THE LAST RIDE

Another earnest tale in a western setting from the CEO of the PR firm Hill & Knowlton. In this second volume of Eidson's American frontier trilogy (St. Agnes' Stand, p. 160), Christianity and Indian magic are pitted against each other in the rescue of a girl who has been kidnapped by a band of Apaches. When old warrior Samuel Jones appears at the Baldwin ranch, Brake Baldwin's wife, Maggie, is immediately hostile toward him. Although she initially refuses to acknowledge any relationship to Jones, she eventually admits that he is her father, who left her and her mother for an Indian woman when Maggie was still a child. Jones has come to reconcile with his daughter before his death, which looks to be imminent. When Maggie's elder daughter, Lily, is abducted, Jones goes after her with Maggie's younger daughter, Dot, tagging along. After trying to get her daughter to return home, Maggie eventually joins with Dot and Jones in their pursuit of Lily's captors. Although Maggie despises Indians and is devoutly Christian, Jones teaches Dot Indian magic, and together they discover Lily's whereabouts. They follow her trail to the Mexican border, but the lame Indian who is holding her is a pesh-childin, a witch, whose magic is very strong. The only way they can save themselves is with the even stronger magic of true Christian faith. While Christianity is the final victor, Maggie's distrust of Indians and Indian magic is challenged and eventually proven wrong. Eidson presents a system in which all beliefs are valid, if not equally so, and innocence is valued wherever it's found. Because the novel is merely a vehicle for this lesson, the characters are unnuanced puppets, and the plot is solid but uninspired. Eidson also stretches credibility on occasion, as when Maggie's hair shines in the sun after dusty days on the trail or in the seemingly endless depths of Jones's saddlebags. Larry McMurtry lite with a moral twist.