The Civil War was lost, and he was sheriff in a Texas beaten to her knees by the North. The Texans called him a Yankee-lover; the Northerners called him Texas trash. So he lived alone, and walked a lonely road alone, acknowledging no master but justice.
He was in a cleft stick. If he went after his quarry he would be accused of siding with the Yankees, and the thought made him sweat. Bitterness had cut deep into the South. The temptation to throw in his badge and clear out was strong in him, for a sheriff in these parts was in a very dangerous position. But he kicked his horse into a trot, dreading the ride ahead of him, his only support his gun and his courage.
This is the second, and last book that English author Peter Watts wrote as Luke Jones. Watts wrote many other westerns under two more well known pseudonyms; Matt Chisholm and Cy James. Altogether, Watts had around 100 westerns published.
One thing Watts is known for is that his books are action packed. After reading the first two or three chapters of Brasada I had to wonder if this book was going to be the odd one out. Watts uses the opening chapters to flesh out his characters, especially that of sheriff Wake Hopshaw as he contemplates old-age, his secret admiration for the Mexican girl Consuelo who seems out of his reach, and struggles with his duty to the law or the people of Texas. Northern soldiers order Wake to bring in an outlaw who seems to still be fighting the war. Wake argues that Bob Masters hasn’t committed a crime in his jurisdiction and until he does, he won’t track him down. This, of course, cause animosity between Wake and the soldiers and finally leads to Wake being on the run from them too.
The story goes through many twists and turns including murder, a secret meeting between a mystery man and woman, Wake fighting for his life against known and unknown enemies, and much more. It isn’t long before Wake’s desire to see justice carried out his way can only have one outcome; his death, and I was soon thinking this was how the book would end.
The book is fast paced, has an intriguing plot, touches of humour, tough characters, and plenty of violent action. It’s a story of one man against the rest told in very readable prose. It is a product of its time though and it does occasionally include terms that people of today might find offensive when referring to characters of certain races.
Perhaps not one of the best books to come from Peter Watts, but it is still a very entertaining and it left me wanting to read another of his books very soon.
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