Blast to Oblivion

By Chap O’Keefe

Rough Edges Press, September 2016

In Denver, a shotgun blast brutally ends a man’s life and sets in motion a deadly chain of events that threatens Joshua Dillard, drifting detective and former Pinkerton agent. Hired by a beautiful woman to untangle the mystery of her brother’s murder and bring the killer to justice, Joshua’s investigation takes him to the raw and dangerous mining town of Silverville, where he finds a web of deception, greed, lust, and violence. Aided only by an eccentric hermit, Joshua will need all his cunning and gun-skill to avoid being blasted to oblivion himself!

Originally published by Robert Hale as part of its Black Horse Western line in 2009, Blast to Oblivion is the seventh (of nine) books following the adventures of Joshua Dillard. Included in this revised edition for Rough Edges Press, Chap O’Keefe has added an afterword titled From Deerstalker to Stetson that explains how this story was inspired by the classic Sherlock Holmes novel The Valley of Fear.

Having read many other Chap O’Keefe books I knew I would be in for an entertaining read with this one, and as it turns out it is one of the authors’ best. You don’t need to have read any of the other Dillard books as it is a self-contained novel that is full of twists and turns, great characters of both sexes, and moves forward at a terrific pace.

The mystery elements will keep you guessing as Dillard has to sort deception from the truth before a final dramatic shoot-out in a location that could become a death-trap for all involved.

If you missed this book the first time it was published then now is your chance to rectify that by grabbing a copy immediately as I’m sure all who enjoy well-told westerns stories will find much to appreciate in Blast to Oblivion and will then be on the lookout for the other Joshua Dillard tales.

Availabe as an ebook too.