Brimstone
Hired gunmen Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole become deputies again to “clean up” a town in the Old West. These two heroes got their reputation for restoring law and order in the towns of Appaloosa and Resolution, the previous two books in the series. Now, a year later, after locating Virgil’s sweetheart Allie French, they arrive in the small town of Brimstone. Looking to start over, they become the law and must deal with two opposing elements – Brother Percival and his Church of the Brotherhood, who want to eliminate the town’s saloons, and Pike, owner of Pike’s Palace. Each side hires gunmen to eventually wage war against each other, while Everett and Virgil try to maintain peace in the town.
I enjoy a good Western, and, in my opinion, this is one of the finest series of Western stories ever written. The dialog and characterization are brilliant. If you prefer to read novels with descriptive settings and scenes, you would not care for Mr. Parker’s style, but this novel is a page-turner, with short chapters and exceptional action. I really hope there is another Western in Mr. Parker, because I would surely miss reading another adventure of Everett and Virgil. Robert Parker is known as the dean of American crime fiction and has written over fifty novels in that genre. This series of Western stories are fun reads, and if you’ve never read a Western novel, I would highly recommend this series, starting with Appaloosa.
