Customer Reviews

The Missouri Riders

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After John Dee Tyler's Dad dies, he and his mom learn that the bank is going to foreclose on their farm. It seems there's a new manager who claims the note has gone unpaid for eight months. With no work available in the area John Dee hatches a plan with his two best friends Billy Ray Matthews and Tom Ballard.
As Billy Ray puts John's plan, "Now let me see if I got this straight. We find a bank, go play Jesse James, rob a bank to pay a bank, then come home and eat apple pie. Yeah, I like it! I'm in."
With the agreement struck and made, the three Missouri riders head south to Lexington, where, as legend has it, the James and Younger gang once robbed the very same bank they've targeted.
The robbery goes smoothly. No one is hurt and the boys make a clean getaway. Now all John Dee has to do is be patient and wait the 45 days before making the payment. No sense in hurrying matters and making everyone suspicious.
What John Dee doesn't know is that the new bank manager, Mr. Matting, already had plans for the Tyler farm, and when he pays the note, as they say in Missouri, all hell breaks loose.
With a sense of place that takes the reader easily back to those pre-twentieth century days when life was more simple but perhaps harsher in its demands, George Banks adeptly presents his story of three young men caught up in a tangled web of guilt and fear mixed well with a youthful need to have some fun.
With the Pinkertons investigating and getting closer, the boys make a hard decision. They'll go to San Antonio where a rancher they know is putting together a trail drive. By the time they finish working for him, it'll be safe to return home and see how things are going. Thus begins the exciting adventures of these Missouri riders.
George Banks certainly knows his subject, and the characters he creates are right out of the faraway past. As for history, he paints a picture so true to the times it's easy to "suspend disbelief" and live the tale with these three boys. A tale of life and adventure that make this book a pleasure to read for anyone at any age. Interspersed with pieces of historical fact, the book also serves as a good research tool.
I'm fascinated when John Dee explains how the original pioneers used a combination of feathers and wooden wedges and shims to pry great lengths of limestone apart before soaking them in water a couple of days and cutting them to needed lengths to build limestone fences on the treeless plains. This is just one of the many things I learned in reading this captivating book.
Velda BrothertonFly with the Mourning Dove

The Margin
Life was tough for almost everyone after the Civil war. The economy was devasted, food supplies were depleated because both armies confiscated everything in their path just to survive. Homesteaders starting new lives prior to the war lost land, homes and businesses. Post war chaos opened the door to unscrupulous people who made their fortunes on the back of the pioneer. This is where The Missouri Riders begins. John Dee's mom is about to loose her farm to the bank. In despiration John Dee enlists the aid of two very close friends, all three men of good character. But, influenced by the emotion provoked by the apparent criminal confiscation of his mother's farm John Dee, Tom and Billy rob a bank. Motive, of course, to pay the mortgage. From this point the author, George Banks takes us through hard times and adventure as he pens this wonderful story of the three friends eluding the consequences of their unlawful deed.

I just finished reading The Missouri Riders and would highly recommend it to everyone. I am not normally a Western reader, but this story hooked me from the beginning. The characters become "real" people as you read along and you become invested in their lives and the outcome. Be prepared to read for great periods of time as you will NOT want to put this book down!

Linda Brookshier, Missouri

I have been reading nothing but mystery novels so when a friend recommended this I was a little reluctant about a western holding my attention. I honestly can say that the characters are people you can relate to, you feel their joy and pain. I have family in that area of the country and I have actually seen the places the writer describes and I felt like I was really there with these men in the story. The book is well written and I would recommend it to anyone who loves history mixed with a real old west adventure.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning. Not only do the characters seem real, but with every chapter I couldn't wait to find out what happens next. The way the author inserts historical trivia and information is so very interesting. I highly recommend this book to everyone. This is the kind of book you can really get into even if Westerns aren't normally the type of book you read.

Oye. A terrible, poorly written book. Phrasing was repetitive. The story line predictable. The dialogue stilted. The attempt at period personality contrived.

The Missouri Riders

I read a review copy and found it to be surprisingly entertaining. As opposed to the old "shoot-em-ups", it had plot and plot twists that held my attention throughout. Not only that, but it mentioned some old towns in Missouri that my grandfather had talked about.

In a way, the book is a strange combination of suspense, everyday heroism, and the faults and fallacies of real people. It was a good read.

This book is thankfully a quick read! It is trite, predictable,uninteresting and without any interesting twists. The writing style is simplistic. The main characters rob a bank, hit the road to avoid investigation, have a fun time on the trail, grow up, have the good luck to buy some land that has oil on it so that they can pay back the money to the bank. They are good boys. One gets married. Nobody dies. Nobody suffers significantly from their initial indiscretion. BORING!!!

Great book. I don't normally read westerns, but the title caught my attention. The book had suspense, romance, drama and humor. I would definately recommend this one.

I am not a fan of westerns but I received a copy of this book from a family member and once I opened it on the plane, I couldn't put it down. The characters are great and the story moves pretty quickly. I was captured by the plot and descriptions of the areas.
I would recommend this book to anyone, lovers of westerns or not.

When the sequel comes out, I will be buying a copy or two.

Rick