The .45 Goodbye

as by Dempsey Clay
A Black Horse Western from Hale, June 2009

Outlaw Sonny Boy Clanton had it all: style, courage and a band of pards, loyal to the death. The whole county saw him as a hero – until he kidnapped the Governor’s daughter.

Following the uproar, the law, cavalry and citizens scoured the valley for outlaw and hostage, but all in vain.

Then came the quiet rancher who loved the Governor’s daughter and would find and save her or die.

Dempsey Clay starts his book with a number of different incidents that introduce the reader to a variety of characters that later will all become linked – some we find are linked by their pasts too.

The lure of amnesty, a chance to start anew, is one of the major story threads, the other being of love – that shared between two people and love that is one-sided. In fact the second of these is what leads to some dangerous situations fuelled by jealousy and the need to be wanted, the latter turning a somewhat already deranged outlaw into a dangerous psychopath who will risk all to tell the governor’s daughter how much he loves her, regardless of the consequences. This new trait of the outlaw leader giving birth to arguments among the outlaws, and their eventual falling-out that leads to a tense, three sided, final gunfight.

Like other Dempsey Clay (real name Paul Wheelahan) books I’ve read this moves forwards at tremendous pace, is filled with great characters, and a gripping plot. Clay’s descriptive passages paint vivid imagery within the minds eye too. What I also like about his writing is that you are never quite sure as to the outcome of the story and of who will be alive at the end.

This book has a release date of today (June 30th) but has been available for a couple of weeks already from internet book sellers. If you want a copy I’d suggest ordering it sooner rather than later as BHW has a tendency to sell-out fast!