Customer Reviews

The Last Rodeo

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4 star:		(1)
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John Wayne brought TRUE GRIT to the screen...Hollywood style. Linda Sandifer goes much further, serving up hardy doses of the cowboy mettle in her latest novel, THE LAST RODEO.
If anyone wanted to be behind the scenes at a rodeo, with all the sights, sounds, smells, and pumping adrenaline; Ms. Sandifer doesn't disappoint. Even those retired from the circuit will, for a short while, find thenselves back into the metal chutes.
From the first chapter, Ms. Sandifer, captures the readers attention, never letting go. She delves deep into the soul of each charater rich with history, conflects, and flaws. Readers will fall in love with them as they struggle to exorsize their demons and learn what life is really all about.
Want True Grit? Read Linda Sandifer's novel, THE LAST RODEO. Her best work so far

At thirty-five, Dev Summers is at the end of his bull-riding career and wants only to retire to his family's Nevada ranch, but the simple, although hardworking, life he seeks is complicated by his father, Jake, an alcoholic bull-riding has been, a brother who fights a low self-esteem, and his long-time love for July Jones, a woman of strong character married to a worthless excuse of a man.
This book is more about the journey Dev Summers takes in seeking a life outside the rodeo circuit than it is about ranching and rodeo, but those of you who've experienced such a life will feel the reins in your hands and the sway of the horse beneath you, see and smell the mountain pines warmed by the sun and feel the wind as it ruffles the sage. Those of you who haven't, it'll make no difference for this contemporary novel is mostly about human frailtes and strengths, both of which are given free rein in the Last Rodeo. Enjoy!

Eunice Boeve, author of Ride a Shadowed Trail

This is an amazing book. I have read it several times now and have loved it each time. It is one of those rare pieces of work that haunt you long after you read it. Although the book is set in the West and written about rodeos and ranching, the themes and story are universal. I highly recommend it. I am sure that I will read it again and again!

Bull Riding is never a career one can do as an old man. "The Last Rodeo" tells of Dev Summers retirement from the game at thirty-five, a decision that drive a wedge between him and his family. Not helping matters is his growing affection for July Jones, a woman who exacerbates Dev's problems. Even worse, a foul plot of murder is afoot making the settlement of everything right a far more arduous task than it should be. A welcome addition to personal reading lists and community library collections, "The Last Rodeo" is a unique and highly recommended piece of western fiction.

Reader Alert--A knowledge of rodeos is not a prerequisite for enjoying Linda Sandifer's latest novel, "The Last Rodeo". Even if you are rodeo challenged, like me, but you enjoy strong, character-driven stories, then you're going to love this book. If you like contemporary stories about the complexity of families undergoing change and crisis, buy this one. It's all here--the sibling rivalry, ex-spouses tangling with new loves, estranged kids, and proud patriarchs, most of them chasing glory or bucks in all the wrong places. The twists and turns of Nevada ranch life are surprising, and it's got an ending you don't want to give away, except this: plan on reading the climactic scenes straight through. Linda's been known for her historical novels in the past, so this is a departure for her, and a journey well worth the read. She should gain a whole new following of readers with this one.

I usually give a book about 50 pages to grab me. If I haven't been pulled in by then, I put it down, never to pick it up again. This book grabbed me with the prologue and held me in its grip for the entire 258 pages. I had a hard time putting it down.

Rodeo is a grueling sport, and there comes a time in this rodeo cowboy's life when he realizes at age thirty five he is still a young man chronologically, but is getting too old to make the cut. He is competing against men fifteen years his junior who are more agile and haven't suffered the injuries and constant battering of the body that he has over the last several years; years that have taken their toll on body and spirit.

One doesn't have to be a rodeo fan or a rancher to enjoy this book. It transcends to life in general; it's about one man's quest to finally realize his true destiny--ranching, and the roadblocks certain members of his family place in his path. It's about the trials and treasures and decisions of life to which we all can relate in one way or another. There is enough conflict to hold the reader's interest, but not so much that it becomes wearisome.

Ms. Sandifer is a master at painting word pictures. Her descriptions put you right into the story. You visualize through the eyes of Dev, Baxter and July, the sagebrush ranges, the aspen and pine covered mountains on the Nevada ranch as they ride out to the mountain cabin headquarters. You experience their chill as Dev and July swim in the cold water of a pristine natural lake high in a mountain valley on the ranch. You grab the saddle horn as the cutting horse moves beneath you while it cuts cattle from the bunch to be branded and doctored. (A well trained cutting horse hardly needs a rider. It is trained to anticipate a bovine's move before the bovine does, and be there ahead of it.)

Her characters are very well developed. Men readers immediately fall in love with July Jones, and women admire her; you empathize with Dev in his struggle with the decision to retire from rodeo life; you feel disgust with Dev's father, Jake, a drunk and a has-been bull rider; you feel for Dev's pathetic younger brother as he walks in Dev's shadow; you have nothing but contempt for Buck, July's despicable husband, who doesn't want her, but doesn't want anyone else to have her either; and you bond with Baxter, the wise old patriarch of the family. This book is a good read containing much insight.

It's amazing how many lives can be influenced by one man's choice. In "The Last Rodeo," Dev Summer's decision to quit the rodeo throws his family into turmoil and sends him into the arms of a married woman he has secretly loved for years. This book pulled at the heart and left me feeling satisfied! The characters were so human, and their hardships kept me turning pages. The descriptions left me feeling like I had spent time riding horses on the ranch nestled in the shadow of the Nevada Jarbidge Wilderness. This book is going in my personal library, and I will read it again and again over the years to come.