Review of THE LAST RANGER
Another well crafted mystery set in the Big West that has something to say ...
Peter Heller’s most recent effort at blending mystery, nature and romance is his best yet. His previous work, THE GUIDE, was flawed both in design and in characterization but was a joy to read because of his writing. Nature is in good hands with Heller and the good news is that THE LAST RANGER shares only minimally the weaknesses of his earlier work. Quite a while ago I wrote that I am always on the lookout for a formulaic novelist who is a great writer first and foremost. In bygone days, Ross McDonald often fit the bill and recently John Banville’s expansion into “entertainments” also qualifies. Heller’s sentences are often as crisp as the mountain air of his settings. THE LAST RANGER examines the collision of worlds: nature and humans being the greater context and “blue” and “red” sensibilities being the other. Wending its nefarious way through this world, acting as the catalyst of al
l collisions, is money. A nutritious airplane read, Peter Heller’s latest offers the joy of finding a writer who knows what he is doing and does it with restraint and art.