Brimstone (Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, #3)

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Brimstone (Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch #3)

by Robert B. Parker, Titus Welliver (Narrator)

3.81 · rating details · 775 ratings · 152 reviews

When we last saw Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole, they had just put things to right in the rough-and-tumble Old West town of Resolution. It’s now a year later, and Virgil has only one thing on his mind: Allie French, the woman who stole his heart during their days in Appaloosa.

Making their way across New Mexico and Texas, the pair finally locate Allie in a small-town brothe...more

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Published June 30th 2009 by Random House Audio (first published May 5th 2009)

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Mar 29, 2011

Barbara rated it

· review of another edition

While reading this book, I heard the sad news that Robert Parker had died, ironically while sitting at his desk writing. Over 40 years he had written about 75 mysteries, most of which I have read. A touching tribute to him was in today's Boston Globe by a close fiend, Gary Goshgarian. He said, " He was probably the smartest person I've known and the quickest wit. His observations, never labored, were always incisive and sensible.His writing was brilliant and lean..." Later his friend s...more

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Dec 19, 2011

Mandy Gordon rated it

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Brimstone is written by the same author as my last book "Appaloosa" and is just as good. The same two men are featured riding and revenging anyone in their path. They are in need of some peace and try to find it in Brimstone living with Cole's lover Allie French. They realize that this town like all others has its bad features. In this case it is the Reverend that is not as good as they come. The two come to find that everywhere they look they find nothing but hardship and lots of wome...more

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Jun 14, 2010

David rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: completed

There are those who claim that Parker had been writing Western novels for years- disguised as private eye novels. I cannot help but sort of agree.

First, I have to give Parker kudos for writing gritty westerns. The characters are mean and Parker portrays shootouts for the most part as they really were... nasty, violent, kill-em-all and show-no-mercy events. No warnings, not a lot of words.. just pull your gun and put the other guy down.

Second, the lead characters, Eve...moreThere are those who claim that Parker had been writing Western novels for years- disguised as private eye novels. I cannot help but sort of agree.

First, I have to give Parker kudos for writing gritty westerns. The characters are mean and Parker portrays shootouts for the most part as they really were... nasty, violent, kill-em-all and show-no-mercy events. No warnings, not a lot of words.. just pull your gun and put the other guy down.

Second, the lead characters, Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole, are intriguing characters with some interesting behavior. Cole, in love with Allie, a former whore and unfaithful lover, just can't let her go, no matter how many men she chooses to bed. Hitch, the eight-gauge shotgun weilding partner, stands by Cole, never correcting him about his behavior or choices, but frequently correcting his pronunciation of some word in an effort to improve Cole's vocabulary.

Of course, one of the main stars of this series is Hitch's huge 8 gauge shotgun. Before seeing "Appaloosa" (which I thought was about a horse- but it is the name of a town) the biggest I had ever heard of was a 10 gauge. (For those who are unaware, the smaller the gauge in shotgun terms, the bigger the bore and the damage done- 8 gauge shotguns are illegal for hunting use in most areas- and to my knowledge no longer made-- hence a 12 gauge is a more potent weapons than a 20 gauge, and an 8 is even bigger).. This huge gun plays a prominent role in this story as Hitch always is in possession of this threatening weapon, which of course, draws remarks from almost everyone they meet.

The dialogue is crisply written and at times clever. However, Parker continues to sprinkle the "F" word (which would rarely have been used to this extent even among the roughest of people during this time period). More telling, at times in the novel, is not what the characters say, but what they do not say. At one point, Virgil ignores Hitch's questions, which reveal a great deal about what the answers would have been. (any more info would spoil the story)

Another problem I have is discerning what period (1870's, 1880's, 1890's) this story is actually set in. There are some references to Commanche and Apache Indian wars, but Parker acts as if they commanches are still running around, which would cause me to think 1870's at latest. Yet at one point a character has a Navy Colt that would have been almost outdated, unless converted to fire metallic cartridges, instead of cap and ball, which would likely have cost more than a new gun. Still, the Colt Navy was the favorite of Wild bill Hickok who died in 1876, so it could fit the period. If the setting is 1880's then the gun would be even more outdated, but it is described as an "old" Navy Colt. Still, the author leaves us to ponder the exact setting.

