
The Last Ranch
A Novel of the New American West
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Narrated by:
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George Guidall
The grand saga of an American ranching family continues in The Last Ranch, the final, mesmerizing book of New York Times best seller Michael McGarrity's gripping and richly authentic American West trilogy.
When Matthew Kerney returns to his ranch in the beautiful San Andres Mountains after serving in Sicily during World War II, he must not only fight to recover physically and emotionally from a devastating war injury, but he must also battle attempts by the US Army to seize control of his land for expanded weapons testing.
Forced off public grazing lands, banned from gathering his cattle on high mountain pastures, and confronted by military police guarding a high security army post on the northern reaches of the range, Matt finds himself at the center of a heavy-handed government land-grab. The reasons behind this surge of secrecy and control become clear when Matt witnesses the boiling, blinding explosion of the first atom bomb at Trinity Site.
As he struggles with an aging, stove-up father no longer able to carry a heavy load at the ranch, an ex-convict intent on killing him, and a failing relationship with a woman he dearly loves, Matt must draw upon all his mental and physical resources to keep his world-and the people in it - from collapsing.
Following the New York Times best-selling Hard Country and its sequel Backlands, The Last Ranch enthralls with the deeply rich, sometimes heartbreaking Kerney family saga as it steps brilliantly into the mid-20th-century world of the new American West.
©2016 Michael McGarrity (P)2016 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...




















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but I decided to read the first one even though I am NOT a fan of westerns.
I am so glad that I did, because what followed was an engaging saga of the Kerney family beginning, I believe, at the end of the 19th century. The Last Ranch brings us close to the time when the mystery/crime series begins, except not quite... because Kerney does not yet have his limp from a rodeo injury....
So I hope there's more to come. Excellent book, excellent series.
Guidall is the narrator for this, just as he was for Tony Hillerman's books. Guidall is a real pro and does his usual superb job.
Glad McGarrity Switched
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Great Trilogy, Great Narration by George.
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A Great Finish
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Great Book!
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Great trilogy
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The narrator was perfect for the content a was consistent across the three books.
Very well done.
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Vibrant storytelling
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questions about Kevin. I felt like I had fallen off a cliff.
McGarrity is a grand writer and he could still prepare for another book by ending better.
Disappointing Ending after Riveting story
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The world that he has returned to has begun to change in a way that few understood at the time. The US Army is taking over land in the Tularosa basin. Most ranchers did not own the land that their cattle grazed on, but simply had land leases making it easier to move them off the land. The Kerney ranch grazed mostly on land that they owned and Patrick was determined to hold on to the ranch that his grandfather had built. They find themselves confronted by armed soldiers when they try to round up some strays that had drifted off their land. Their ranch is soon surrounded and they have to pass through military checkpoints when they leave or return. Once at the top of a ridge, they spot a high tower being built and concrete bunkers a long distance away. Matt witnesses the explosion of the first atom bomb and knows that it was not an accidental weapons storage explosion as the newspapers reported.
The book is a story of bringing all these things together around Matt’s story--the history of the area, the struggle to keep the ranch, a father who is no longer to help out as much as before, and struggles to find his place in the world along with his own personal relationships. And, it continues with his son Kevin, who like his ancestors also finds himself in the latest American war in Vietnam.
I didn’t feel that this was quite as good as the first two novels, but that’s not to say that it wasn’t a very good book. The plot was not artificial and seemed real. The author provides intimate details of the area and the history. One of the things I like about all three books is their historical and geographical accuracy. I was disappointed by the ending. Certainly a story can’t always resolve everything, but there was too much that was left hanging at the end. However, that may be because the author has already written a number of books about the last Kerney of these books, Kevin, who becomes a detective. These three books are prequels to give the family history of Kevin. Though I haven’t read any of those books, the prequels are good on their own.
The end of an era
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A beautiful story!
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