Dead Man Draw

By Walt Keene

Hale, November 2014

Legendary Will Bill Hickok and his close friends, retired lawman Dan Shaw and veteran gunfighter Tom Dix, have no idea what they are facing upon arrival in the sprawling town of Dead Man Draw. But it doesn’t take long to discover that the place is crawling with hired killers.

The intrepid trio are soon face to face with more deadly guns than they have ever encountered, each one trained on the fearless men as they move through the settlement. The tension is about to break. Shaw and Dix are angry but Hickok is more than angry – he’s dangerous.

Dead Man Draw is, I believe, the ninth book in Walt Keene’s series featuring Dix, Shaw and Hickok, and it’s only the second I’ve read. As in Gun Fury Hickok doesn’t have a major role until some way into the story. He appears in the prologue and it’s during this that a couple of major questions are voiced that kept me reading to find out their answers.

Dix and Shaw, virtually penniless, take on roles as lawmen in Dead Man Draw, without really wondering why they’ve been offered the jobs. It soon becomes obvious that the men who’ve hired them, and those who oppose them, don’t give a damn about the real law and it seem all are motivated by greed.

With Hickok’s arrival in town the three team up and take on the bad guys in a bloody showdown that includes a couple of twists and also brings forth the answers to the questions set at the beginning of the story.

Walt Keene is a pseudonym used by Michael D. George, a writer whose Black Horse Westerns written under a variety of pen-names are very popular. A couple of his other series are perhaps better known than this one, but on the strength of this very entertaining book maybe Dix, Shaw and Hickok should be up there with the likes of Iron Eyes (as by Rory Black) and the Bar 10 series (as by Boyd Cassidy).

Gun Fury

as by Walt Keene
A Black Horse Western from Hale, August 2009

Veteran gunfighter Tom Dix and his pal Dan Shaw get a telegraph message from the remote border town of Gun Fury. Both men know that it must be serious for their friend Wild Bill Hickok to contact them. They saddle up and ride knowing that something perilous is brewing.

Death awaits and greets them as soon as the reach Gun Fury. Within hours bodies start to pile up. And the curious thing is that the infamous Hickok claims he never sent for them. Trapped, Dix and Shaw have to fight for their lives in Gun Fury.

Of the many Black Horse Westerns I’ve read this is one of the first I can recall that features a real person from the history of the West. In this case his inclusion is an important factor to the major plot thread of the book, even though for the most part of the story Hickok is just a background character.

Tom Dix and Dan Shaw are the main players in this fast moving, easy to read book, that immediately captures the readers attention with questions as to why Hickok would send for retired lawman Shaw and ex-convict/gunfighter Dix – if he indeed did.

The book gradually builds to its exciting final showdown through a number of tense confrontations that have Dix and Shaw facing crazed gunmen and a rancher that has those who remain in the dying town of Gun Fury in a grip of fear. If that isn’t enough the arrival of top gunfighter Will Fontaine adds to the problems.

Walt Keene is a pseudonym of Michael D. George and Gun Fury is his sixth BHW under this name, going by the other titles listed at the front of the book. If traditional, straightforward, westerns are your preferred choice in the genre then I’d suggest you get your order in soon. The book is officially published on August 31st but is available now from many Internet booksellers.