Beyond Redemption

By I.J. Parnham

Hale, August 2012

As a child Jeff Dale witnessed the terrible aftermath of an atrocity. Elmer Drake killed three members of a family and when the surviving girl Cynthia went missing, Jeff vowed that one day he’d find her, no matter how long it took.

Ten years later. After finding a clue about Cynthia’s fate, Jeff becomes a bounty hunter and follows the trail to the town of Redemption. And in Redemption stalks a gunslinger who carries a gun in one hand and a cross in the other. A man with a rope-burn around his neck, called Elmer Drake….

With plenty of questions hanging over the motives of the excellent cast of characters this story revolves around, the fast moving plot easily sweeps up the reader making this a difficult book to put down. Who is killing gold miners? Is Cynthia still alive? Can Jeff Dale trust an outlaw? Does Sister Angelica’s hospital have any part to play? What is Elmer Drake planning and what is the meaning of the cross he carries?

Like other Ian Parnham books I’ve read this one has a few twists and turns to surprise the reader and has plenty of exciting action that will satisfy readers who like lots of gunplay in their westerns. Even though the identity of one of the characters is fairly easy to work out the outcome of Jeff’s meeting this person is in no way predictable and how it concludes provided a satisfying and realistic ending for me.

So, once more, Ian Parnham leaves me looking forward to his next book, Devine, which is listed for a December release.