Lockhart's Nightmare

A mystery-adventure set in the waning days of the old west, it has 350 pages, I wish it could have been more, James Lockhart trying to clear his name after being falsely accused of stealing the bank notes that he sells plus murder, with his traveling companion Marian Taylor who is accused of being an accomplice, they travel mostly by train with one air trip and several buggy rides from Sacramento to Fort Worth with stops in Omaha, Hannibal, the Oklahoma panhandle, rural Kentucky and other points, my kind of book, hope it is your's too.

Riding the rails, James Lockhart is a traveling salesman of sorts. He goes from town to town selling banknotes to individual banks. However on a train bound to Sacramento, U.S. Marshal Rance Henson arrests James for robbing four of his customers and killing two opeople. Rance, better known as Marshal Doom for arresting over one-hundred "guilty" people, also incarcerates actress Marion Taylor for being James' accomplice. James knows he is innocent, but thinks Marion might be involved. She likewise believes the same thing about him. However, due to Marion's abilities, the pair escapes from their cells. Though they do not trust one another, Marion and James work as a team trying to uncover which one of his traveling companions is the cold blooded killer. However, they must work fast because Marshal Doom and the real killer are after them. LOCKHART'S NIGHTMARE is an interesting mixing of a western with a twist of a mystery. The lead characters and the drummers are all well written so as to give a flavor of the old west to readers. However, Marshall Doom seems more like a poor man's Girard and slows down the tale because his motives are not clear. The story line is not quite at the level of Wayne Barton and Stan Williams previous work (FAIRCHILD'S PASSAGE) because it requires several leaps of faith and an abacus to keep score. However, fans of the western who-done-it will enjoy the fast-paced, action-packed ride.Harriet Klausner