The Hunting of Lope Gamboa

as by Jack Sheriff

A Black Horse Western from Hale, June 2010

Texas Rangers Jack Carson and Eddie Brand have been hunting outlaw Lope Gamboa for some time without success, but when they ride into Yuma it seems their luck has changed.

An assignment of US gold is to be transported along the Oxbow route by Conestoga wagon and the Rangers are convinced that Gamboa will attempt to steal the gold.

As all the factions close in on the lumbering Conestoga wagon, the trail leads inexorably to a bloody climax in the Gila desert….

There’s enough twists and turns to this superbly plotted tale to keep any reader hooked as two sets of outlaws plan to rob the Conestoga, the lawmen try to second guess them and wonder why anyone would send a shipment of gold via a wagon, if indeed they have.

Jack Sheriff (real name John Paxton Sheriff) presents the reader with believable characters that will have you urging them onto success or failure. The book is packed with action, both gunfights and races against time, all told at the speed of a galloping horse and described in vivid prose. Jack Sheriff’s technique of finishing scenes by not quite telling you everything you want to know – such as did the first set of outlaws find the gold in the wagon? – makes it hard to put the book down before you’ve found the answers in a later chapter. And if that isn’t enough excitement for one book the author has a great surprise waiting at the end, regarding the identity of one of his main characters that I didn’t see coming.

The Hunting of Lope Gamboa easily falls into the category of one of the best Black Horse Westerns I’ve read and is officially released today. If you want a copy don’t delay in putting in your order as BHW tend to sell out fast.