Trail of Death

The Trail of Death, and plenty there is too, as bounty hunter Slater, also known as The Regulator, gets accused of a massacre of a troop from the 10th Cavalry. Slater escapes the Army and heads out to collect bounty on Rowdy Burton's gang. Also thrown into the mix is a renegade band of Apache, whose leader, Huerfano, will bring back painful memories from Slater's past. Memories that can only be paid for in death. A couple of wanna be bounty hunters provide moments of humour amongst the hate and killing as the book moves swiftly from one death to another. To my knowledge this is the only entry in the series from this particular author, Preston Lewis (Dale Colter is a pseudonym), and it's a shame he didn't do more. Definitely one of the better entries in this twelve book series. The book builds well, with Slater having quite a bit of bad luck as well as good. His character of a man who only cares about himself and getting his bounty comes over well. The support cast is portrayed equally as good, the half-breed Creel being a particular favourite. The book is tough; often savage and I felt the inclusion of the Siwel cousins provided the comic elements to balance the brutality out well. Worth looking for if you like tough, gritty westerns.