41 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 41 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can you trust on a frontier where a stranger’s past may be impossible to check?
In False Face, Ernest Haycox brings a mystery into the American West, where disguise makes trust uncertain. The title points to a mask, but the question reaches beyond appearances: who are people really, and how can anyone know whether to believe them?
Justice matters in a place where the law is thin, and romance adds another reason to seek the truth. Suspicion tests the trust that love needs. Haycox keeps the story moving with spare sentences, sharply drawn landscapes, and scenes that press toward the next decision.
What you’ll discover
- The weight of disguise Explore why a hidden past matters so much where strangers arrive without anyone to vouch for them.
- Justice beyond thin law Follow a search for fairness in a frontier world where legal authority offers little certainty.
- Romance under suspicion Discover how a frontier romance tests trust when another person’s identity remains in doubt.
- A Western with questions Find a mystery woven into the frontier setting, with deception at its heart.
- Lean prose that moves Enjoy short sentences and sharp landscapes that carry each scene toward a decision.
Who will love it
This is for readers who like frontier tales with a puzzle at the center, sharp and funny talk, a touch of romance, and a clever lawman who watches everyone.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A rumor of water fills the clearing
- Bill, the girl and Sam meet in the store
- A midnight theft puts a suspect in lantern light
- Budd faces down the mob and ties Bill
- Budd counts money and writes a letter
- Every face in the story hides something
- Real justice needs a steady head, not a rope
- Humor and plain talk carry the tale
Who’s who
- Dave BuddA big, shrewd storekeeper of forty-eight who dislikes his new deputy's star but takes its duty seriously and watches everyone.
- BillA redheaded, quick-tempered young man with slate-gray eyes who hides nothing and wants the girl back and Sam put in his place.
- SamA tall, neat stranger with a poker face who speaks little, tells wild stories and keeps close to the girl.
- The girlA sturdy, proud young woman who quarrels with Bill, keeps company with Sam and still believes in Bill's honesty.
- Sheriff Bart McKenzieThe county sheriff who pins a deputy's star on Budd and wants the camp thief caught.
- The robbed settlerA whiskered homesteader who loses four hundred and ten dollars from his wagon and demands that something be done.
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Faux-semblant
A storekeeper with a tin star he never wanted must catch a thief among hopeful settlers in Oregon.
Easy readUnder 2 hours to readfrançais
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In short
What would you do if hopeful strangers camped on your doorstep and their money began to vanish in the night? That is the trouble that lands on Dave Budd, a big, comfortable storekeeper in central Oregon.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A rumor of water fills the clearing
The story opens with an argument, but its real subject is a crowd. Sheriff Bart McKenzie wants old Dave Budd to wear a deputy's badge, and Budd wants nothing to do with it. He calls himself a fat old man whose fighting days are past. McKenzie points out that they are the same age, and that forty-eight is not old.
Behind their quarrel lies a clearing full of strangers. They come in farm wagons, buggies and pack trains, and they camp in front of Budd's store among baggage and campfires. The cause is a thin rumor that the government will dam a distant river and dig canals to water the dry land of central Oregon. Budd knows that rumors have an ugly habit of dying, yet the families keep coming.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 25 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Haycox, Ernest. False Face. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/false-face.
Haycox, E. (2026). False face. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/false-face
Haycox, Ernest. False Face. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/false-face.
@book{haycox2026false,
author = {Haycox, Ernest},
title = {False Face},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/false-face}
}
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What is False Face by Ernest Haycox about?
It tells of Dave Budd, a storekeeper in central Oregon who is made deputy sheriff while hopeful settlers camp near his store. When money starts vanishing from their wagons, Budd must find the thief among a crowd of strangers.
Who are the main characters in False Face?
The main characters are Dave Budd, the shrewd storekeeper and reluctant deputy, Bill, the redheaded young man under suspicion, Sam, the silent stranger, a proud young woman, and Sheriff Bart McKenzie, who gives Budd the badge.
What does the title False Face mean?
The title points to people who wear a face that does not match what is inside. Sam's blank poker face, Bill's open scowl, the girl's prim manner and Budd's sleepy look all invite readers to ask what lies beneath.
The author
Ernest Haycox
1899–1950 · American Western novelist
Ernest Haycox was an American novelist and short story writer born in Portland, Oregon, in 1899. He wrote Western fiction and published stories and novels from the 1920s until 1950. His novels include Bugles in the Afternoon and The Adventurers. He lived in Oregon and died in Portland in 1950.
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