A Good Man to Have in Camp

Out on a ranch in the foothills, Jim Lander is trying to get his life in order. He's trying to put his divorce behind him so he can develop a relationship with Dusty, a nice young woman who lives in town. Things get complicated, though, when he doesn't resist temptations at the Trail's End, his favorite honky-tonk bar. To sort things out, he goes to the mountains. But even then, it takes the right combination to get things into balance. Nothing comes easy, but it is possible to find a good camp, up and away from it all, where the best light comes from the moon and the campfire.

This is John D. Nesbitt's second novel about life in the contemporary West. As in his other work, Nesbitt gives a realistic treatment to his materials. His characters are less than perfect, having been through divorce or similar mistakes and giving a hesitant try at romance. They live in a setting that Nesbitt writes about the best-small-town life, farm and ranch country, and the big outdoors where everyone has the right to look for a good camp. This is a lean, trim novel with a graceful prose style that will remind us of why we like to read.