This would for me be a 3.5 book (ah could we but give half stars). I don't rate it a 4 above as I didn't enjoy/like it as much as I have most to all of the books I rate 4 point... After all beyond that all that's left is a full 5. The book is much more of a romance than I look for. It reminds me that Zane Grey (whom I read more of in my teens and preteens has a very strong streak of romanticism in his writing. That accounts for my dropping the half star. It's just a personal point...I don't care for heavy romance.If you like you might sort of think of this as Romeo and Juliet in the old west...sort of. The feud that serves as the back drop for this story was a real one and was one of the bloodiest in American history. So far as I can find out the actual cause of this feud is lost to history (or at least I suppose an agreed on cause). The feud while probably not as well known as say the Hatfield McCoy feud (from my part of the world...my late wife was half Hatfield half McCoy) this is a well know feud and has been fictionalized elsewhere in books, movies and on TV (including an episode of Gunsmoke). In an afterward Grey mentions that one resident of the area told him that as far as he knew only one participant in either family actually survived (thus Mr. Grey's title). I don't know how many survivors there were/are who got out of the area and didn't participate.As I said this book is heavily a romance, but don't get the idea that this makes it a calm and easy read. there are still the bloody confrontations and fights that come off so real because of Grey's long suit, descriptive writing. While I might have preferred a story more about the feud and it's effects on the area around and western history in general rather than so much about Zane Grey's star crossed lovers, it's still a good book and a good read. Grey himself points out in his afterward that some of the scenes depicted in the book (especially a couple of the more violent ones) actually took place. So, a highly fictionalized romance placed in the midst of a bloody feud from American history. Strong characters, dialogue that's a bit dated (1920s) but still moving and effective and a well told story. I think I may even recommend it to a friend who particularly likes romance.
The reason I picked up this book was because I had just read the true story of the Arizona Pleasant Valley War and the real life feud between the Graham and Tewksbury families. I thought it would be interesting to read Zane Grey's fictionalized version of these events. However, his novel contains a gratuitous Romeo/Juliet love story that is pure fabrication and which I found distracting, amateurish and containing stilted dialogue. The real-life story is much more interesting and a better read. In this case, fact is indeed better than fiction.