Why is setting important? Well, we have the idea, from movies for the most part, that the west was still pretty wild. Did you know that Tombstone had telephone service the same year as the OK Corral gunfight? Did you know that the death of Jesse James was reported to law enforcement via telephone? Not exactly the primitive period we sometimes think of.

Parker would have us believe that these fictional towns (Appalosa, Resolution, Brimstone, etc.) grew up around ranches and then disappeared?

While I enjoyed this novel and read it very quickly, and even felt it was better than some of the author's other offerings, I was not impressed with one of the characters, Brother Percival. This religious fanatic/hypocrite plays an important part in the story and eventually we gain the understanding that he is a nutjob. Some of the spiritual ideas he was tossing up were so far out in left field that I was distracted. In fact, in some ways, I think the novel would have been more straightforward if the author had simply focused on Pike and Company as the baddies and minimized contact with Brother Percival. Whether Parker was attempting to make a statement on religion or ministers was ambiguous to me-- I just didn't understand or even dislike the preacher character.

Parker's writing, at times, seems carefully plotted and planned, at others it seems rushed and hurried. This seems odd, but I like what I would describe as the varying tempo which adds to the suspense and the enjoyment of the action. (less)

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May 12, 2009

Richard Lollar rated it

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Aug 06, 2011

Justin Sylvia rated it

· review of another edition

Granted, i've never heard of Robert Parker before picking this book up, i had however seen a movie called Appalosa which i believe is based off of his previous book, who's name unfortunately escapes me at athe moment. My reason for only giving this book 3 stars instead of my usual 3.5 or 4 stars out of 5 is for the simple reason of i wasn't too enthralled with the "cadence" if u will of how the book went. I personally am used to smooth flowing books that don't seem to pause at differen...more

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Jun 10, 2011

Charles rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: westerns

I'm a bit ambivalent about this one. I enjoyed it, and liked the characters a lot. I was impressed with how much information Parker conveyed in the dialogue. The action was decent.

On the other hand, it had very little of one thing I really enjoy in westerns. There was virtually no visual description at all. Definitely minimalist description. We didn't "see" the landscapes or really even the town where most of the action took place. We got only the briefest of descriptions ...more

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Nov 01, 2011

Thomas Holbrook rated it

· review of another edition

There are writers whose prose will hold the reader’s attention as if the words being read are more a conversation being had than a story being told. Not since reading Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men has a book held me in such a grip as did Brimstone. Mr. Parker pens a western in the “old” tradition – the horses are real, the guns plentiful, the good guys are wearing white hats and the bad guys are known by the hired guns surrounding them. What an adventure.
This book picks up a...more There are writers whose prose will hold the reader’s attention as if the words being read are more a conversation being had than a story being told. Not since reading Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men has a book held me in such a grip as did Brimstone. Mr. Parker pens a western in the “old” tradition – the horses are real, the guns plentiful, the good guys are wearing white hats and the bad guys are known by the hired guns surrounding them. What an adventure.
This book picks up a year after our heroes left Resolution (where Appaloosa ended). Virgil Cole, shootist, lawman – legend and his partner, and the narrator of the journey, Everett Hitch are searching for Allie, the prostitute who had left Virgil for another man. When they find her, she is barely alive and more than willing to see Virgil and Everett as her saviors. The trio settles in Brimstone, New Mexico, where Virgil and Everett take up being lawmen and Allie tries to cook (to poor results). What occurs in the following few months is full of action, dusty streets, notable weather and a great read.
The story is a straightforward western, the bad guys are seeking to take over the town; rogue Indians either steal women and children or are the trackers that find them. The power of this book is not in the story, although it seems much fresher than it has reason to, but is found in the cadence and sparseness with which Mr. Parker elected to relate the tale. Virgil and Everett have traveled together so long they can communicate with a minimum of words, each understanding the other’s intentions and plans without explanation. Everett recounts their travels using the least amount of words possible without sacrificing detail, energy or flow. This is a Western, it has blood, violence (Everett carries an Eight Gauge shotgun and uses it well when the need presents itself), adult language and enough “following sign” that I could find an outlaw following his three-day-old trail.
There is redemption to be found in the story, as is true with all good writing. Virgil and Everett risk their "lives doing what we think is the right thing to do” (p.276) even if doing so seems to be underhanded. Allie discovers that she cannot be a “good person” without doing things that are good and “right” and embraces the work required to become the person she needs to be. There is evil to be found, often in the very places to be expected but not always apparent at first blush, and it meets a just end, as it should be in the Old West. I’ll be riding with Virgil and Everett in the near future if I can talk them into letting me tag along.
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Dec 04, 2010

