τους μαχαιροβγάλτες, τους κλέφτες, τους πιστολάδες και τους μεθύστακες, αλλά ο συγκεκριμένος άντρας φαινόταν πλούσιος και ο Τσάντρυ κατάλαβε ότι σκοτώθηκε εν ψυχρώ και όχι σε κάποια μονομαχία ή σ'έναν τσακωμό μεταξύ μεθυσμένων. Και δυστυχώς για τον Τσάντρυ και την σχετικά ήσυχη πόλη του, οι φόνοι δεν θα σταμάταγαν μονάχα σ'αυτόν του άγνωστου άντρα, αλλά θα συνεχίζονταν. Ποιος ήταν ο δολοφόνος; Ένας ξένος ή ένας κάτοικος της πόλης; Το μεγαλύτερο μέρος της ιστορίας εκτυλίσσεται στην μικρή πόλη και μιας και βασικό θέμα είναι η αστυνομική έρευνα μερικών φόνων, λείπουν οι μάχες μεταξύ κτηνοτρόφων ή ιδιοκτητών γης ή το κυνηγητό αδίστακτων πιστολάδων κλπ, που είναι βασικά θέματα των ιστοριών του Λ'Αμούρ. Δεν λείπουν όμως οι πυροβολισμοί, οι σκηνές έντασης, το μυστήριο και γενικά η δράση. Το μυστήριο είναι αρκετά ενδιαφέρον και σε κρατάει μέχρι το τέλος, θα πρέπει να έχεις διαβάσει πολλές σελίδες μέχρι να προβλέψεις με σχετική ασφάλεια τον δολοφόνο, και πάλι όμως χωρίς να είσαι σίγουρος αν τον βρήκες. Η ατμόσφαιρα είναι σούπερ και η γραφή όπως πάντα πολύ καλή, χωρίς περιττές λεπτομέρειες και φιοριτούρες. Γενικά πρόκειται για ένα πολύ καλό αστυνομικό γουέστερν που θα ικανοποιήσει τους φαν του συγγραφέα.
A dead body on the streets wasn’t really an unusual occurrence. It happened all the time - drunken brawlers stabbed or shot each other without asking anyone’s permission. But this body was unusual. For one, it was nattily dressed – except for the shirt which was far too large for the body. For seconds, it had been shot not just once, but twice. And one of those bullets had been fired from behind…Borden Chantry, town marshal, doesn’t want there to be a mystery about this man. He just wants to bury the corpse and be done with it. But his conscience won’t let him – as lawman, it is his duty to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death – murder – of this stranger. His ferreting turns up suspicious evidence not only relating to the unexpected deaths of several civilians, but also that of the former town marshal.Can Chantry discover who this killer is before he becomes the next corpse?Discussion.I’ve read about a dozen Louis L’Amour by now. Some read like historical novels, others like survival stories, and a good half like bang-em, ride-em westerns. While all of them feature mysterious elements (Who was the rider? Who shot the gun?), Borden Chantry was more self-consciously constructed as a mystery novel. As the story begins we are given a dead body, and for the rest of the story, rancher-turned-sheriff-turned-detective Chantry tries to unravel the mystery of the murdered man’s identity and the motive for his demise.I won’t say that I outright guessed who the murderer was. I actually had another pet suspect in mind. But I had also felt that there was something fishy about the character of the individual who turned out to be the murderer.I don’t think it will spoil the story if I say that my enjoyment of the book was doubled by the cameo appearance of the Sackett clan. Although I’ve only read one Sackett story (The Sackett Brand) I loved the fierce family bonds that were depicted in that story, and they reappeared in this one. Nobody messes with the Sacketts and lives to tell about it.I also liked this quote on page seventy-nine.“Some people believe the law to be a restriction . . . It is a restriction only against evil. Laws are made to free people, not to bind them – if they are the proper laws. They tell each of us what he may do without transgressing on the equal liberty of the other man.” [pg. 79]Conclusion. Good – as a mystery lover I really enjoyed this western/mystery mashup.Visit The Blithering Bookster to read more reviews!www.blitheringbookster.com
What do You think about Borden Chantry (1988)?
I haven't managed to get to the library for a few weeks, so I'm ready to pick up any unread book in sheer desperation. Sure sign of a book addict. I was pleasantly surprised at the good writing and character evocation in this formulaic book, yes its a Western, but there were real human characters in it, and the action while predictable, chugged along nicely without any special effects. I don't think I would go out and find another Louis Lamour book to read - but at least I didn't throw it away in disgust!Borden Chantry is the sheriff of a town when there is a spate of murders, and a couple of attempts on himself..so, you have cattle, mining, horses, and so on..all predictable but well written and believable.
—Susan
My cousin gave me a whole crate of Louis L'Amour books. I'd never heard of him. So, his books have hundreds of millions of copies in print, and he was the first novelist to receive the Congressional Gold Medal (1983) and he also received the Medal of Freedom from President Reagan (1984). This is the first book I've ever read in the Western genre unless you count Shane assigned in 7th grade. It was decent beach reading. Borden Chantry is a marshal in a small town who needs to solve a series of murders. The most gripping moment for me was when he got stuck in a cave. It was also amusing that there was a character named "Big Injun" who says helpful things like "Me see 'um. Go north."
—Tucker
This book reads like someone took a list of western cliches and crossed them off one by one. At a small 169 pages, this book still manages to be long and drawn out. Approximately 140 of them are spent wandering from person to person while Borden scratches his head and says "I'm just not cut out to be a sheriff" and "It was murder." The culprit is pretty obvious from the start, but once revealed the motives for the crimes make little sense. Like it was written in magic marker, this story began evaporating from my mind before I even set the book down.
—Karl H.
