THE MADMAN'S BLADE

RAIDER

Book 13 of 42

THE MADMAN’S BLADE

By J.D. Hardin

Cover art by Miro

Berkley, July 1988

The victim’s father has already been to the Pinkerton Agency twice. Now he’s back a third time to hire himself a detective.

One look at the poor man’s face and Raider is hooked. He’ll track down the dapper-dressing dude who raped and killed the young girl. But finding the cold-blooded killer with unlimited cash and a brilliantly twisted mind ain’t easy. 

All Raider has to go on is the killer’s gruesome handywork with a blade, and a trail of murder that leads to a bloody showdown.

This book reads like a detective novel in a western setting. Raider, riding alongside the grieving father of one of the dead girls, is after a serial killer rapist. The lack of leads makes his task almost impossible. Slowly, little bits of information come to light but can Raider piece them together to track down and stop the killer before other girls fall victim to his blade?

The author, this time Frank Roderus writing as J.D. Hardin, switches between Raider and his quarry regularly. We share the twisted thoughts of the killer and find out why he’s murdering the girls. Raider’s frustration at failing to discover who the killer is quickly comes over strongly. Even when he thinks he knows who he's after, finding him is one hell of a challenge as the Pinkerton has no idea as to where the killer will strike next. I did feel, at times, Raider was a bit slow in working things out as one clue was very evident near the beginning of the story.

I was surprised to discover thoughts on mental health in a western and how much the story touched on issues we hear a lot about today. Child trauma being used to explain the reason behind the killer’s actions. As the tale developed, I started to think this plot is like something you’d see on TV’s Law and Order: Special Victims Unit – which was fine by me as that is one of my favourite programmes.

The Raider books are classed as adult westerns so that means the stories contain explicit sex scenes. Surprising, Raider misses out on any of this although he does find himself in a position to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh at one point but turns her down. It’s the killer who enjoys sex, even though his unwilling partners don’t. This makes for some brutal reading at times. This particular story also includes some very crude language, especially in the opening scenes, after that it is used sparingly.

Although Raider doesn’t get involved in much action until the end of the book, I did find his efforts to find and stop the killer made for some gripping reading. Yes, the story did play out pretty much as I expected, which includes who finally finished off the killer but not the how. 

Frank Roderus can always be relied upon to provide solid entertaining reading and this book left me thinking I must read something else by him soon.

BOBBIES, BAUBLES AND BLOOD

DOC & RAIDER

Book 21 of 73

By J.D. Hardin

Playboy Paperbacks, January 1983

Let loose in London, Doc and Raider are supposed to help Scotland Yard find a master jewel thief. Instead, they crash Victorian society and smash Victorian morals, unable to resist those lusty ladies of nobility who find Western ways so exciting – and who need protection from a crazed medieval-style killer. From the West End to Ascot, from Buckingham Palace to the Tower of London, the Pinkertons take on the high life and the low, while Britain holds its breath.

The fact that this tale takes place in London was what made me decide to read this book as I was curious to see how the author presented the English capital city and its people. As expected, it was full of stereotypes and the fact that the upper-class finished many of their sentences with the word ‘what’ was fun to start with but got a little tedious as the story progressed, almost like the author was using the way people speak to differentiate the Americans from English and the privileged form the poor. I certainly wasn’t going to let this spoil my enjoyment of this book though.

Doc and Raider were forbidden of taking part in any investigation to apprehend the jewel thief. They were there so Doc could confirm the identity of the crook as he was the only person to have seen the criminal when the Pinkertons had pursued the criminal in America. Sightseeing and visiting with the super-rich was how they would pass their time, and this was how they got involved with a vicious killer who hacked his victims up with medieval weapons – this killer possibly being the jewel thief too.

As usual Doc and Raider squabble about how to pass their time. This leads to some funny moments, especially when Raider meets a young Winston Churchill. The killings are gruesome and the body count mounts up quickly and soon both Raider and Doc find themselves battling to survive. After a few twists and turns, they have some idea of what they are dealing with but can they defeat this madman? Of course, both plots, killer and thief, entwine and the Pinkertons find themselves involved in a robbery to steal jewels from Queen Victoria which becomes part of the final showdown. 

The Doc and Raider books fall into the adult category of westerns so they do contain some explicit lengthy sex scenes but these are easy to skip if you don’t like reading this kind of thing.

If you want a different kind of western to read, due to where it takes place, then this is certainly a book worth considering. At times it felt like a crime murder mystery rather than a shoot ‘em up western but that was ok with me as it added a bit of variety to my reading.

J.D. Hardin is a pseudonym in this case the real author is Neal Barrett Jr. who wrote three books in the series. There isn’t any continuation in the Doc and Raider series, so you can jump in anywhere and enjoy each as a stand-alone story. Raider would go on to appear in his own 42 book series.

Longarm and the Golden Eagle Shoot-Out

as by Tabor Evans

Jove, October 2007

Felix Gaunt, with an impressively long criminal record, makes the mistake of shooting a federal employee. Unknown to him he now has Deputy U.S. Marshal Custis Long breathing down his neck from Wichita to Fort Worth. But then a contest seeking the fastest draw and best shot in the West lures both men to enter. Longarm will have to dispatch a few other contestants along the way, but he’s got his eyes set on the grand prize – Felix Gaunt in a pine box.

What a shame the back blurb to this book doesn’t mention that this Longarm Giant Edition sees the return of the leading characters from the long gone Doc and Raider series as they feature as much in this fast moving story as does Deputy Long.

The author (James Reasoner) writes a few chapters about each of his three leading characters before they all find themselves drawn together at the event to win the Golden Eagle of the title, all being driven by different reasons for being there, only to find things ain’t what they seem when the contest begins. What unfolds means that Long, Raider and Doc can now work together for the latter part of the story.

And what a story it is for Mr. Reasoner has one hell of a twist waiting for his heroes and readers, a twist I’m not going to even hint at here other than to say it made me gasp out loud it was so unexpected – not least the possibilities it throws up for future storylines.

For fans of Longarm – and fans of Doc and Raider – and for people who just want a great western to read this is definately worth checking out.