Longarm 253: Longarm in the Valley of Sin

Not one of the better Longarm sagas;but passable. It is more of a detective/mystery than a fast action western.At least, Longarm wanders around getting into one thing or another and the author doesn't wear the reader down with endless ,convoluted details and whodunnit explanations The storyline is not bad,but there is not much in the way of character development;even though several of them had possibilities. There is not much in the way of Old West historical events,and very little in the way of pursuits,gunfights or fast action. Even the element of surprise doesn't get into the story and the reader is left more with the feeling of being glad it is over and done with;so our hero can get back to Denver and maybe get a new case ,in a better location than Trinidad,with some real Old West fast action with unusual characters and even some local history and color to boot. The cover is interesting.I assume that is Dr.Colton wearing the hat,and no doubts about the Baumhofer Cranium;but a picture of Briarcliff Manor,the mineral baths,or even Rev.Obadiah Jones ,would have been more appropriate than the non-existing train wreck.

This is one of the best Longarm novels I've read. Very fast-moving and very funny, with a plot that takes some truly surprising twists and turns.