Tom Healy was in trouble. His theatrical troupe needed to get to Alder Gulch, Montana, and the weather was turning. Andy Barker promised Tom he could get them there safely, but Tom was reluctant to trust him: he had the lives of three actresses to consider, and his personal feelings for Janice further heightened his concern. Then King Mabry showed up. Although Tom didn’t like the way he looked at Janice, he could see that Mabry made Barker uneasy. So Tom invited Mabry to join them. Tom was right to be worried, because Barker had a plan. He knew that the wagons carried something more than actors and scenery. He and his men were going to steal it any way they could. And that included murder.
This is the straight-up Western, un-deconstructed, un-winking, straight-talking, straight-shooting, straight-faced Cowboys N’ Indians. A rip-roaring yarn that makes a fun afternoon. What surprised me (and it shouldn’t have) was how well-written this was. Louis L’Amour, there’s a reason you’re a legend. The Westerns will outlive us all.
Plus, any book that has lines like this is a friend of mine: “Miserably he stared at the mountains. How could he make her understand? Or anyone who had not been through it? They tried to judge a wild, untamed country by the standards of elm-bordered streets and convention-bordered lives.”
Reading updates
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Started reading
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25 May, 2013:
Finished reading
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25 May, 2013:
Reviewed