Reviewed by Annette Gisby author of Writing the Dream

David White, murderer, arsonist and rapist, escapes from jail the night before he is due to be executed in the old west. He wants to go to Mexico, but realises he will need money, lots of money in order to survive.

He ends up in the small town of Clearwater on the Texas/Mexico border and decides to rob the bank there, killing three people in the process. But what he hadn’t reckoned on was the sheriff of Clearwater, an honest man with a reputation for always getting his man...

There is an ensemble cast of characters here, from the local mayor who is also the newspaper editor, a gentle blacksmith to the bank manager who is also embezzling the funds.

This is the first western I’ve read and my one complaint would be that there are not many strong female characters, they seem either to just be there for a love interest, or to cook! I’m sure that even in the old west, there were some feisty heroines and I would have liked to have seen some mention of them.

The book itself is a good engaging tale, the writer draws you in with descriptions of the heat and dust, action packed and full of suspense.

A must if you like westerns, and if you don’t, then it’s still worth a look as an historical novel.

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