I'm picky about westerns. Most authors use guns like magic wands & horses like cars. History & logic are often casualties of action. Not so with Hamilton. His characters use the correct guns, ammo & holsters. No two gun shooting & the good guys don't shoot any better than the bad guys. Horses go lame & get tired, too. How refreshing!

This was a well crafted story with tough moral problems, yet an upbeat story, in many ways. Realistic without being horribly gritty or getting bogged down in mundane details. I've read another western by him, [b:Mad River|3589972|Mad River|Donald Hamilton|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|3632240] & it was every bit as good.

Still, his finest work was the Matt Helm series (nothing like the horrible movies with Dean Martin) which features a tougher, American James Bond-like character. ( )