WEBB'S POSSE

By Ralph Cotton

Signet, July 2003

When the Peltry Gang swoops into Rileyville, the attack is sudden and merciless. Before the townsfolk know what hit them, one of their own lies dead in the dirt street, Deputy Abner Webb is caught with his pants down, and just for good measure, the desperadoes shoot the sheriff and leave him for dead as they head out.

Webb knows he must capture the outlaws for what they’ve done, but that won’t be easy for the inexperienced lawman. Yet with the help of a shady horse trader and an ornery schoolmaster, Webb just might bring the gunslingers in on their feet – or slung over their saddles.

Ralph Cotton has created a superb bunch of characters for this extremely fast-moving story that barely takes a breath between each savage bout of gunplay. As well as having to deal with the outlaws, soldiers, gunrunners, scalphunters and Federales, the posse has its own internal conflicts for Webb to tackle – he himself being one of the problems for one of the posse members which sees hate and jealousy rise viciously.

Then there’s the suspicions about the horse trader, Will Summers, just what is his angle? And what of the schoolteacher, Sherman Dahl, just why would a schoolmaster be so proficient with a gun and cool under fire? Can either of them be trusted? As the posse begins to face the brutal reality of their task some die, some leave and other people join them, including some who won’t think twice about double-crossing the posse.

As the chase takes all sides into Mexico, all these groups find themselves fighting for possession of a Gatling Gun and no one is safe from death. That’s one of the traits I like about Ralph Cotton’s writing, the fact that you can never be sure who he’ll kill off, and when.

If you like hard-hitting, action-packed westerns that offer surprises, twists and engaging characters then Webb’s Posse is a book you should consider tracking down. I don’t think I’ll be spoiling anything by adding that this book saw five sequels featuring two of the survivors of the hunt to bring the Peltry gang to justice, and I’m certainly going to be reading them very soon.

Midnight Rider

By Ralph Cotton

Signet, April 2012

Avrial “Rock” Rochenbach is a former Pinkerton detective who has found that the wrong side of the law pays better. But he may be in over his head when a thief named Andrew Grolin offers him fifty thousand dollars to help rob a U.S. Treasury Department freight car carrying a large amount of gold bullion. Problem is, Grolin’s gang doesn’t trust Rock, and most of them are just awaiting an opportunity to put a bullet in his back – once they have the gold.

Now Rock has to gain the confidence of some of the West’s most notorious outlaws to save his hide – while protecting his true identity as an undercover U.S. secret service agent….

Midnight Rider is a nickname given to Rochenbach as he prefers to work during the darkness of night. Rock makes for an intriguing hero, one who has to keep his true identity a secret from both friend and foe. Rock rides with, and fights, other equally as memorable characters, Giant and Casings being but two of them.

Ralph Cotton definitely knows how to pace a story, how to keep the reader hooked. There’s plenty of gun action as outlaws double-cross each other and Rock plays them against their comrades. As his dangerous game unfolds Rock gets caught sending secret messages and the reader has to wonder how he can escape with his life and his true mission still hidden and achievable.

There’s plenty of exciting and gripping action such as the gunfight involving a blind man, another being the train robbery itself. Ralph Cotton also writes some very tense scenes when Rock finds himself a prisoner of a group of soldiers, neither side quite believing that each is exactly who they say they are. There are also a couple of neat twists to the tale, and a touch of mystery as to the identity of the person who supplies the outlaws with information. 

As far as I know Avrial Rochenbach first appeared in Ralph Cotton’s previous book, one of his Will Summer’s series, Incident at Gunn Point. According to the back of that book, Midnight Rider is the first in a new series, and on the strength of this story I hope the series is set for a long run.