Attempted murder is the beginning chapter of this western tale spun by Johnny D. Boggs. Deputy U.S. Marshal Reilly McGilvern is transporting outlaws to the Yuma prison. The prison wagon is attacked on the way by outlaws. Wanting to free a specific prisoner, three guards die in a hail of bullets poured in an ambush. The hated McGilvern is locked in the wagons cage and left to die without food or water. Another outlaw gang who are trying to continue the Civil War surprisingly saves him. Reilly’s problems multiply as the story continues to unfold.
The Civil War outlaw gang is lead by Bloody Jim Pardo. He is working on the assumption that Reilly is a ruthless criminal. This criminal gang has two hostages a mother and daughter that the gang is saving to sell south of the boarder. Needing to play his role perfectly Reilly’s life is open to all kinds of problems. The problems grow as his trail mixes in with three major factors, which are the gang he is with, the hostages he is trying to save and the potential of running into the gang that tried to kill him in the beginning. Walking the thin line almost gets him killed several times.
Staying on the right side of the law and not getting killed is a major portion of this unique western that causes me to continue turning the pages and pushing toward Reilly’s ultimate solution. How he stops Bloody Jim Pardo and staying alive to free the hostages and eventually bringing retribution to the gang and its members who left him to die in the prison wagon cage.
I will recommend this western with an enthusiastic yes you should read this book. I felt that the story was fresh and gave a new dynamic to the black and white happenings on the western frontier. Johnny D. Boggs is definitely a western writer of distinction.
