In "Last Sunrise," John Chadwell gives the reader the whole package. A contemporary novel set in the American West, "Last Sunrise" has elements of the best Romance fiction along with those of the classic western.
There is plenty to engage the reader's interest here. The suspenseful storyline encompasses the struggles of a small ranch operator to stay afloat despite the hurdles placed in his way by the bigger, manipulative landowner who has already swallowed up most of his operation.
Chadwell also presents his audience with complex moral issues, such as whether it is all right to perform a mercy killing on someone who is hopelessly trapped in a burning vehicle, facing an even more hideous and painful death.
Chadwell also presents his audience with complex moral issues, such as whether it is all right to perform a mercy killing on someone who is hopelessly trapped in a burning vehicle, facing an even more hideous and painful death.
The author writes movingly of his characters' connection to the land, whether they own it or are just traveling through it. Even more movingly, he portrays the love between a man and his wife of many years, who is dying from the effects of a devastating terminal illness. All of this is shown through the eyes of characters who are so realistically drawn that the reader can picture sitting down to coffee or sharing a campfire with them.
This is the first work of Mr. Chadwell's that I have read. It won't be the last. -- R. Dunbar
