Mesilla - Robert James Russell

I took a Westerns and Film Noir class in college (it was an elective for comparative something or other). I knew nothing about either genres having been a mostly contemporary fiction, 1800s British Literature, and fantasy novel reader up to that point. I was actually surprised by 1) how much the genres have in common, and 2) how much I liked both. Maybe I'm just a book nerd who likes reading whatever, whenever. But my old habits have stuck and I haven't picked up a western since even though I went to an awesome second hand bookstore in Riverside, CA in Florida where they were plentiful. (Was Lions a Western? - I digress). So I'm glad that this book came in a book mail box. It's really a novella, but pretty fascinating and at 113 pages, it was a book I feel like I could read again to tease out more of the narrative. In any case, it's 1863 and even though Everett Root should be fighting in the Civil War, he's not. Instead he's in New Mexico trying to get away from George, a one-time friend, turned enemy who is hell bent on catching and killing Everett. It's pretty clear early on that Everett has run out of options. I didn't have a good feeling about his chances. This random innocent side character won't be unnecessarily killed will she? I thought. I must have forgotten I was reading a western where the plot is as unforgiving as the terrain. Anyway, Everett has this idea he gets fixated on about a destination, Mesilla, and how it's the answer to his problems. Folks, the answer to your problem is never a destination. Especially if you have a festering wound and penicillin hasn't been invented yet. This books reminds me to step out of my genre comfort zones and so maybe next time I'm in a book store I'll wander over to the Westerns and try again. 4/5 Stars.