"Gold and grief in Canon del Despiadado."

After Scratch Morton and Bo Creel save the life of Peter Davidson in a bar shootout in El Paso he offers them a job guarding the gold shipments that have been waylaid after leaving his mine in Mexico.

Figuring a little change of scenery might do them good, the two Texans sign on and head for Cutthroat Canyon. The situation becomes rather confusing, though, when Scratch and Bo encounter the bandidos bent on disrupting their employer's gold shipments only to discover they may be on the wrong side of the conflict.

When a comely young senorita makes them realize there's more to what is happening in the area and that their boss may, in fact, be one of the bad guys who has abused his money and power, the two buddies have to make some tough decisions. As bullets fly, the trip to Boot Hill becomes a daily occurrence. Scratch and Bo have to wonder if they would not have been better off had they let Davidson go down in a blaze of gunfire at the Birdcage Saloon.

Of course, at the novel's conclusion Davidson isn't so happy either. He tells Bo, "I had things under control here, except for those holdups, until you and Morton came to Cutthroat Canyon. I didn't realize you'd ruin everything."

Scratch's reply? "That's what happens to little tin- plate dictators. Sooner or later justice comes callin' ."

There are plenty of opportunities for the heroes in this western novel to slap a little leather and show off their marksmanship. Of course, when the shooting ends and the smoke clears, they will have successfully corrected a grave injustice as have all those legendary gunslingers who have gone before them. It doesn't get any better than that, pardner!

Reviewed by Bob Walch
Posted July 18, 2009