Diablo

By Chuck Tyrell

Hale, April 2014

On the streets of Diablo jobs are scarce, tempers roiling and dead men are stripped almost before they hit the ground. But Shawn Brodie need to collect $3000 for Tin Can Evans, and that amount of money can cause epic problems for a man in a hell of a town such as this.

And when things go bad, those living south of the A&P tracks, in a jumble of huts and tents, get the blame. With a host of dangerous men walking its streets, it’s only a matter of time before the fuse is lit that threatens to blow Diablo all to Hell…maybe where it belongs.

Back in 2010 Chuck Tyrell wrote a well praised book called The Snake Den and in Diablo he returns to some of those characters, namely Shawn Brodie and Shoo Lee. You don’t need to have read that earlier book to get full enjoyment out of this one.

Diablo’s storyline mainly revolves around the build up to a bare-knuckle fight between Shoo Lee and an Irishman on which many bets are placed. This neatly ties in with Shawn Brodie’s mission to collect on a debt.

Chuck Tyrell moves his story along well, and uses his knowledge of martial art training to great effect. Oriental weapons are used more often than guns giving this western a different feel to what one would, perhaps, expect. When the main fight takes place it is superbly described in a very visual manner and this brutal exchange leads to a much larger scale battle that has to be won before Brodie can tie-up his business.

For those who have read The Snake Den, or those who enjoy westerns that mix cultures, then make sure you don’t miss this one.

Diablo at Amazon.com

Diablo (Black Horse Western) at Amazon.co.uk