HANG A MAN HIGH

 

HANG A MAN HIGH
By Matt Chisholm
Panther Books, June 1959

They found him standing with a still-warm gun in his hand . . . his brother dead, shot through the back of the head; his brother Marve . . . whom everyone liked and trusted. 

The gold was gone from its hiding place, and now the finger of suspicion was pointed in Ben’s direction.

In that country, for that crime, they would demand that the Law HANG A MAN HIGH.

This is second of three books Matt Chisholm would write about Ben Hodge. As if the man didn’t go through enough troubles in the first book, the author plunges Hodge into more deadly danger which could see him with a rope around his neck again. 

Events of the earlier book, Hodge, are mentioned quite often in this one, and a number of characters from that story return for the sequel. Due to that I would suggest reading the first book before this one to get the greatest enjoyment from it. Hang a Man High can be read as a stand-alone title though as the author includes all the background you need to understand the relationships between the characters and the problems Hodge had to face in that story.

This is a tough tale that is filled with non-stop action. Hodge has to endure a number of brutal fist-fights that leave him a battered man. Even he doesn’t know where he finds the energy to go on, but he does know that if he doesn’t, he’ll be swinging from the gallows. Handguns, rifles and shotguns are all used regularly too. 

Hodge and his two friends, Pete and Ned, loyalty to each other is admirable, all ready to die for each other as they struggle to discover just who killed Marve. What’s equally puzzling is where the gold came from. Hodge certainly didn’t know it was hidden in his home and neither did his pards. It isn’t long before all three begin to wonder if they can trust anyone else as more and more people seem to be involved in whatever it is that is going on.

There’s a lot of blood and death before Hodge gets a break and begins to work out who is behind the death of his brother. Hodge, Pete and Ned will all have their parts to play in bringing down the culprits and will suffer whilst doing so before everything comes to a conclusion in a confined space. 

Peter Watts is the author behind the pseudonym of Matt Chisholm and he’s long been a favourite writer of mine and this book strengthens that thought. Hang a Man High isn’t as goog as the first Hodge book but it comes very close and is a western that I think all fans of the genre would find an entertaining read. Me? I’m looking forward to reading the third Hodge book, The Law of Ben Hodge, as soon as possible.