The Scarlet Riders

I'm on vacation for the next two weeks (finally!) and since I'm going to have a little more free time than usual, including a few days at a cottage, I'm gathering a little reading material for the trip.

A little something I bought on ebay found its way into my mailbox on Friday, just in time.  This is the first of seven books in the Scarlet Riders series, featuring one Corporal John Cavannagh.  I've never been a fan of westerns as such, as this book is labelled, but thought it would be interesting to read a story about an RCMP character from that era.

It'll be a fairly quick read; The book is only about 230 pages long.  I've only read the first chapter and already writer Ian Anderson does a good job of establishing the setting, including a mention of Custer campaigning against the Sioux at Black Hills to help clarify the time frame.

Somewhat surprisingly, Ian Anderson is actually Australian.  Based on the biographical information included in the back of the book, Anderson determined at a young age that he wished to become both a member of the RCMP and a writer.  It seems he accomplished both goals.  He has had postings in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, among others, which would become inspirational as settings for his Cavannagh character.

The entire Scarlet Riders series was released in the mid to late 80's.