Harry
Tash Jayasinghe
Dexter
Cibbuano'Shootout at Picture Rock' by Jospeh A West
August 30th 2006 23:34
Many Westerns feature lawmen doing their duty, but in Joseph A. West’s Shootout at Picture Rock, Deputy U.S. Marshal John Kilcoyn has a very personal interest in bringing the outlaws to justice. The woman he loves, Angela Wilson, and her father, Dr. Alan Wilson, have been kidnapped by Jake Pride, a former lawman gone bad who Kilcoyn put in prison. Pride demands $10,000 in ransom money. Operating out of Dodge City, Kilcoyn teams with Ford County Sheriff Bat Masterson and a young photographer, Barry O'Neil, to embark on a dangerous mission that includes confrontations with hostile Indians, outlaws, and gunmen. The money in Kilcoyn’s saddlebags proves an irresistible attraction to those who would kill or risk getting killed to get their hands on that $10,000.
West has an excellent eye for detail, and with the story taking place mostly in the face of bone-chilling snowstorm and blizzard conditions, the environment could be said to be an important character in the book. In almost every chapter Kilcoyn has a deadly encounter, and as the bodies mount up, the marshal also has to deal with his own private demons. The involvement of Cheyenne and Sioux in the story is less convincing than the dangers presented by Pride and gunman Frank Ivers. One wonders if Indians would really be suicidal in pursuit of a man who killed one of their own in a fair fight. Also, since the final confrontation takes place at Horse Thief Canyon, the title of the book seems misplaced. That said, West provides a fast-paced story that will compel readers to read just one more chapter before taking a break, and maybe just one or two more after that.
West has an excellent eye for detail, and with the story taking place mostly in the face of bone-chilling snowstorm and blizzard conditions, the environment could be said to be an important character in the book. In almost every chapter Kilcoyn has a deadly encounter, and as the bodies mount up, the marshal also has to deal with his own private demons. The involvement of Cheyenne and Sioux in the story is less convincing than the dangers presented by Pride and gunman Frank Ivers. One wonders if Indians would really be suicidal in pursuit of a man who killed one of their own in a fair fight. Also, since the final confrontation takes place at Horse Thief Canyon, the title of the book seems misplaced. That said, West provides a fast-paced story that will compel readers to read just one more chapter before taking a break, and maybe just one or two more after that.
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