Thursday 14 January 2021

RIDE THE HAMMER DOWN


A Ralph Compton Western by Terrence McCauley
Cover art by Dennis Lyall
Berkley, December 2020

Marshal John Beck was the law in the dangerous town of Mother Lode, Arizona. On his own, he’d managed to keep bandits, rustlers, and desperadoes at bay. It was a tough job for one man to handle, but he made it work…until the day Bram Hogan and his Brickhouse Gang got the drop on the lawman.

They beat Beck to within an inch of his life and dropped him in the desert, where nothing but a slow, painful death awaited him. But the hand underestimated Beck. At his lowest point, he found a way to survive. Now he’s coming back, and anyone who stands against him is going to ride the hammer down to the grave.

From its brutal opening scenes this booked proved to be a gripping read. Terence McCauley’s gritty storyline is filled with engaging characters, some that will have you urging them on, hoping they survive, and others you’ll be wanting to meet a vicious demise. Amidst all the ferocity, the author finds time to add a little romance as love is born from violence, but will Beck survive to enjoy this new found relationship? Throughout the tale you can never be sure if Beck will be alive at the end, or any of the other characters for that matter.

Descriptions are excellent, especially those telling of Beck’s struggle to survive in the desert. You’ll share his desperation, his spiral into madness. Later his elation that becomes fear as he believes he brings death to those who get near him. During the final savage shootout, you’ll feel the aches of his battered body, his weariness and determination to let nothing stop him from killing those who wronged him.

I certainly wondered how this book would end, and at no time did I predict the final scene that provided a fitting close to this tremendous tale.

If you’ve not read anything by Terence McCauley yet, then I’ll suggest this book as the perfect place to start.

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