White Desert

This is the sixth book in the series about US Deputy Marshall Page Murdock and this time out he is away from his usual Montana stamping grounds having been despatched to Canada by Judge Blackthorne ,his boss ,to bring back two especially vicious killers.They are Bliss and Whitelaw who while lacking the notoreity of such as Jesse James and Billy the Kid are more destructive and depraved by far. It is a trip fraught with danger-the Metis Indians are chaffing under British rule and seem likely to break out in open rebellion ,ther Sioux have taken refuge in Canada after defeating Custer and are not overly enthusiastic about US lawmen .In addition there are the Shulamites -a colony of ex slaves now living in Canada and also lacking in will to help any stray US white .Add the constant butting of heads between Murdock and the Mountie commander Urban Vivian ,bone freezing weather and hostile wildlife and its a bumpy ride for the Deputy..He does have useful help however from the guide he engages ,the resourceful Phillipe la rochelle .The climax comes with the capture of Murdock and Vivian by the outlaws and a shootout and pursuit following it . The decriptive writing in this book is especially fine and the action plentiful and well described. Estleman is a master profssional and this fine stand alone novel is him at near best .It works as a pursuit ,adventure tale rather than a pure western and is immensely enjoyable

WHITE DESERT is not only a fine western it's a fine novel by any standards. Like Elmore Leonard Estleman takes the reader on a long ride into the human condition of yesteryear, ambushes a number of preconceived notions along the way, and leaves you with a story that stays with you long after the dust has settled. There's enough humor as well to keep you chuckling and enough well written dialogue and description to make the pages (and Page too!) fly. Good for you, Estleman and good for us.

Deputy Marshall Page Murdock encounters Mounties, Metis, and Cree Indians in a wintertime assignment to Canada. This work is up to Estleman's high standards in plot and character development. It is worth reading but you may want to start with the beginning of the series.