Dust and Bullets

By Vance Tillman

Hale, May 2013

Dan Fogarty is falsely accused of the murder of his partner, Ben Arrowsmith. He escapes arrest and heads for cactus country to join his old Navajo friend, Ahiga. Dan suspects that the notorious outlaw, the Ocotillo Kid, is responsible for his partner’s death, but when he and Ahiga set out to prove it, they find that things are not as straightforward as they imagined.

Is the whole affair some kind of set-up? What is the relationship between the Ocotillo Kid and local magnate Wes Baxter? The questions multiply as Dan makes himself a target to draw out the killer, but not till the final confrontation with the Ocotillo Kid and his gang are they finally answered.

As far as I can tell this is the second book to carry the author name of Vance Tillman, the first being Riders on the Wind.

Tillman easily hooks the reader with many questions and includes a great twist about halfway through that took me completely by surprise and this results in Fogarty becoming involved in a second manhunt that is also linked  to the Ocotillo kid.

The book has seven chapters and Tillman switches from character to character without warning at times, meaning you have to pay attention or you could become confused about who is doing what. 

Action and scene descriptions are handled well and everything races to a satisfying ending.

Dust and Bullets has an official release date of May 31st, but is available now from all the usual sources.