Dusk in Del Rio

The conventions of the western are followed faithfully in Hassett's debut novel, which boasts some rousing shootouts in which the mettle of the out-of-place Eastern transplant is tested, found wanting, and then stiffened according to a romanticized if clich%C3%A9d view of life in the frontier town of Del Rio, Tex. Young Jim Rutley is shamed at the hands of villainous gunslinger Brock Lacey, but learns the ways of the gunslinger though the benevolent tutelage of a mysterious ranch owner, Don Jos%C3%A9. Jim's works to learn how to handle a gun and regain the admiration of his love, Jean Fargo, even as rival suitors challenge his romantic ambitions. The gunfight scenes pack some action and tension, especially the showdown between Rutley and Lacey, but the novel often suffers from overly labored prose.