Fighting Edge - Free Audiobook

The Fighting Edge is a Western novel by William MacLeod Raine, a prolific writer of frontier fiction, published in the early 1920s. Like much of his work, it mixes outdoor adventure with a clear moral struggle, set in the rough, thinly settled country of the American West.

The story centres on June Toliver, the fifteen-year-old daughter of Ben Toliver, and the two very different men who enter her life. Jake Houk is a big, domineering outlaw used to taking whatever he wants, and he has decided he wants June. Her only real friend is Bob, a shy and diffident young man who seems the least likely person to stand in Houk's way. At first the contest looks hopelessly uneven, but Bob slowly discovers the nerve the title promises, while June shows a stubborn courage of her own. Two rough-edged neighbours, Blister Haynes and Dud Hollister, also have a hand in events.

The book is as much about growing up and finding one's backbone as it is about gunplay, and Raine keeps the action moving with brisk chapters and plenty of tension. It will suit listeners who enjoy classic Westerns in the vein of Zane Grey or Max Brand, coming-of-age stories, and old-fashioned tales where quiet decency is tested against brute force.