Killstraight
Renamed Daniel Killstraight at the Carlisle Industrial School in the late 1800s, a young Comanche man returns to his tribe, who live on an Arizona reservation. He stops at a small town close to his home and, while there, witnesses the hanging of a childhood friend. Looking for work, he joins a Metal Shirt group, law enforcement officers ordered to arrest Comanches who break the law. While working with the Metal Shirts, he tries to determine the innocence of his friend, hanged for killing a white man and his wife. Because he is an Indian, he isn’t allowed to arrest a white man for any crimes, which makes his job more difficult when he learns that certain powerful white men may be behind the killings.
Killstraight is both a fine western novel and a gripping who-done-it. Johnny Boggs is a well-known writer who has won the coveted Spur Award several times. His research into early western history, along with the fact he has lived in the West for many years, contributes to his storytelling. I highly recommend this novel to western enthusiasts and readers who enjoy a good mystery.
