Book Review -- "The Trail West"

     The book that I am reviewing today is a vast departure from the type of books that I normally read.  I rarely, rarely, ever read Western novels, but I decided to read "The Trail West" by William Johnstone because the library reference computer said that there was a dog who was a major character in the novel.
     This novel is about a cowboy named Monahan who is being chased by two outlaw brothers because Monahan killed their brother a few years back.  Monahan is now in Arizona Territory circa 1870.  Monahan first meets the dog, whose name is Blue, when the dog finds Monahan and leads him back to a farm where Monahan finds a family killed by the Apaches.
     During the course of the novel, Monahan meets a young cowboy and a girl fleeing her abusive uncle.  This group will finally encounter the outlaws and continue to make their way West.
     I have to say that the dog was a good character in the book.  He bailed everyone out of danger on a number of occasions.
     The dog is the only reason I liked this book.  I did not think it was well written at all.  I know this is a famous Western writer, but I just didn't find the writing well done.  Also, the ending is odd.
     If you like Westerns and dogs, you will probably like this book.  From this point, I think that I will resume my habit of not reading very many Westerns.