Blood on the Saddle

Blood on the Saddle is the story of the murder trial of a Robin Hood style outlaw, the narrator's older brother, who has made the mistake of tangling with the local cattle baron by courting his beautiful daughter. Written as an absorbing courtroom drama, most readers will be devastated by the revelations of the denouement. In fact, fans of formula Westerns will detest the ending. The novel is Dan Cushman's latest and possibly last title. Cushman, who has a long list of serious novels to his credit, wrote two "straight-up" versions of this story---Badlands Justice and Rusty Irons. This book is a cynical view of the Western hero by one of the old time masters of the genre, but in this novel, Cushman upends the formula in a disquieting and memorable manner. Recommended for readers of serious fiction.