Thursday 24 July 2008

The Vigilante #2


SIX-GUN LAW 
by Jory Sherman
Berkley, November 2006

Lew Zane believed he was delivering justice – not vengeance – when he killed the men who murdered his parents. But taking the law into his own hands has taken its toll on his soul. Selling his land and property, Lew plans to leave Arkansas for good and put the past behind him. But the fathers of the men Lew executed abduct Seneca Jones, the woman Lew loves, hoping to lure him into a death trap. Lew has nothing left to lose, and no fear of the consequences of his actions – which will brand him as a wanted man for the rest of his life…

Jory Sherman takes up all the loose ends of the previous book and resolves most in a violent and bloody confrontation early on in this second Vigilante book.

Sherman then has Zane trying to escape his past but with the people he meets the question of law and justice will rear its head again. Once more Zane will find himself up against corrupt lawmen as he tries to protect the lives of a young woman and her two children.

Unknown to Zane a federal lawman, Blackhawk, is tracking him down and he makes for a most interesting character as he struggles to work out whether Zane is guilty of a crime.

Sherman writing makes it impossible to put this book down before you know the outcome of Blackhawk’s investigations. After the many violent scenes throughout the book, Sherman masterfully underplays the end leaving the reader with questions to answer for himself…or perhaps to be found in the next book, Vigilante: Santa Fe Showdown.

Perhaps not quite as good as the first Vigilante book but well worth reading for the final scene.

2 comments:

Chris said...

Your review makes me want to check out the first Vigilante book...and then this one!

Steve M said...

Jory Sherman is a great author and should be on every western fans list of writers to try. I'll be reviewing more of his work soon, including the third Vigilante book.