Jury of Six: A Luke Starbuck Novel

The Overlords is packaged as a Western , unsuprisingly ,given Matt Braun's eminence in the genre , but in all conscience it is nothing of the sort and it owes more to the gangsters and crimebusters school .Those seeking a cinematic comparison for the book would find it in the classic Warner Brothers crime movies of the thirties rather than a Western .The time is the prohibition era and the setting is Galveston which Braun points out in a short but informative foreward was a kind of Southern version of Chicago dominated by the mob in alliance with respectable mainstream business interests .The focal point is the Hollywood Club ,ostensibly a night club with the means to attract celebrity acts such as Al Jolson and Sophie Tucker but whose main income comes from illegal gambling .The club is run by Quinn and Voight who have an understanding with the town's major bankers and the local law firmly in their pockets .The pair face a double threat -the Texas Rangers have placed an agent to infiltrate the outfit and Durant , a movie stuntman for Tom Mix who inherits a small bank and resists the attempt of the corrupt banker Magruder to force him to sell despite the "persususions " of the mob enforcers acting at Magreuder's behest .Simply but vividly drawn characters -like the chief mob enforcer ,Nolan -together with a propulsive narrative style heavy on dialogue ,ensure that despite its being longer than most novels of its kind it never wears out its welcome and remains a crisp piece of modern pulp writing .As usual in Braun there is a great deal of name dropping with cameo roles for stars of the period like Jolson (pictured as an egotistical and dislikeable man but supremely good at what he does ) and the man chasing Sophie Tucker .Also present are the usual doses of Braun's social conservatism and rather clumsily interpolated historical research Brisk and fun but Western readers beware -it is not in your chosen genre

Anothe book about Luke Starbuck. His friend Ben Laugham has ben gunned down. He is determined to find the killers, little knowing it would lead him to Billy the Kid. He faces The Kid and also has to face the men The Kid is working for. He also has to put up with Pat Garrett, who is more concerned about getting relected than doing his job. Can Luke find all the powers behind the killing? A fairly fast moving western. I gave it a four instead of a five because several pages are all talk with out much going on. As a whole it will hold your attention. I like Lukes brand of justice. It is much better than some we have today.