Good Nature

Fourteen-year-old Jimmy "Little" McLeod leaves home determined to prove he can make his own way in the world. What he finds instead is a trail of stolen cattle, buried secrets, dangerous men, and more trouble than any boy ought to handle.

After joining good-natured rancher Ule Anderson and his Shoshone wife, Lydia, Little is drawn into a deadly scheme involving powerful cattleman Robert Fulbright. With Ule and Lydia gone, their young son Sam and infant daughter are left with nothing—and Little refuses to walk away.

Joined by sharp-tongued Ivy, thoughtful Sam, and an unlikely Crow companion named Adam, Little sets out to find justice without becoming the kind of man he is fighting.

Filled with frontier danger, unforgettable characters, and warm humor, this coming-of-age Western is a story about friendship, family, and learning that growing up is harder than simply leaving home.

Gift yourself this 'touch grass' moment ... [Thomas's] earthy writing is an antidote to our digital times ...

 A coming of age, generational passing of the torch story as relevant today as in 1880 ... Thomas writes about animals and nature with a horseman's familiarity and a poet's empathy ...

A 'good natured' ode to the Western adventure tradition with the twists of a thriller ...