THE TANGLED WEB

by Giles A. Lutz ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 20, 1983

A posthumous novel by the late veteran Western-writer--and not one of his livelier efforts. Rowry Saxton is deputy marshal of Hays, Kansas, a sleepy little town where the major lawbreaking usually involves some druken, disorderly behavior by town lush Chubby Inman. But then things start getting rougher for strong, silent Rowry, ""as thin as a rawhide thong and just about as tough."" Chubby gets even wilder than usual--and Rowry has to kill him in self-defense, which leads to a hearing: though Rowry is cleared, he feels oppressed by town hostility. And then Rowry kills again: this time it's his own ne'er-do-well brother Ord who's the victim--shot to death when he tries a bank holdup along with three cronies (who escape). Rowry's father (who adored Ord) rejects him; Rowry is put on trial--with a contrived case against him and a hung-jury result. So, determined to clear his name, Rowry goes after those three other bank-robbers--a trek that takes him to Wichita, Abilene, and Dodge City, where Bat Masterson helps him to catch the bad guys, win back his father's love, and settle down at last with loyal girlfriend Abby. With two courtroom sequences and lots of moody stewing by Rowry (who, anachronistically, is aware of ""subconsciously"" wishing for Ord's downfall), this is slow, talky going--and only for devotees of the plainest, most earnest sort of Western.

Pub Date: May 20, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1983

Categories: FICTION