Newly married and dreaming of settling down on his ranch on the Guadalupe River, Texas Ranger Andy Pickard is dispatched to central Texas to investigate a series of murders and cattle thefts. Pickard and his new partner, Logan Daggett, soon learn that the two biggest cattlemen in the region are at each others' throats--and that one or the other is blamed for each act of violence. After getting to know the ranchers, however, Ranger Pickard suspects that neither is guilty. Adding fuel to the fire is the rise of the "regulators," a gang of masked vigilantes whose identities are kept so secret that men suspected of divulging their names have been killed. On top of this comes the arrival of a notorious gunman whose sudden appearance is noted especially by Ranger Daggett, who knows the man and his deadly reputation
As I write this, this is the last novel to be published by Elmer Kelton. He had died the previous year. I suspect Forge was publishing him as fast as he wrote, because of his popularity. (He was the only living author I was buying at the time, and have found no one to replace him.) This book continues the saga of Andy Pickard in his role as a Texas Ranger, and is well worth reading more than once. As with most authors I do like his early work better; novels such as Hot Iron; Buffalo Wagon; Donovan Barbed Wire; The Wolf and the Buffalo. And if you like this one you'll love them. Buy it and give Elmer Kelton a try.
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