Sunday 10 January 2010

The Gunsmith #334

MESSAGE ON THE WIND
as by J.R. Roberts

Jove, October 2009

Clint Adams is travelling wherever the wind takes him when he comes across an unusual cry for help. A scrap of paper from a newspaper he’s never heard of is carried to him on the breeze with three desperate words scrawled on it: Please help us! Thing is, the newspaper is dated two years ago – and it’s from a town Clint’s never seen on any map.

When Clint starts asking folks about the mystery town, he can’t get a straight answer. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Clint pays a prison visit to a convicted murderer with a cell full of secrets. There are some hard cases who won’t make it easy for Clint to know the truth – and as he gets closer, the Gunsmith runs the risk of getting blown away…

Written in J.R. Roberts’ (Robert J. Randisi) usual fast paced, smooth flowing, dialogue driven, style, this book is filled with mystery. Who wrote the message? Why do they need help? Why does every person Clint asks about the town of Organ Pipe deny any knowledge of it when it’s obvious they’re lying? Is prisoner Joe Hickey telling the truth?

All these questions lead to more, and I soon found I needed to know the answers as much as the Gunsmith, which made the book very difficult to put down. I had my suspicions as to what was going on but each of my thoughts was proved wrong with each plot twist, such as Joe Hickey’s explanation of what had happened to the town of Organ Pipe.

If all these puzzles aren’t enough problems for Clint Adams, there’s the man aiming to kill the Gunsmith and there’s also a jealous man. Of course Clint finds time for some moments of pleasure with a couple of women he meets – after all this is an adult western. And after a tense showdown all the plot threads are neatly tied up, which leads me to recommend this book to all readers who enjoy a western full of mystery. Fans of Robert Randisi’s work make sure you don’t miss this one.

5 comments:

Jo Walpole said...

This sounds really good. Consider it added to the old TBR. :-)

Roy said...

I'm a big fan of Randisi's work but the majority of Gunsmiths I've read have been much earlier in the series. I've been wanting to check out a recent one and this sounds like a prime candidate.

Jo Walpole said...

Mmmm...I'm reading this now (about halfway through). I agree it's easy to read and heavy on dialogue (sparse on narrative). What has surprised me is the 'adult' bits you mentioned. Not what I was expecting in a standard western (vs. e.g. hot romance western). I'm finding the sexual language very crude/course (even though I skipped as much of the sex as I could). Definitely not to my liking. Apparently, I'm an English prude after all. LOL Oh well, you live and learn and it wouldn't suit us all to be the same (cliche fest now over). :-)

Steve M said...

Did wonder if this book (series) would suit your tastes Jo... but if you don't try you'll never know.

Similar 'adult' content is also to be found in the other long running series, Longarm, Slocum, and The Trailsman.

Jo Walpole said...

You'll know to steer me clear in the future :-) Thanks for mentioning the others I'll probably want to give a miss to as well. You won't be surprised to hear that I have enjoyed the books you gave me with dogs in though. :-D