Jay Connor rated it

· review of another edition

Here's an Old West that Louis L'Amour or Larry McMurtry would recognize: the classic prodigal gunmen, living by their own code traveling from dusty, unpainted clabbered towns dotting the southwest, who dispense justice as they see fit.

In his parchment brittle writing style, Robert B. Parker leaves characterization to inference and plot to hearsay. Few authors do such a complete job of charging their readers to fill in the blanks. In a world where good is an abstraction, righteousne...more

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Aug 30, 2009

Carrie Allison rated it

· review of another edition

Lot of killing in the Wild West before policemen were everywhere and laws in place that put people in jail for murder. The characters were interesting: Virgil cole, and his best friend, Everett Hitch. The story is told from Everett's point of view. Allie, the girl Virgil loves is also quite an interesting character.
Robert B. Parker makes the story as well as the place and time seem so real. It's fun to walk around the small town in that time and place. A little bit scary too. The setti...more

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May 10, 2009

Grey853 rated it

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Shelves: western

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 30, 2011

Villager rated it

· review of another edition

Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are two great characters created by Robert B. Parker. Virgil and Everett are lawmen in the old West who uphold the law ... except when they don't. Virgil is in love with a very flawed woman ... a woman who cheats on him with others, who ran away from him and ended up in a pathetic brothel on the US/Mexico border ... and a woman who can't cook, clean, iron or sing for a damn! This is a simple story that showcases the skills and character of Virgil as he becomes ...more

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Aug 10, 2011

Lindsay Eaton added it · review of another edition

This is the third and final book in Robert B. Parker’s ‘Everett and Cole’ series. I know this because I’ve discovered to my horror that Robert B. Parker died earlier this year. I was devastated. I’d always liked his Spenser and other crime series novels, but when I read ‘Appaloosa’, the first Everett and Cole book, I thought that this series, about two guns for hire in the Old West, was what he was born to write. I just loved all three of these books (the other is ‘Resolution’) – this one proba...more

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Aug 06, 2010

Charlie rated it

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Shelves: do-not-own

As far as I can tell from the "Also by" page, Parker published 61 novels before his death, two more this year after he died, and there are two more coming. So of his 65 novels, I've read 56. I read them compulsively; he appears to have written them compulsively, too. The same questions of masculinity, competence, fidelity, and compassion come up in his books, over and over and over again, whether he wrote a detective novel, police procedural, crime thriller, or western. Lots of the...more

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Nov 27, 2009

Kathy rated it

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Shelves: western

virgil and everett catch up with allie... save her from a whore house. virgil acknowledges that he loves her, but questions whether she can change. She hooks up (literally) with the Brimstone pastor (with a god complex) who is working in cahoots with one saloon owner to get rid of all the town's saloons. The saloon owner is ex military, and envisions a town where he is in charge. The story also includes an indian who is making trouble... mainly for the saloon owner... he kills a man, kidnaps...more

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Jul 13, 2011

Les rated it

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Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch track Allie French down in Texas working in a lowest class as possible bordello. Cole rescues her, killing some men in the process. Cole isn't sure why he does even after examining the aspects of love, but he loves her.

Fleeing to another town, Cole and Hitch become deputies there and watch a power struggle eventually develop between a former outlaw now a saloon owner and a preacher. A renegade Indian has been killing people near the town and Cole and Hi...more

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Mar 21, 2011

Mary rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, western

Robert Parker wrote quick read books. The stories are fast paced and he builds the action along a morality theme. Virgil Cole is noble. His buddy Everett is more educated and yet Virgil is the heroic center, whom Everett interviews periodically to get Virgil's perspective on right and might. He is the Boswell to Virgil's Johnson. The first Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch title, Apaloosa, became a movie. Virgil loves a woman, Allie, with no moral center. Her inability to do the right thing o...more

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Dec 02, 2010

Joshua rated it

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Shelves: read-in-10

I think this may have been Parker's last novel before recently passing away--maybe I'm wrong? He revisits the world of the western and the characters Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch--who were featured in the film APPALOOSA. It's a western with shoot outs, bad guys, horses, saloons, dusty streets, clipped dialogue. The dialogue is so short it feels more like conversation from a crime novel (where Parker has done most of his writing) than a western. These two worlds are kind of similar when it comes...more

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Dec 16, 2010

Mike Jensen rated it

· review of another edition

For the first 50 pages I thought that Parker might have finally written a great novel, but the story strayed from the concerns of his protagonists to good-doing in the typical Parker fashion. The story becomes desultory as a continuing group of characters move through three plots, each with its own climax. This is still one of Parker's better written books due to an unusual lack of cute dialog. He would have been well-advised to cut the last sentence from each chapter, and sometimes the last thr...more

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Jul 19, 2009

Steve rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2009

Robert Parker's books are short sharp blasts of dialogue-driven plot. The read is always too quick; the reader wants more. Fortunately, Parker turns out at least two books a year. This volume is from his ongoing "Appaloosa" Western series, which finds Virgil and Everett in yet another small town, facing another set of unlawful characters and some outstanding longstanding moral and ethical issues they are never really able to resolve with any satisfaction. I will admit that Parker's Spe...more

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Jun 10, 2009

Jacqueline rated it

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What I learned: why "Appaloosa" was such a mediocre movie despite the great cast...cause it was based on a previous book in this series.

I always feel kinda mean-spirited, dissing something I couldn't do...write novels. And I HAVE read most of Robert B. Parker's novels. But... They used to be like butterscotch brownies. Now they are more like meringue cookies.

On the plus side;
1)he sure can write dialogue
2)easy on the eyes cause it's mostly dialogue ...more

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Jul 04, 2010

Ron rated it

· review of another edition

There's not much depth to the Virgil Cole/Everett Hitch series by Robert B. Parker, but the books sure are fun. BRIMSTONE reunites the duo with Allie, the woman who stole Virgil's heart. There is no plot per se but lots of little bits of action, vignettes that show the steely resolve of Virgil Cole. The team battles white slavers, a renegade Indian, a fire-and-brimstone preacher, and a power-hungry saloon owner. More wisecracks than pistol shots, but still enjoyable. PS. It is impossible to...more

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Mar 26, 2011

Steve rated it

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book on tape

When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch track down the woman who stole Virgil's heart, they find a dispirited prostitute rather than the innocent beauty she once was. Now they must save her, even if murder is the price of redemption

terrific car book. still can't believe i'm reading westerns and loving it.
funny thing.... i Googled the 8 gauge shotgun and fell into a rabbit warren of NRA readers. Who knew?
still can't find a drawing or photo of an 8 gau...more

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Oct 22, 2011

Tom rated it

· review of another edition

An enjoyable western - the dialogue is sparse, but effective. To express the sentiment that these sometimes lawmen/pardners are willing to die for each other, they'll say things like "I'm with you, Virgil," and "Yep."

Women in the story are either whores or hostages. Natives are noble, but only in their savagery, if that makes any sense.

So if you're looking for Social Studies class, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a few hours of squinty-e...more

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Jan 03, 2010

Randy rated it

· review of another edition

Virgil and Everett are marshaling in the town of Brimstone. With two factions at work, neither very palatable, the two friends try to keep damage at a minimum.

Brother Percival seems intent on closing all the saloons in town and has a band of militant deacons at his bidding. He seems to be leaving the largest saloon alone and Virgil suspicions there may be a deal there. Then Percival and the owner have a falling out.

Virgil knows neither of them likes Everett and him and kn...more

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Sep 06, 2009

Donna rated it

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Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch have finally found Virgil's lost love Allie in a brothel. Virgil can't leave her but he can't quite resume their relationship either. Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch take jobs as local deputy sheriffs and rent a house for Allie and themselves. Their jobs are complicated by the conflict with a fire and brimstone preacher who is determined to close all of Brimstone's bars and a Indian who is murdering outlying farmers.
If you liked Appaloosa and Resolution, you ...more

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Jun 25, 2009

Quinn rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-books, westerns

I have really enjoyed the three books in this series. Parker does not waste a lot of extra text to his stories which I think successfully sets the mood in these books. He doesn’t spend a ridiculous amount of time describing every nook and cranny. The writing is to the point, just like the characters in the book. Virgil Cole is the "Hero", but Everette Hitch is the most interesting character. Parker does an excellent job of making you relate with the characters without a whole lot of ...more

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Nov 27, 2011

Jennifer rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

One might be forgiven for having hoped that when Virgil Cole finally did find Allie French it would be dead in a ditch somewhere. Instead, Parker delivers her back to her beau (mostly) safe and sound, and sets the slow mend of their relationship against the backdrop of wild violence in an untamed Texas town. Given that French is a slutified Susan Silverman, one might also be forgiven for wondering if the near-mute girl added to the family unit at the end of the tale isn't a stand-in for Pearl t...more

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Jun 09, 2011

Ed rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Parker and Western fans

Shelves: western-frontier, reviewed

Third in this four book series featuring Virgil Cole and his companion, Everett Hitch. Narrated by Everett but full of Parker's terse dialogue, this was a most enjoyable read. I finished it in less than 24 hours. As I so often do with Parker's books, I read this too fast. Somehow, I want to drag out the pleasure of his stories since there are so few left to read and he will be writing no more of them.

This story begins with Virgil and Everett still searching for Allie French, Virgi...more

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Jul 09, 2009

Linda rated it

I like Everett Hutch and Virgil Cole. They are typical Parker formula buddies but I enjoy them as much as I do Spencer and Hawk although Everett is not Hawk and Virgil is not Spenser. If the story was just about the two buddies in the old West town of Resolution, I would have added a star. Sadly, Parker can't let go of his Susan fixation so we have Allie. Good grief Parker's women are annoying. Well read by Welliver. Enjoy the boys and press the skip button whenever the Allie nonsense star...more

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Jun 26, 2009

Wayne Wilson rated it

· review of another edition

Another audio read for me. The narrator was great. The book way too short. A 3rd in the Western series starring Virgil Cole and Everitt Hitch. The book begins as they try to find the gal that keeps leaving Cole and Cole just can't live without her.

For me this was not nearly as good as Appaloosa or Resolution, maybe it was just a little too much like the other two without the twists and turns that made Resolution the best of the three for me. Still I could read 50 more books with Cole...more

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About Robert B. Parker

Robert B. Parker has long been acknowledged as the dean of American crime fiction. His novel featuring the wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private-eye Spenser have earned him a devoted following and reams of critical acclaim, typified by R.W.B. Lewis’ comment, “We are witnessing one of the great series in the history of the American detective story” (The New York Times Book Review). In June and...moreRobert B. Parker has long been acknowledged as the dean of American crime fiction. His novel featuring the wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private-eye Spenser have earned him a devoted following and reams of critical acclaim, typified by R.W.B. Lewis’ comment, “We are witnessing one of the great series in the history of the American detective story” (The New York Times Book Review). In June and October of 2005, Parker had national bestsellers with Appaloosa and School Days, and continued his winning streak in February of 2006 with his latest Jesse Stone novel, Sea Change.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Parker attended Colby College in Maine, served with the Army in Korea, and then completed a Ph.D. in English at Boston University. He married his wife Joan in 1956; they raised two sons, David and Daniel. Together the Parkers founded Pearl Productions, a Boston-based independent film company named after their short-haired pointer, Pearl, who has also been featured in many of Parker’s novels. He and Joan live in the Boston area.

Parker began writing his Spenser novels in 1971 while teaching at Boston’s Northeastern University. Little did he suspect then that his witty, literate prose and psychological insights would make him keeper-of-the-flame of America’s rich tradition of detective fiction. Parker’s fictional Spenser inspired the ABC-TV series Spenser: For Hire. In February 2005, CBS-TV broadcast its highly-rated adaptation of the Jesse Stone novel Stone Cold, which featured Tom Selleck in the lead role as Parker’s small-town police chief. The second CBS movie, Night Passage, also scored high ratings, and the third, Death in Paradise, aired on April 30, 2006.

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 1995.

Parker was named Grand Master of the 2002 Edgar Awards by the Mystery Writers of America, an honor shared with earlier masters such as Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen.

Not to be confused with Robert B. Parker (less)

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