Rough Justice

GIDEON RYDER #2

By Lyle Brandt

Berkley, November 2014

The Civil War may have ended, but the divisions still remain among its survivors. Some continue to rally for equality. Then there are others, like the Knights of the Rising Sun. They’re a group of vicious vigilantes who want to halt progress in Texas and put an end to bluebellies and carpetbaggers by bullet, fire, and noose.

The Secret Service sends Gideon Ryder to stop the Knights before they grow from a gang into an army. But as Ryder follows the band of villains from Corpus Christi to Jefferson, Texas, his mission proves more difficult than planned, especially when the cowards only surface with sacks over their heads. To learn their identities, Ryder will have to get close enough to see under their hoods. Luckily, Gideon has an army of his own ready to take them down, flanked by his Colt in his left hand and his Henry in his right…

Any story set in this time period of American history has to touch on the politics of the day and Lyle Brandt uses this well to explain the driving force behind his characters. His passages of historical beliefs adding great depth to this violent tale of one man taking on massive odds.

With Ryder facing so many enemies the story features a substantial amount of gunplay which often sees Gideon in a how is he going to get out of that situation. Beating the Knights of the Rising Sun is not the only fight he has to face, he also has to win the trust of those he is attempting to help, and this isn’t easy when no-one seems to have heard of the newly formed Secret Service.

Lyle Brandt is a pseudonym for Michael Newton and his mix of action, historical politics, and some terrific exchanges of dialogue make for a winning combination and, for me at least, make it such a shame that this series fell victim to Berkley ceasing to publish westerns.