Reaper

By Lee Clinton

Hale, November 2014

1870 and Indian Territory is a hellhole of lawlessness. Federal lawmen are being gunned down in cold blood and outlaws are trading arms to renegade Indians. The lawmakers in Washington fear that order has been lost and insurrection may spread to the peaceful tribes.

In desperation, a bold and secret plan is devised by two senior marshals to recruit a new and unknown deputy – one who can operate independently to hunt down and kill three notorious outlaws in reprisal. But has the right man been selected for this dirty, difficult and dangerous assignment? Walter Garfield’s background is more than a little shady, and he seems to have his own agenda. Why does he keep asking after a fourth man by the name of Jason Taylor who is travelling with a Mexican woman? And why will people call him Reaper?

For this, Lee Clinton’s fourth Black Horse Western, the author returns to his hero from his third book, The Proclaimers, but this isn’t a sequel, instead it tells of how the ex-marshal of that previous book became a lawman in the first place.

As he has done with all his earlier books Lee Clinton presents the reader with one of the longer Black Horse Westerns. The story takes place in just over a month, each short chapter having a sub-heading telling just what day and/or time its events happen.

The story proves to be an enthralling read, filled with superb characters and includes a gripping mystery thread; that of why Garfield is hunting for Jason Taylor, the answer to which took me completely by surprise.

As the fast moving tale progresses it soon becomes clear that some hard decisions are going to have to be made as Garfield and his small band of allies find themselves facing a far superior force in numbers. This leads to a hard-hitting finale that’s filled with tension that strains nerves to breaking point.

That concluding showdown is one of the most memorable I’ve had the pleasure to read for some time and it left me looking forward to Lee Clinton’s next book, something that can’t come soon enough in my opinion.

Lee Clinton is a pseudonym used by Leigh Alver, and I must also add thanks for the excellent dedication.

The Proclaimers

By Lee Clinton

Hale, April 2013

A drunken dispute between two young cowboys ends in a violent death. What follows is a vengeful father’s spiteful desire for retribution by making a public proclamation that he will pay $10.000 to any person who will give him justice. However, a jury has acquitted the young man who shot his son of any wrongdoing.

The family attorney, who was tasked to raise the proclamation that seeks Biblical justice of an eye for an eye, is so horrified by this vindictive act that he takes it upon himself to save the father from his own despicable behaviour. He enlists the help of Walter Garfield – a man whom some would say is well past his prime. But while Walt may be getting a little old and more than a little cantankerous, he is still a man of the Old West.

As the last days of the nineteenth century come to a close, maybe, just maybe, this old ex-marshal is the only one who can save the young cowboy from those who will kill on sight just to get their hands on the vast reward that is on offer by proclamation….

Lee Clinton turns in another of the longer books published under the Black Horse Western tag, with more words per line, and more lines per page than one normally expects from a BHW. His short chapters, around two or three pages long, are all titled and start just a few lines down from the end of the previous chapter rather than on a new page. All this means is that Lee Clinton has plenty of time to develop both characters and storyline.

The opening killing takes place off screen so to speak, thus the reader doesn’t know what really happened and the following court case is enthralling because of this as the truth is sort.

There isn’t a lot of gun action during the first half or so of the book but the hunt to either kill or protect the acquitted young cowboy is gripping enough to keep the reader turning the pages to find out if he can escape death, and even if he does how can the proclamation be ended? I will add here that there is plenty of gunplay towards the end that should satisfy all of us that enjoy gunfights and the effects of which are often described graphically.

Lee Clinton (real name Leigh Alver) ties everything up neatly and I found myself once again looking forward to his next book.

The Proclaimers is officially released on April 30th but is available now from the usual Internet bookstores.