With The Last Rancher: A Novel, a family saga and contemporary western set on a ranch in southwest Kansas, Robert Rebein adds his distinctive voice and vision to those of an earlier generation of fiction writers of the American West that includes Larry McMurtry, Louise Erdrich, Cormac McCarthy, Thomas McGuane, and Annie Proulx.
Leroy Wagner has given his heart and soul to the Bar W Ranch. He knows no other way. His wife, Caroline, born in the city, struggles with the loneliness of marriage to a man committed first to his land. When tragedy robs them of their first-born, the handsome and talented Wade, it's all either can do to face the world.
Their second-born, Michael, attempts to fill his brother's shoes, and their only daughter, Annie, searches for a way to reconcile her love for the Bar W with her feeling that she must flee it if she is to survive. Finally, there's Jimmy, the Wagners' unplanned replacement child, born too late into a world of broken hearts.
When a near-fatal accident befalls Leroy, the Wagner children must return to the Bar W to save the ranch and what remains of their family ties. Secrets are unearthed. Truths are told. Consequences are faced.
Featuring a well-drawn setting full of complex male and female characters, The Last Rancher is a perfect read for the beach or for book club selection.