DUEL IN PURGATORY

 

GUNN
Book 6 of 29
DUEL IN PURGATORY
By Jory Sherman
Cover art by Pino Daeni
Zebra Books, 1981

The stage is set for trouble when Gunn arrives in Colorado. He’s there to assist an old friend, Herb Oxley, but even Gunn’s helping hands are tied. The cattle owners are feuding over possession – and someone is tampering with the brands.

Before he gets a chance to intervene Gunn is nearly killed in an ambush by a lone sniper. He suspects that it’s an inside job, probably one of Oxley’s gang. That explains why Oxley’s beautiful young wife is being so flirtatious – or at least one the reasons why.

Gunn being ambushed is how this book begins. It’s one of the best parts of the story, tension filled, almost noir in its telling. It also sets up a mystery for Gunn to try and solve. Jory Sherman’s prose is a joy to read, at times poetic in its descriptions, hard hitting at times – one scene making me cringe, as I expect it will for most male readers. The book contains plenty of gunplay and one of the longest fistfights I’ve read for a long time. 

The violence is graphic and the many sex scenes explicit, the latter encounters taking up quite a few pages each. There are plenty of women eager to share their bed with Gunn but will they all get what they desire? I did think Mr. Sherman could have been a bit more imaginative when he described their eyes – most if not all have blue eyes. 

The plot isn’t overly complicated but it certainly kept me turning the pages, especially as I wanted to see if my suspicions on who was the mystery sniper was correct. Trouble is Jory Sherman is very good at pointing the finger at most of the book’s characters as being that person so I doubted myself a number of times and still got it wrong.

As the pages began to run out, I did begin to wonder if it would have a rushed ending, or would some of the plotlines spill over into the next book. Fear not though, Jory Sherman wrapped it all up well with some shocking revelations and brutality.  

Duel in Purgatory is another entertaining read in what, so far, has been a strong series. 

WINTER HELL

 

GUNN
Book 5 of 29
WINTER HELL
By Jory Sherman
Cover art by Pino Daeni
Zebra Books, 1980

The journey west to Wyoming had been rough for Gunn. It was the dead of winter and he found danger and death with each turn of the road. Confident, sure, but tense from travel, Gunn was startled to discover the remains of a brutal Indian massacre: a bloody trail littered with mutilated bodies and debris.

Cautiously he rode on, unaware that he was being watched by murdering eyes of the ravaging Sioux. When he came upon frightened Sara Jane, a ripe, young beauty – who was the only one of her family to survive the vicious attack – he promised to avenge their deaths.

On the spine of the book Zebra announce this as an adult western, and that it is, in every way. Gory, graphic violence, explicit sex, and profanities occur regularly during this fast-moving tale. The author also describes locations and weather conditions in poetic words that place the reader right in these harsh landscapes with his characters. 

Gunn’s suspicions are soon aroused after he discovers some slaughtered Crow Indians. Who killed them and why? Shortly after he finds Sara Jane. Piecing together her story and the tracks around the killing sites, Gunn begins to wonder just who is behind the atrocities. Gunn is captured by Sioux, and agrees to bring the leader of the culprits to the Indians, but he has a time limit, and many lives are at risk if he fails. This part of the story provides some tense reading, as it seems Gunn might not fulfil his part of the bargain, especially as the author doesn’t hold back from killing off some of the main characters.

I’ve always enjoyed Jory Sherman’s work, and this book didn’t disappoint. I was slightly surprised at how many pages were taken up by sexual content though. The main plot wasn’t that complicated and offered little in the way of surprises, but did include some hard-hitting scenes, the main one being the death of a leading character that will add to the mental scars Gunn carries. Pacing was excellent and everything came to a satisfactory conclusion. 

American readers can get a copy here
British readers can get a copy here