Raking Hell

By Lee Clinton

A Black Horse Western from Hale, February 2011

A body is wrapped in a bloodstained horse-blanket and a farmer admits to the gruesome crime, but with good reason.

Now the sheriff has to decide, does he arrest or protect the guilty man when eight men come looking to settle the score? And how will this impact on the town the sheriff has taken an oath to protect?

This is a gritty story of judgment, consequence and the promise of retribution. It is also the story of one man – Sheriff Will Price – who is prepared to go raking hell to fulfil his pledge….

This is the first Black Horse Western from author Lee Clinton, and what an excellent debut it is. The book is much longer than many of Hale’s westerns due to the print being much smaller. The author tells his story in short, titled, chapters, each have a sub-heading too, which tells the date and time of day each chapter takes place. In fact the whole story takes place over a period of ten days.

Lee Clinton hooks his readers from the opening scenes with questions such as why would the farmer admit to murdering the man he brings into town? How did he manage to kill his victim in such a gruesome way? Why bring the corpse to Will Price’s town instead of any of the other towns in the area?

The book moves forwards at an ever-increasing pace, and as the above questions are answered, so the tale becomes a chase story. Will Price's desire to hunt down, and kill, his quarry, becoming fuelled by a promise and vengeance.

The action is well described, and the killings savage, at times making me shudder – as I guess most men will when they read the way some of the deaths come about.

The end sees Price challenged with yet another question; can he put aside his promise and see justice carried out by the law? This all leads to an exciting final showdown that ties everything up brutally.

Let’s hope it’s not too long before another BHW appears from this author.

Raking Hell has an official release date of February 28^th, but it is available now from the usual Internet bookstores.

For those interested in finding out more about Lee Clinton may I suggest you visit his website. Here you can read and listen to the first chapter.