I’m a long-time fan of Keith Chapman’s Western novels about Misfit Lil, also known as Miss Lillian Goodnight. I recently read the third book in the series, MISFIT LIL FIGHTS BACK, originally published by Robert Hale Ltd. in 2007 under Chapman’s Chap O’Keefe pseudonym, reprinted in large print by Ulverscroft in 2008, and now available in e-book and trade paperback editions on Amazon with a cover by Michael Thomas that really captures the character.
Misfit Lil is an Arizona rancher’s daughter who was a tomboy growing up. She
prefers wearing buckskins to fancy dresses and is happiest riding the range and
getting into adventures. Her father sent her to a finishing school in Boston to
try to turn her into a lady, but it didn’t take. Even though she’s semi-estranged
from her father, she stays true to her nature when she returns home and can
usually be found getting mixed in one ruckus or another. She can outride,
outshoot, and outfight most men, but she’s definitely female and has a crush on
army scout Jackson Farraday, who considers himself too old for her and resists
her advances.
In MISFIT LIL FIGHTS BACK, all hell is breaking loose in Arizona Territory.
Cattle are being rustled, rifles are being smuggled to renegade Apaches, corruption
runs deep at the local Indian Agency, and a pair of hired killers show up
looking for a young man who’s involved with the local madam and a flashy
gambler. Lil has a couple of shootouts early on which get her neck-deep in this
whole mess. She’s convinced all of it is connected and is determined to uncover
the truth—if her investigation doesn’t get her killed first.
Chapman’s books are always fast-paced, but this one is a whirlwind! Lots of
action, a twisty but logical plot, and great protagonists in Lil and Jackson
Farraday. Chapman just keeps piling on the problems until it seems like it’s
going to take a real slam-bang climax to straighten everything out, and then
that’s exactly what he gives us.
I really enjoyed reading this book. If you’re a fan of traditional action
Westerns, I give it a high recommendation and hope that there’ll be more Misfit
Lil novels in the future.
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