Smoky Valley

An excellent story, made into the movie The Violent Men starring Glenn Ford, Edward G Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck and Brian Keith, thought the story line was changed considerably for the movie, an excellent story as the previous reviews state.

John Parrish went west to recover from a civil war wound. He runs up against a big ranch owner (Wilkison) and his gunfighter/foreman when they try to force him to sell his ranch for little to nothing. Wilkerson has him burned out and Parrish fights back -- but not like they expected. Wilkerson finds he has a tiger by the tail and doesn't know how to let go. Even the movie was good, unlike those Hollywood did for Matt Helm. This is a top-notch, Hamilton book.

An early hamilton work, the story involves an eastern-born civil war veteran come to the west to heal. He interacts with a selection of stock western types, gets the girl(s) and triumphs responsibly. Well-drawn characters, accurate history and geography, precise ballistics and gun lore. There is even a sex scene that is neither purple nor victorian. This book deserves another printing, as do the other hamilton westerns.