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Larry & Stretch #1
Larry and Stretch 1: Drift!
Piccadilly Publishing, the Home of Great Western Fiction, celebrates Christmas 2016 by issuing no less than SIX new western series to its line-up ... LARRY AND STRETCH 1: DRIFT! BIG JIM 1: THE NIGHT McLENNAN DIED DRIFTER 1: SAVAGE McALLISTER 1: McALLISTER ON THE COMANCHE CROSSING BANNERMAN THE ENFORCER 1: THE ENFORCER CLAY NASH 1: UNDERCOVER GUN DRIFT! With amiable drifters Larry Valentine and Stretch Emerson as her escort, a beautiful redhead ran the gauntlet of death, travelling many a violent mile to give her testimony in court. Only the boss-outlaw had been captured. The rest of the Sharkey gang was still at large ... and gunning for her! Here was a test of nerve and strength, a challenge no Texan could ignore. When the danger was greatest, the drifters battled on, out-shooting the lawless and thumbing their noses at law and order! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Few writers are ever fortunate enough to number their books in the hundreds, but legendary Australian writer Leonard F Meares was one of them. When he died in 1993, Len could lay claim to more than 700 published novels -- 746, to be precise -- the overwhelming majority of which were westerns. Leonard Frank Meares was best known to western fans the world over as "Marshall Grover", creator of Texas trouble-shooters Larry and Stretch. He was born in Sydney, Australia, on 13 February 1921. The aspiring author bought his first typewriter in the mid-1950s with the intention of writing for radio and the cinema, but when this proved to be easier said than done, he decided to try his hand at popular fiction instead. Since a great many paperback westerns were being published locally, he set about writing one of his own. The result, Trouble Town, was published by the Cleveland Publishing Company in 1955. His tenth yarn, Drift!, (1956), introduced his fiddle-footed knights-errant, Larry Valentine and Stretch Emerson, the characters for which he would eventually become so beloved. And nowhere was the author's quirky sense of humor more apparent than in these action-packed and always painstakingly plotted yarns. Len never needed more than 24 hours to devise a new plot. "Irving Berlin once said that there are so many notes on a keyboard from which to create a new melody, and it's the same with writing on a treadmill basis." At his most prolific, he could turn out around thirty books a year. These included stand-alone westerns and western series such as Bleak Creek, Rick and Hattie and Rampart County. He also wrote a number of crime novels and romances.
- GenresWesterns
140 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2016
6 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Marshall Grover
678 books11 followersLeonard Frank Meares (13 February 1921 – 4 February 1993) was an Australian writer of western fiction. He wrote over 700 Westerns for the Australian paperback publishers Cleveland and Horwitz using the pseudonym "Marshall McCoy", "Marshall Grover", "Ward Brennan" and "Glenn Murrell".
Among his most famous characters were "Larry & Stretch", Larry Valentine and Stretch Emerson. In the United States (Bantam Books) they they were known as "Larry & Streak" (Larry Vance & Streak Everett)" and the in the Nordic countries they were known as "Bill & Ben".
-Wikipedia
Among his most famous characters were "Larry & Stretch", Larry Valentine and Stretch Emerson. In the United States (Bantam Books) they they were known as "Larry & Streak" (Larry Vance & Streak Everett)" and the in the Nordic countries they were known as "Bill & Ben".
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 21, 2017
This was my first read from Marshall Grover, 'Drift' is an enjoyable read, Larry and Stretch are likable characters and definitely will read more of his books.
The coolest thing with electronic e-books, is the gold mine available to readers, then you have publishers like Piccadilly Publishing who make long out of print series available again to readers, then you end discovering a gem 'Drift' and a new author to read.
'Drift' was originally published in 1956, Marshall Grover is a Australian author, it takes place in the mid-1800's based on the weapons, in the wild and wooly American West and involves two wily Texans.
Larry Valentine and Stretch Emerson are best friends, wily Texans they drift around the West, they aren't bashful, no backup and they skirt the line of being law abiding or getting into trouble.
Grover writes a good action packed tale, more like noir, since Drift also involves the Pinkerton's, a star witness, outlaws, a trial and a corrupt Sheriff.
Definitely give Marshall Grover a try, he's a worthy writer and you'll love these two wily Texans, along with the trouble they get in.
The coolest thing with electronic e-books, is the gold mine available to readers, then you have publishers like Piccadilly Publishing who make long out of print series available again to readers, then you end discovering a gem 'Drift' and a new author to read.
'Drift' was originally published in 1956, Marshall Grover is a Australian author, it takes place in the mid-1800's based on the weapons, in the wild and wooly American West and involves two wily Texans.
Larry Valentine and Stretch Emerson are best friends, wily Texans they drift around the West, they aren't bashful, no backup and they skirt the line of being law abiding or getting into trouble.
Grover writes a good action packed tale, more like noir, since Drift also involves the Pinkerton's, a star witness, outlaws, a trial and a corrupt Sheriff.
Definitely give Marshall Grover a try, he's a worthy writer and you'll love these two wily Texans, along with the trouble they get in.
February 12, 2017
This 1956 novel featuring two Texans in the 1800's American West was written by an Australian. I noted only one bit of Australian slang but there could be more which I didn't notice. It is a pretty straight forward story written in a simple, direct style which focuses on action not character development. A quick read rather than a great novel of the American west. The author, Leonard Frank Meares, wrote over 700 books for the Australian paperback trade. All or most were Westerns written under pen names.
May 17, 2017
This is an action packed, funny start to long lived western series. It's even more interesting to know it was written by an Australian in the 1950s. I highly recommend this book and will definitely be reading more.
December 8, 2016
Good action packed western novel. Lots of gunplay and a few smiles.
May 13, 2023
A fun read
This Western is a fast, fun read. The plot is tight and enjoyable. The characters are nicely drawn. Overall, this pulpy shoot'em up is a pleasure. If you like old-timey westerns, then this one is for you. Recommended.
This Western is a fast, fun read. The plot is tight and enjoyable. The characters are nicely drawn. Overall, this pulpy shoot'em up is a pleasure. If you like old-timey westerns, then this one is for you. Recommended.
November 16, 2022
I used to read these books many years ago and I still enjoyed it
March 22, 2017
nice start to the series, pretty much sets the tone for hundreds more Larry and Stretch stories(aka Larry and Streak when published by Bantam in the 1960's& 70's)!
December 12, 2016
Drift
This was a really good book. Has a lot of action and it is funny also. Those texans sure do get in a lot of trouble. Look forward to the next Larry &Stretch.
This was a really good book. Has a lot of action and it is funny also. Those texans sure do get in a lot of trouble. Look forward to the next Larry &Stretch.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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