The Stranglers

Page Murdock, US Deputy Marshal #4

by Loren D. Estleman

Tired of cutting bodies out of trees, Deputy Page Murdoch sets his sights on a deadly posse that is combing the countryside for lawmen, stringing up any unfortunate fellow with a badge. Original.

Genres: Westerns

193 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 12, 1985

About the author

Loren D. Estleman is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He writes with a manual typewriter.

Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.

Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery

Reviews

[Tonie Brown]

Great Western Writer

Gentleman makes you feel as if you're right in the old west - right down to tasting dust and smelling saddle leather. Great detail and accurate.

[M. Sprouse]

I reading this series in order and these books are exceptional. This one certainly better than number 3, "Murdock's Law," which was the weak link so far. I've also notice that our hero Page Murdock has evolved from a fairly inexperienced former cowhand to a hardened lawman who is tough as nails.

This novel is a fast, streamlined read that is very efficient with the action. I couldn't help but wonder how much better it might have been if the plot included a larger scope. In this book, Murdock cleaned two different villain groups in one fell swoop and the last group very quickly. This book was so good that I wish the author would have given us more than the less than 200 pages that was offered. If you like action-packed westerns I can't see you missing with this one.

[Joe Stack]

Estleman takes his time building to the climax which has a twist regarding Page Murdock, the hero. The author’s writing is highly descriptive giving an authentic feel to the story and making it easy for a reader to visualize the scenes. The dialogue is snappy and entertaining.

One of the fun characters in the story is Judge Harlan Blackthorne. As lively as the story is, it is even more lively when Blackthorne appears. And I think the dialogue between Murdock and the doctor’s wife was a good way to debate the use of guns vs. no guns without either side preaching or being heavy handed.

[Gregory Weisler]

I read a lot of Estleman's books, and enjoy most of them. He does great historically accurate fiction, which makes his westerns feel very authentic. I feel this is one of his best. The characters, the scene, dialogue, description all so authentic feeling. Loved the story.

[Chris Stephens]

good stuff, solid read.

[Ashley]

Picked this book up at the library and thought the synopsis sounded interesting. I wasn't aware this was part of a series until after I finished the book. The story-line wasn't too bad, lots of action throughout. I didn't feel like I was particularly invested in the main character Murdock, not a lot of background on him in this book. Perhaps that was done in the first three books of the series. I also found several run-on sentences throughout that didn't make much sense even after rereading them. Overall, this book was an OK way to pass the time, but I wasn't impressed enough to read any others in this series.

[Christopher Taylor]

Imagine a western written by Dashiell Hammett, and you get a good feel for this short novel by Loren Estleman. As usual, the author has crisp, fascinating dialog and characters, with situations that feel so real and believable you can almost smell the leather and gunsmoke.

Page Murdock, mean but likable deputy marshal has his hands full with a treacherous deputy, lynchers, and a criminal he has to bring in for trial, all while dealing with a cantankerous and intimidating district judge who is his boss.

Recommended for any fan of westerns or noir fiction.

[Terry]

Estleman is one of my favorite writers; especially within the Western genre. I highly recommend the Page Murdock series.