This tenth volume of Hambly's series has Benjamin January accompanying the lawman Abishag Shaw out west. Way out west, where both England and America claim the land (this takes place just as the Oregon Trail opens up and America begins to try to usurp the territory by filling it with settlers, while the Hudson Bay Company discourages settlement because it's bad for the fur trade) and justice is dealt by private violence because there is no government. Shaw is seeking the murderer of his brother. It's a somewhat convoluted plot, but Hambly resolves it clearly and satisfactorily. Meanwhile the life in the camp of the fur traders is vividly depicted. The native tribes, the mountain men, Mexicans, Americans, British HBC men, and even an English tourist all are interesting characters and true to life. I would have enjoyed the book just for the camp scenes without any plot at all. I only wish there had been a map. I was trying to locate the fur traders' Rendezvous by internal clues: south of Yellowstone, rivers mentioned include the Platt and the Popo Agie. Finally I found that during the three years immediately after the dissolution of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company (which takes place before the events in the story), the gathering known today as the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous took place in Daniel, Wyoming, halfway between Pocatello ID and Lander WY, and yes, due south of Yellowstone. So now I know. ( )

The Shirt on his Back is the tenth in a series featuring Benjamin January, a "free man of colour" living in 1830s New Orleans. While each book in the series can stand alone, it makes more sense to read them in order, as they build on each other.

John Shaw, the younger brother of Lt. Abishag Shaw, was murdered a year ago while working at a rendezvous camp in the Rockies, where the fur trappers meet to barter or sell their furs to the various trading companies. There is no official justice to be had in the area, so Shaw sets off for the rendezvous camp, asking Ben January to come with him as assistance. Ben jumps at the chance, as the Bank of Louisiana has just failed, taking the last of his savings with it.

For me at least, the mystery took a backseat to the description of life in the rendezvous camp, including background details like the infighting between the various trading companies. In particular, various Native American tribes are encountered, with varying attitudes to the trappers, and the future american homesteaders they are the forerunners of.

It is a fascinating setting, completely different from the highly stratified society of New Orleans at the time, which makes a change from the previous books in the series.

I really love these books, particularly the atmosphere and tiny details which let you understand the nuances of the 1830s society and life.

Why I picked it up: Tenth in a series that I'm enjoying. ( )

I'll go back to this one, in which Benjamin January goes to the Rocky Mountains -- I didn't get to finish before I had to return it to the library, because of eye surgery and temporary difficulty with reading.

Barbara Hambly is one of my favourite authors and with good reason. Her Benjamin January novels are wonderful. This book is different than the previous in this series. Up to now all the books have been set in early 1800 New Orleans. For those that don't know Benjamin January is a free black man living in New Orleans. Always looking over his shoulder as he tries to live his life because there are so many that don't believe he's a free black man and think instead that he is an escaped slave. In this book Benjamin, his friends Abishag Shaw and Hannibal Sefton head west. January is going to help his friend Shaw, find the person who killed his younger brother. They find themselves in a summer camp full of fur traders and trappers smack dab in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. Ms. Hambly's description of life in 1837 in a trapper's summer rendevous is so realistic. We have trappers spending their trapping money on whores and rotgut liquor. We have hostile Indian tribes who will stop at nothing to achieve their vengeance against the white man. January and his friends find themselves right in the middle of a deadly vengeance quest that puts them all in peril. I love the realistic characters and setting in this book. It is a stunner for anyone who likes to read tales of the real old west realistically told. ( )

The mystery itself was not engrossing but the depiction of the Trappers Rendezvous was. I just read Steven Pinker's new book http://www.librarything.com/work/11148288/book/79219123 The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined and this story set less than 200 years ago illustrates his theme wonderfully. Shaw's commitment to a system of justice is moving, i hope Hambly writes more about him. ( )