Review: Another Hit by Van Holt!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 13, 2014
This is now my third or fourth Van Holt novel and I am really getting hooked. I don't know what the order of the books is necessarily, although since the stories are all separate adventures, that doesn't particularly matter, but I am enjoying them more and more. Perhaps I am just getting used to the terse, tough writing style, but I am sure I'm not the only reader to get sucked in by the addictive prose and the quick, all-business approach that Van Holt takes with his action scenes. I'm a sucker for revenge, and Frank Graben, who I had already met in another of Van Holt's novels, is quick to deal out retribution to those he feels deserves it. As with so many other Westerns, it starts with the premise of a stranger coming into town. The locals aren't interested in helping Graben with supplies and such, and the brutal baron who had basically taken over the town threatens to make Van Holt regret ever coming to their little cattle town.The tension between the baron and the tall, dark, violent protagonist is fascinating and definitely drives the story forward. The exposition and the dialogue between the characters is also so fitting for the time period, the region, and the general mindset of most characters. For an author to still write in such an honest and seemingly experienced way about a lifestyle that has basically disappeared is a lot of fun. Van Holt's books continue to impress me. I will definitely be purchasing and reviewing more of them; they are ideal for a few lazy afternoons of reading, followed by a deep desire to head west and get a bit wild, just like Van Holt's characters....