This was written in 1964 and is surprisingly good. It’s free of some of the character stereotypes L’Amour often used, and may have been radical for the day.

A strong and independent woman who owns a substantial ranch seeks to destroy a town responsible for the murder of her brother. The narrative voice is that of her foreman, who ends up being the hero. He spent three years as a child as an Apache captive, after escaping befriended an Englishman who provided for his education in Great Britain.

If written for the screen this would make a Hell of a mini-series. L’Amour’s estate may not allow that, though.

My rating 3.5 stars

Conn Dury works for Kate Lundy who owns the Tumbling B ranch. She has a younger brother named Tom. After a long drive they arrive at an unnamed town run by a man named McDonald. McDonald served in the union army during the Civil War and now he hates all Texans and fighting for the South. Tom runs afoul of one of the laws designed for Texans. Tom is shot in the back.

Kate is determined to have justice. She lays siege to the town.

Conn himself has lived a rather colorful life. His parents were killed by Apache and he was raised by them. He escapes, finds work, gets an education and builds a reputation for himself. Just at the end of the Civil War he runs across Kate and her brother just as they are about to be killed in an Indian raid. He has been with them ever since.

This is a tight adventure story with some unusual aspects.

An outstanding read! I am always impressed by L'Amour and how he develops his characters. This one is well worth it and it reads very fast.

Classical Louis L'Amour, and I've read quite a few. Nice plot, entertaining, fast moving. Nice change of pace from, say, Virginia Wolff.

Cowboys and Indians. I need to get back to short plane rides so I can read more L'Amour.

An unusual L’Amour tale. Conn Dury is a ramrod for Kate Lundy. After the cattle are sold and Kate’s brother Tom killed for daring to call on a pretty girl, Kate decides on an unusual course of revenge. She doesn’t want the guilty party killed, she wants the whole town done away with. In the midst of this fine setup is the backstory of Conn and how he came to eventually meet up with Kate. The story falls a bit shy of its full potential. L’Amour does a great job with the setup telling several stories into the background of Conn’s life. But the payoff still manages to slightly disappoint. He and Kate are plainly a team and in love though neither mentions it. And after a desperate flight for survival they still seem out of step with the other instead of declaring themselves. A showdown occurs with all the parties involved too conveniently thrown back together, considering the logistics set up, and as bizarrely trumped up reasons for it are voiced, it’s just as quickly over without a shot fired. There’s enough here to keep a L’Amour fan entertained but not much else to recommend it.

My first L'Amour and definitely a fun read. Love his storytelling and look forward to reading more!

4.25 stars

A good, solid L'Amour novel. Highly enjoyable.

Short and readable, if a little too trite and expected. Something I've started noticing as I read more Westerns: although it is the Native Americans who are consistently villified by white writers conceptually, it is always white frontiers people/cowboys harming each other in this genre. The real villains are the ones who look like the hero, and that's what generates the story. Native Americans serve as some sort of vague background threat that doesn't drive the story.

I liked the way this story was developed and told. It is a story about a town who doesn’t understand who is paying their bills (beef herds).