Entwined Paths


Fiction - Western
246 Pages
Reviewed on 06/16/2013
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Kathryn Bennett for Readers' Favorite

"Entwined Paths" by Tell Cotten takes you into Texas in 1872. A stagecoach is robbed, a young woman is taken, and two men are killed in the robbery. Yancy and Cooper Landon are soon in pursuit of the men who did it. Elsewhere the Landons' enemy Lee Mattingly is dealing with problems of his own. Betrayed, he sets out for vengeance. Along the path for that revenge he tries to help a young girl who is being held captive. Once Lee and the Landons cross paths they realize just how entwined the paths they are on are, and that they will have to go together.

Tell Cotten has written a fun fast-paced western that anyone who is a fan of the genre will enjoy. I have not read the first book in this series. However, I plan to go back and do that now. This could be a good stand alone. I enjoyed it even not having read the first. My favorite character is Lee; he might be different from Yancy and Cooper but I have always been drawn to the revenge-styled western men. The writing that Tell Cotten does is entertaining and everything is laid out in a way that makes the story flow. It has been a while since I have read a western that truly kept me as engaged as this one did. I could almost feel the heat and the dust from the wild west on my face. I would recommend this book to anyone who is ready to grab a six shooter and head out on for some adventure.

Paul Johnson

"Entwined Paths" by Tell Cotten starts off with a bang when a gang decides to rob a stagecoach. An ambush is set up and to stop the coach, a sniper shoots the horses and then two men, the driver and guard. Most of the passengers are left unharmed but one young woman is kidnapped for insurance. In a short while, Texas lawmen Yancy and Cooper Landon ride out to see what has happened. They realize they must separate temporarily with Yancy taking the coach to town and Cooper leading the chase for the bandits to capture them and free the hostage. Meanwhile, an old foe, outlaw Lee Mattingly, has problems of his own. First he is betrayed by his outlaw partners, and then he befriends a young woman who has been held captive. Lee’s plan is to set out on a path of vengeance but he must first help the young girl. As fate sometimes has it, when their trails cross, both groups realize that their paths have indeed become entwined. And, they soon realize that if they are to achieve their goals, they will have to go down the same path together.

"Entwined Paths" is a very well-written western. The story line is good and the plot is very well-developed. The characterization is strong, showing the flaws and strengths of both the good guys and the bad. There is some violence as with most western stories but the author weaves an excellent tale without the use of excessive gore, bad language and sexual situations. The only drawback is that the story ends rather abruptly perhaps with the intention of setting up the next book in the series. Overall this is a very easy story to follow and was a pleasure to read.

Trudi LoPreto

“Entwined Paths” by Tell Cotton is set in Texas in the year 1872. We find some good cowboys, some bad cowboys and a couple of Indians. A stagecoach is robbed, the driver is killed, a young girl is kidnapped, and the action begins. Yancy and Cooper Landon, the good guys, take to their horses and try to catch up with the stagecoach robbers. Along the way they encounter Lee Mattingly, a character from their past. He is chasing down the crew who didn’t give him his share from a recent bank robbery and are holding a young girl they found alone and scared against her will. Yancy, Cooper and Lee realize that since their paths are so entwined they should work together to save the two girls and see justice performed to the outlaws.

Tell Cotton provides us with lots of suspense, excitement and good old cowboy and Indian action in “Entwined Paths”. If you are a western genre fan please don’t miss reading Tell Cotton’s books. This is the second book in the 'Landon Legacy series', but if you haven’t read “Confessions of a Gunfighter” you will not be confused or disappointed in the book; it stands highly on its own merit. I found myself drawn back into the “Old Wild West Days” and being pulled right into the story. I couldn’t help but cheer on the good guys and boo the bad guys. Tell Cotton is a five star author and I can’t wait to share in the next adventure of Yancy and Cooper on book number three. I am certain we will be hearing a lot more about my favorite author for a long time. This is a great five star story – it won’t disappoint.

Jack Magnus

"Entwined Paths" is the second book in Tell Cotton's 'Landon Saga Series'. Yancy and Cooper Landon have built a reputation for bringing swift justice to the lawless lands of Texas in the 1800s. In "Entwined Paths", they are on the trail of two brothers, Cliff and Rusty Curtis, and their crew, who robbed a stagecoach in a particularly violent manner, leaving two men from nearby Midway dead and taking Jessica Tussle, a cattle baron's niece hostage. Rusty was injured in the shootout, however; and his brother delays the gang's plans to leave the area to find a doctor. One of the crew is Brian Clark, an older man who doesn't really belong with the rest. He has been on both sides of the law and has become Jessica's guardian. Yancy and Cooper have set out after them, accompanied by Jessica's uncle and another townsman. At the same time, Lee Mattingly, another gunman who has been on both sides of the law, is following the trail of the Oltman Brothers, who delivered an Indian woman to him in lieu of his share of the proceeds from a bank robbery.

"Entwined Paths" is an exciting, well-written Western. Tell Cotton weaves three different tales into an engrossing plot and a satisfying conclusion. His characters are complex, both the heroes and the villains, but my favorites were Lee Mattingly and Brian Clark. Their duality rings true in a time like this when local lawmen often ended up buried in the local cemetery. The uneasy truce they forge with the Landon Brothers is likely to be tested further in future books in 'Landon Saga', and I'm looking forward to reading more about them.

Maria Beltran

The novel begins with a robbery, in 1872 in Texas – a stagecoach is ambushed resulting in the deaths of two men, and the kidnapping of a woman named Jessica. One of their men is also wounded. While all of this is going on, one of the men, Stew, is hatching a plan to create a different outfit. With this incident, brothers Yancy and Cooper Landon are set on their trail to pursue the outlaws. In another part of the area, outlaw Lee Mattingly is left with a woman in exchange for shares he has been robbed of by other crooks he rode with. He sets out to help the young girl and to run after the Oltmans, but his path crosses with the Landons. They ultimately discover that they should go down the same way in order to get what they each need.

“Entwined Paths” is a fantastic period novel filled with action-packed and fast-paced events that readers will not want to miss; this mystery novel may just be what readers with adventurous hearts are looking for. From page one, there is nothing but running and hiding, as well as figuring out what moves other men are going to make. Yet, even the readers can be surprised at the outcomes and revelations woven seamlessly into the narrative. There are no cardboard characters such as those in plain good vs. evil stories, as our heroes are presented with a 360 degree view that gives them depth and makes them likeable – yes, even some of the villains. This book is an entertaining read!