BIG BEND DEATH TRAP: A Texas Ranger Cody Havlicek Story

Book Review by Ellsworth T. Kincaid, SASs Life / Regulator #6037

Big Bend Death Trap is a traditional Western along the familiar lines of Louis L'Amour novel. Family man and Texas Ranger Cody Havlicek is assigned by Captain James Blawcyzk to clear up several murders two other Rangers failed to solve - failed because they were killed in the line of duty. A number of individuals, including the two Texas Ranger and a prominent, big cattle operator have been killed in Brewster County. And those murders remain a mystery. Ranger Havlicek is the only man for the job, a job that at first glance appears hopeless and even suicidal. As any Ranger would do, Havlicek readily takes the assignment.

Havlicek, on his trusty steed, a large chestnut paint gelding named Yankee, makes for Brewster County. Along the way, the Ranger comes across a young boy, left for dead by a miscreant that had stolen the boy's horse. Staying over in the town of Haggerty, it doesn't take long for Havlicek to find the stolen horse, ridden hard with bloody spur gouges on her flanks. In the saloon, Havlicek crosses paths with horse thief and his friends.

"I'm lookin' for the hombre ridin' that brown mare out front."
"I'm the man who owns that mare. What of it?"

Of course, those are tall words for a horse thief backed by several gunslingers. The reader encounters Cody Havlicek's blazing six-guns, and it won't be the last time.

Whether Texas Ranger Cody Havlicek solves the murders or not is left up to the reader to discover. But his trials and tribulations along the way make for a good read.

James J. Griffin writers with a good knowledge about the Old West. This book has plenty of action, shooting, a strong hero, and several dangerous men, some of which come as a surprise, but a good twist always makes for a better story.

Like Louis L'Amour, Griffin does not use foul language, sex or overly graphic violence in Big Bend Death Trap, making this suitable for all ages.

Griffin is the author of the Texas Ranger Jim Blawcysk series of Western novels. Griffin is a lifelong horseman, Western enthusiast and unoffiical historian of the Texas Rangers. He has contributed an extensive collection of Texas Ranger artifacts to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas.