Back
in March and April of 2013, Barry and I in separate reviews gave our thoughts
on The Drifter Detective. With news
in recent days that a new installment of the series is coming, it seemed
fitting to again remind everyone of this excellent series. Therefore, as a FFB
Double Take Review, Barry and then I offer thoughts on the first book of the
series. Please note that when we reviewed the book it was available as an eBook
and did not contain the additional short story “Fighting Chance.” It also had a
far different cover design that I very much liked and briefly referred to in my
review. It appears that the eBook is no longer available and the print is only available
via third parties at an insane price.
After
you read the reviews, make sure you head over to Patti Abbott’s blog as well as Aubrey
Nye Hamilton’s Happiness Is A Warm Book blog and see what they suggest today. Todd Mason is back
collecting links so you will have even more suggestions om his Sweet Freedom blog later.
Have
a good weekend! Go COWBOYS!!!!
"The Drifter Detective"
(2013) by Garnett Elliott
Reviewed by Barry Ergang
In Texas just after World War II,
investigative jobs in cities like Dallas and Houston are hard to come by for
one-man operations because big firms like the Pinkertons and others tend to get
them, so ex-G.I.-turned-P.I. Jack Laramie tools around rural areas in search of
business, hoping to eventually amass enough money to open an office in San
Antonio or Austin. Towing a horse trailer, which he sleeps in, behind his
DeSoto coupe, he's on his way to Abilene where there is a "hint of a
job" when the car begins to act up. He manages to get it to the small town
of Clyde and to a service garage. The proprietor assures him that because it's
late afternoon, the car's problem won't be diagnosed until the next day at the
earliest.
The man gives Laramie directions to the
local saloon, and tells him the widow Talbot runs a boarding house where he
might get a room for the night. (Laramie figures it wouldn't be a good idea to
sneak back to the garage to sleep in the horse trailer.) Soon after he meets
Sheriff Gideon Hawes, who says he can throw some work Laramie's way. The job,
he learns the next morning, entails keeping an eye on the estate of a prominent
local citizen, Thomas McFaull, who might be engaged in some illicit activities.
Laramie agrees to do it, and quickly finds himself entangled with McFaull's
promiscuous wife, a surly sheriff's deputy, a railroad worker, and the
flirtatious widow Talbot. It isn't long before matters turn dangerous, and
Laramie finds himself wondering if things are really as they seem and whether
he'll survive so he can get back on the road to Abilene again.
A neatly-paced,
action-packed long short story, "The Drifter Detective" is written in
a colorful but not overwrought style and populated with characters the author
imparts life to. For fans of hardboiled fiction with pulpy flavor and texture,
this one is well worth Amazon's 99¢ asking price.
Barry Ergang ©2013, 2020
Former Managing Editor of Futures Mystery
Anthology Magazine and First Senior Editor of Mysterical-E,
Derringer winner Barry Ergang's work has appeared in numerous publications,
print and electronic. His website is http://writetrack.yolasite.com/.
For my take on
the book…
The Drifter Detective: A Jack Laramie
Beat by Garnett Elliott
is the latest release from Beat To A Pulp and is a very good one. The striking
and well done cover only hints at the powerful tale inside as the read takes
readers to West Texas and the world of private investigator Jack Laramie. After
a clash with a local ranch hand as he closes a case, Jack is happy to get back
in his Desoto and head out of Cross Plains, Texas. He doesn’t make it very far
down the road before mechanical issues cause him to have to find a garage. His
quest for a place to drink and a bed for the night in Clyde, Texas will create
new problems in unexpected ways.
Grandson of the legendary US Marshall,
Cash Laramie, Jack is a tough WWII vet who has seen the worst the world has to
offer. These days he lives out of an empty horse trailer attached to his old
Desoto and does the best he can to survive. This novelette of approximately 9k
words is a hard hitting read that is excellent and very much well worth your
time.
Material supplied by David Cranmer in
exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R Tipple ©2013, 2020
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