Shoot-Out at San Lorenzo

as by Henry Remington
A Black Horse Western from Hale, September 2009

Blue gunsmoke roils as a vicious gang of killers puts the homes of Arizona settlers to the flames. Who is behind the terror attacks?

Security man James Slaughter suspects the mayor of San Lorenzo, Joe Hagerty, may be the mastermind for he is buying up the settlers’ dispossessed land cheap and fast. Does the mayor’s haughtily beautiful wife, Jane, know more than she reveals? And who is the mysterious Mr Black who arrives at their casino in a private stagecoach in the middle of the night?

Now the trouble comes thick and fast as Slaughter searches for the gang’s hideout and their psychopathic leader. Lightning strikes and guns thunder!

This is the fourth BHW by Henry Remington, the first, A Man Called Slaughter, appeared way back in 1999, and I’m wondering if all four books feature the man called James Slaughter? As Henry Remington is a pseudonym it would seem highly possible that John Dyson uses this author name for books about Slaughter only.

John Dyson has long been a favourite of BHW fans and this book shows why. James Slaughter is an excellent character that is definitely not your clean-cut western hero. He’s a rough, ex-bounty hunter (ex in this book anyway) who doesn’t give a damn about what anyone else thinks of him, he doesn’t worry about the consequences of chasing after married women either.

There’s plenty of action as Slaughter attempts to discover the identity of the man who led the attack on, and destruction of, a train and the massacre of its passengers. The mysterious Mr Black makes for a formidable adversary. The female lead, Jane, is beautifully portrayed and plays an important role in saving Slaughter’s life, but also has to go through some brutal treatment of her own. Dyson handles dialogue and descriptions equally well, and includes a neat twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.

Shoot-Out at San Lorenzo has a release date of September 30th but is available now from Internet booksellers.