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The Return of Kid Cooper

A Novel

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The Return of Kid Cooper

Written by: Brad Smith
Narrated by: Milton Bagby
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About this listen

In the style of Cormac McCarthy, a gritty tale of justice and revenge in the Wild West

The year is 1910.

Nate Cooper is an old-school cowboy. He sees the change brought by the turn of the century - horses giving way to motorcars, his girlfriend marrying his best friend, and his nemesis running for governor - and reckons none of it to be good. The west is being tamed, and with progress, some things are lost. But people? They tend to stay the same. Even after spending nearly 30 years in a Montana prison for a wrongful murder conviction, Nate’s moral compass is true and unwavering: He does all the wrong things for all the right reasons.

So when he returns to his northern Montana ranching town to find the Blackfoot Indians - the people he went to prison trying to defend - are still being cheated out of their territory by ranchers, Nate can’t rest on his laurels. With grit, determination, a quick trigger finger, and the help of the woman he used to love, Nate sets out to settle the score and force some justice in to the changing world. Before long, though, he will discover that justice doesn’t come cheap.

©2018 Skyhorse Publishing (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Ranch Mystery Western Fiction
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What the critics say

A Western Writers of America 2019 Spur Award Winner

“A compelling, action-packed romp through politics, romance, morality and history.” (Toronto Star)

What listeners say about The Return of Kid Cooper

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Profile Image for Don

First time for Brad

I enjoyed the book and the narration. Bit of a tear jerker, but a tough guy can hold it together.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Langer MD

Capable Tale Of Redemption

The plot threads in this story are sludgy and a little slow to come together (Brad Smith's pacing is noticeably subpar), but once the story - a mature plot involving unscrupulous/racist cattle barons, political maneuvering in the Montana Legislature, and unfair subjugation of the Blackfoot Indians  - gets going, it's an engrossing chronicle. Newly-released convict 'Nate "Kid" Cooper' reacquaints himself with old friends, old flames, and old conflicts.. and ends up renewing his purpose and discovering who he really is.
The vocabulary and prose are creditable, the dialogue is mostly realistic, and the descriptions are vivid, but Smith's real strength is characterization - motivations are legitimately relatable. If you are captivated by quality personality & relationship exposition (Drama/Romance novels), this book will be great for you. It's unfortunate that Smith doesn't understand Action and takes so long to get his point across.

Narrator Milton Bagby contributes to my "adequate" estimation of this book. To be sure, Blackstone Publishing did well to assign this book to Mr. Bagby (and provide commendable technical support), but his performance is professional yet unspectacular. Bagby's tone is spot-on and his voice-acting is truly praiseworthy - but he reads at a too-slow pace (set playback speed at 1.20X) and annoyingly overenunciates.

Taken altogether, I rate this largely plodding audiobook 6.5 stars out of 10. I actually wouldn't classify it as a 'Western' - it's more a Historical Drama. That said, if you can get it as a 'Plus' selection, it's a reasonably diverting option for a couple of quiet night shifts.. but spending a Credit on it would be a stretch.

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