Longarm 381: Longarm and the Santiago Pistoleers

Longarm's latest assignment is to go to Santiago,Arizona to pick up a prisoner and bring him back to Denver for trial.Not an unusual task for Longarm;but somehow these jobs always get much tougher and complicated than expected.This one is no different.Even before Longarm gets to his destination,his stage gets hit and one of the worst plunderings immaginable results.He finally gets to Santiago,and that's when things really get hot and heavy. This is one of the best of the hundreds of episodes I've read in this great series.The writer sticks with writing an Old West story that is as good as they get.He develops great characters.His action scenes are electric.His storyline is excellent and keeps the reader on edge from beginning to end.The reader has no difficulty in keeping the large number of characters sorted out and doesn't need a scorecard.What makes this story particularly good is that the writer doesn't fool around with a lot of motives and clues as to who did what or why;thus turning the story into a mystery,or "whodunit" rather than a down to earth Old West adventure. On top of that,the reader gets the feel that the writer is a Western writer and not a Mystery writer,just hired to crank out an episode.Just another case where I wish the publishers would give us the names of the writers who write under the name of Tabor Evans.I think fans of the series would agree with me;and deserve to know. This writer is as good as any,and better than many who have written episodes in this series,and I can only plead that the publishers give him more opportunities to "show his stuff".(Just in case you thought otherwise,no ,he's not a friend of mine.I have no idea at all who he is.) Just to show how excellent a writer he is,read this; "The night passed with no shootings and only one stabbing in Santiago,and that was a short-lived disagreement between two vaqueros over a buxom girl on the Mexican side of town.Longarm and Buckhorn Pete arbitrated the dustup,and it ended with the victim being sewn up by a Mexican sawbones.Afterward,the victim and his attacker rode out to their rancho singing a sentimental ballad and passing a bottle of bacanora back and forth between themselves.The buxom girl had long since disappeared." Now,just wait till you read about the shoot-out that takes place outside the Santiago Jail;it makes the "Shoot-out at the O.K.Corral" seem like an argument,by comparison.

I ordered this book for my son who has read every one of the Longarm series. It arrived promptly and in good condition. He is reading it now, so it must be good.