Blood and Gold

By Clay Starmer

Hale, November 2012

When retired US Marshal Tom Stafford sets out for a new life, the past and future collide. A night stop in the town of Stratton is the prelude to mayhem, where there is love – in the form of the feisty Ella Farrell – murder, and simmering tension.

But when Stafford gets wind that the man who ordered the deaths of his wife and child is close, he faces the prospect of confronting a lawless thug. Before long, aching for revenge and the hand of Ella, Stafford swears an oath: he’ll take up his law badge again and eliminate his demons.

This, the fourth book to carry the author name of Clay Starmer, is the first I’ve read by this writer. Starmer sure packs a lot into his story, the ex-marshal looking to escape the ghosts of his dead wife and child, Ella Farrell suffering from her own loses, outlaws, gold miners, soldiers and Cheyenne all find their various paths converging towards a final cliff top showdown.

With that many storylines crammed into 160 pages the author has to move his tale forward at a very fast pace. Dialogue crackles in a hard-boiled style, even the women get straight to the point. Emotions run high in some cases, particularly in Ella as events push her to the edge of insanity.

The book is filled with action, which includes framing someone, kidnapping, robbery and plenty of killings. Starmer also struggles with his feelings for Ella and his promise made to the memory of his dead wife.

If you intend to buy a copy of this book from Amazon (and it’s probably the same through other booksellers) please note that the cover image above is a scan of the actual book I have which is not quite as it’ll appear at Amazon. The difference being the authors name, Clay Starmer on my book but on the cover images shown at Amazon is has the author as Pete Fordham (his real name?), so if searching for it try using that name, or just go through the links below.