City of Widows

Page Murdock, US Deputy Marshal #5

by Loren D. Estleman

Page Murdoch, the hero of The High Rocks, sent by a judge to Mexico to kill a man, starts losing his bearings in an unfamiliar land where he cannot depend on anyone, not even the woman he loves.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

254 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1994

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

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went through a phase where I read every western I could get my hands on. As all phases do, this one passed. Problem was that the stories and language became rather routine and overly familiar. When I discovered that the writer of the Amos Walker series, Loren Estleman also wrote highly regarded westerns I thought I'd try another fix.

Estleman is really a very good writer and the language is addictive as much as the plot which is fun if familiar. It's 1881 in New Mexico and Page Murdock, a deputy U.S. Marshall in the employ of Judge Harlan Blackthorne, of Montana, has been sent incognito and ostensibly retired, to arrest and bring to justice the Baronet brothers. They had killed a man who had saved the judge's life during the Civil War. His task is complicated in that one of the brothers is reputed to have been killed and the other is a sheriff of Socorro County.

Estleman has a way with words and paints a vivid picture of a bleak landscape where the desert is "ablaze with that dry heat that opens your pores and sucks out the moisture like lemon carbonate through a straw." The town is called City of Widows because the males are regularly killed off in gun battles between banditos, revolutionaries, Apaches, and ranchers. His characters are wonderful, particularly the carpenter sheriff and Murdock's old lover/enemy Poker Annie who is truly a despicable woman.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Former US Deputy Marshall Page Murdock is in New Mexico taking part-ownership of a remote mining town's gambling joint called the Apache Princess. His journey getting there introduces him to a strange bully sheriff named Frank Baronet and re-introduces him to his former love interest Colleen Bower.

Verdict: Despite being a POV narration from Murdock's person, I found "City of Widows" (1994) to have more of a detached feel without a lot of focus on the inner workings of the protagonist himself, so we're kind of left floating around Murdock while he moves along and things are happening in his orbit. Inside-joke-stye dialogue makes the read more flavorful but less explanatory and thus more of a chore to read.

Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13

[William A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book at an airport newsstand years ago to have something to read on an upcoming flight. Wow did this bang-bang shoot-em-up Western do the job. Recently I took it down off of a shelf in my library and found it was just as good the second time around. Loren Estleman's vivid descriptions of the wild west and the authentic cowboy slang is a real treat. I just wonder why I never bought anymore of his books. Now that can be remedied.

[Gregory Weisler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Estleman a couple of years ago and have read several of his Detroit City detective story books - all of them very good. This is the second western I've read. Both so far have been authentic, character driven, entertaining reads. I recommend them to anyone who loves a good story, and especially to those who like westerns. Excellent!

[Ted Hinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loren Estleman provides another Page Murdock classic western novel, easy enjoyable read!

[M. Sprouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this series in order and I definitely see the evolution of Page Murdock. He's tougher, harder and more deadly than back in book #1. In this one he meets an old friend and an old lover and only one of them dies. I liked the change of scenery from Montana and the Dakotas to sunny but deadly New Mexico. Also, I enjoyed the espionage and subterfuge, it reminded me a little of "The Wild, Wild, West. Definitely worth the read if you like westerns.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just about the best western novel I've ever read. The author has taken the time to capture the flavor in many different ways.

THE CLIMATE: He describes the heat of the desert better than any other author I have ever read. It is almost as if he went out and spent a month in the desert so he could capture in prose his description of the heat, the sweat, the angle of the sun, the shade, and so on... WOW!

The WEAPONS: The author mentions a ton of weapons. This is WONDERFUL because, as we know, while the Colt Single Action (Peacemaker) or variant was very popular there were a number of other weapons in use. The descriptions really made me feel as if the author has spent some time in the REAL west, looking around and seeing what there really was.

THE LEGEND: Billy the Kid is practically a nobody, but since he was shot, the legend continued to grow. The author touches on this phenomenon from time to time in a way that shows expertise.

THE CHARACTERS: Every character is well-written and well described. Each has his/her own agenda

THE PLOT: This plot almost becomes a private eye novel set in the west-- it has some moments that feels like a Spenser novel or some James Lee Burke (which proves that the modern P.I. novel is really just updated westernish heroes, right?) as the characters toss tough talk and threats back and forth. There are secrets that are slowly revealed (one is sort of a big shock)... and the story never stops. We are treated to outlaws, Indians, sheriffs, saloon keepers, and they are carefully placed into the plot in a way that helps the tension build to the end.


A great book and I highly recommend it.. however, now I'll share the flaw:


There's a battle near the end where a siege is broken using old dynamite. This was just a bit of an over-used idea for me in the movies anyway and I found it a bit contrived. Other than that.. I loved the book.

[Richard Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are historical aspects I admire mightily. Mainly, this is an excellent western. You might not think of Loren D. Estleman writing westerns. On the other hand, I think his western writing is better than anything else. This book is a fine time of reading, western or no. You will find if you didn't know it already, you are a western reader after all; if you weren't before, now you will be a Loren D. Estleman fan.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page Murdock is a deputy marshall for a federal judge who ranks right behind Isaac Parker for coming down hard on criminals. Murdock himself has been the agent of doom for gunmen all over the northern part of the plains, and has been at the center of a fine series of novels by Loren Estleman. Murdock acquits himself well in this book while serving somewhat undercover in the southwest. He is laconic, funny, and lethal, and Estleman's writing is crisp and clear.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine Western from Mr. Estleman.