Imagine only being able to go as fast as the four legs of a horse could carry you, like the horsepower in your car was turned down to one. Now imagine someone is hot on your trail, on a horse that could be just as fast—if not faster—than yours. The open country of the Wild West becomes a little more claustrophobic when a band of bounty hunters is on your scent.
Local author Bonnie Kelly, who goes by the penname B.A. Kelly, spent much time studying life as it was back in the Old West to accurately convey the time and place of her new novel, Wild Justice.
“It’s more than just a Western, it’s a story,” Kelly said of the book. “I did a lot of research, so the background is all authentic.”
But don’t confuse this new work with Kelly’s old book, Blessings, Bullets, and Bad, Bad Men, which was also a Western. Her first book is about a lone traveler who wakes up in the aftermath of a wild night, but Wild Justice is about friends making their way through the frontier world.
“It’s kind of a book about two buddies, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” she said. “There is plenty of likeable, good-natured banter between them.”
Kelly explained that the banter is important because it helps readers understand the men and their dichotomy. She wants her readers to get a strong sense of who Rin Cutter and Ben Santiago are.
“If [readers] don’t care about your characters, what’s the sense in reading the story?” she said. “Well, with the two men in Wild Justice, it’s the dialogue. Dialogue is really important; it’s the way they relate to each other and everyone else around them.”
Before we know it, the duo gets into some hot water: They end up killing Ty Madden—in self-defense, of course—during a poker game, and the minute the deceased’s father, Frank Madden, finds out, the hunt is on. Cutter and Santiago head for the hills in hopes of fleeing the vengeful, rich, and powerful Madden. Along the way, they make an unlikely friend.
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“They try to escape with this woman, Tory Trent, who is wanted, too,” Kelly explained. “They run away and, along the way, they meet all kinds of people: bounty hunters, Indians, and people from their pasts.”
Mystery meets the West meets classic chase stories in Wild Justice, but the real mystery is whether Cutter and Santiago will get away alive—and which one will end up with the girl. Kelly isn’t telling until her release party at Café Noir on March 1. Those who want to know will just have to pick up the book, which will be available at the book release and signing party, as well as on amazon.com, with links from Kelly’s website bonniekelly.com.
Arts Editor Joe Payne is the fastest pen in the West. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 6, 2014.