Review: The Legend of Deputy Jim by Dan E. Hendrickson

Brimming with the rustic energy of the west, The Legend of Deputy Jim by author Dan E. Hendrickson is a story within a story that will rope you in faster than a rodeo show.

Founded on unusual storytelling exposition, this book details the long-winded legend of Jim Edwards, who begins this story as a superstar athlete and humble young graduate with his eyes on one thing: law enforcement. However, his journey is far from easy, and anything but typical.

Before he even begins his time on the force, Jim has mixed it up with the local biker gang that runs much of the illicit activity around Sheridan County, Wyoming. He leaps into the heart of danger and justice, despite having a young wife and son – Linda and Jacob – to consider.

Quickly introduced to the rougher side of the law, including the sheriff occasionally passing out a beating to those who deserve it, Jim begins to understand what the daily grind of law enforcement really looks like. As always, his intellect, physical abilities, temper and brewing ambition are hard to keep down.

Towing the line between taking informed risks and being reckless with his own life, Jim is a wild card, a bubbling pot of energy who makes for an excellent protagonist. He is a continual thorn in the side of the Wild Wolves Biker Gang, who would like nothing more than to punch his final ticket. The “legend” of Deputy Jim certainly earns its name, as the climactic moments of this book often veer into the unbelievable – tall tales, indeed.

From the heart of biker gang heists to procedural scenes in courtrooms, this story is comprehensive, providing a full picture of Jim Edwards’ time with the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Department. It never loses its colloquial charm, and the rugged charm of Wyoming is on full display. There is something to be said for an author being thorough, but there are some moments and sections of the book that do feel unnecessary.

The narration is too frequently declarative, often expressly telling what characters are doing or thinking, while at other points, the story progresses more like a novel. This vaguely shifting voice can be distracting, compounded by the dialogue varying in its believability, with some exchanges coming across as authentic, and others reading like overwrought attempts to progress plot minutiae. The inexorable buildup to the final showdown maintains the tension throughout the story, but this tall tale occasionally feels too fictional to be believed.

Although it isn’t always clear why the extended story of Jim Edwards is couched within the bookends of the modern day, the inclusion of young Jacob Edwards in some of the events may offer some explanation, but it’s an odd launch point nonetheless. Generally speaking, the story is engaging, the key characters are vividly depicted, and the lines of good and bad are occasionally blurred, giving readers a bit to think about, even in a book that mainly amounts to some good old-fashioned shoot-em-up fun.

With the right tweaking, including adjustments to sentence structure and grammar, Hendrickson’s novel could be elevated to a truly “legendary” level, along with its protagonist. That said, at its core, The Legend of Deputy Jim is an entertaining western with a stellar lead character.