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Page Murdock, US Deputy Marshal #6
White Desert
Page Murdock is a cynical, tough U.S. marshal—the last man you'd want on your tail. In White Desert, Montana-based Murdock pursues a vicious gang into the snowbound Canadian north. To get his men Murdock must outwit and outmaneuver some aggressive, unpredictable Métis, but even before he approaches his quarry, the marshal runs into a colony of escaped slaves, and a band of Sioux, followers of Crazy Horse who fled to Grandmother's Land for safety; and neither group is entirely happy to see him...
236 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
4 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Loren D. Estleman
316 books280 followersLoren 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 8, 2012
Many moons ago, I went through my western phase and read every drugstore western I could lay my hands on. Some were better than others but after a while they all blended together and I moved on to other things.
Having read an earlier Page Murdock and enjoyed it (sad to say I had to check on Goodreads to see what Estleman I had read only to discover I had previously read City of Widows and totally forgotten,) I did not hesitate to add it to the stack next to my reading chair when I was messing around in my library. It’s quite good, a real page-turner.
It’s not so much the story, which is rather ordinary, if not mythic, by western standards: the deputy sent out to track down a bunch of bad guys, but Estleman’s use of language to create dialogue and scenery that just sparkles with realism.
Louis L’Amour was always lauded as the master of western authenticity, but his books always seemed just a little too televisionish. I’m sure he got the guns and saddles right; less so the people. Estleman feels more authentic. His scenes have a bitterness, a harsh realism, and much less glorification than L’Amour.
Murdock is sent by Judge Blackthorne into Canada to help round up and extradite Bliss and Whitelaw, two particularly vicious outlaws who are marauding through the Canadian wilderness killing miners and destroying settlements you know, the usual rape and mayhem.
The date is never specifically mentioned although Murdock says at one point it’s been sixteen years since he was at the Battle of Stone’s River which would make it around 1879, but later he implies a twenty year span so it’s unclear. He also mentions a settlement of former slaves called Shulamite. From what I’ve been able to find, the first settlement in Saskatchewan of former black slaves was in 1910 from Oklahoma, so I would be skeptical of much of the historicity of the Murdock novels, something I find irritating, but once that realization is accepted, the books can still be enjoyed for their plot and writing.
Reference: http://www.rmeldon.ca/Historical%20Si...
Having read an earlier Page Murdock and enjoyed it (sad to say I had to check on Goodreads to see what Estleman I had read only to discover I had previously read City of Widows and totally forgotten,) I did not hesitate to add it to the stack next to my reading chair when I was messing around in my library. It’s quite good, a real page-turner.
It’s not so much the story, which is rather ordinary, if not mythic, by western standards: the deputy sent out to track down a bunch of bad guys, but Estleman’s use of language to create dialogue and scenery that just sparkles with realism.
Louis L’Amour was always lauded as the master of western authenticity, but his books always seemed just a little too televisionish. I’m sure he got the guns and saddles right; less so the people. Estleman feels more authentic. His scenes have a bitterness, a harsh realism, and much less glorification than L’Amour.
Murdock is sent by Judge Blackthorne into Canada to help round up and extradite Bliss and Whitelaw, two particularly vicious outlaws who are marauding through the Canadian wilderness killing miners and destroying settlements you know, the usual rape and mayhem.
The date is never specifically mentioned although Murdock says at one point it’s been sixteen years since he was at the Battle of Stone’s River which would make it around 1879, but later he implies a twenty year span so it’s unclear. He also mentions a settlement of former slaves called Shulamite. From what I’ve been able to find, the first settlement in Saskatchewan of former black slaves was in 1910 from Oklahoma, so I would be skeptical of much of the historicity of the Murdock novels, something I find irritating, but once that realization is accepted, the books can still be enjoyed for their plot and writing.
Reference: http://www.rmeldon.ca/Historical%20Si...
January 14, 2016
One of the best westerns I have read in a long, long time. Estleman has a wonderful way with words, laces his story with irony and humor, and keeps it exciting. This is the first Estleman I have read but I will continue reading this series. Highly recommended.
December 16, 2011
If I had a nickle for every minuet I stayed up past my bed time just to read this book, I would be a rich man. Imagine yourself riding on the back of a horse through the snow covered mountains in the Canadian wilderness. Or imagine yourself in the bustling town of Moosejaw. Loren D Estleman integrates you into these magnificent places using his well known realistic writing style.
Estsleman tells a story through the body of deputy Murdock,an intelligent, good looking, independent, quick on his feet but even quicker on the trigger. Murdock is assigned to kill or capture criminals Bliss and Whitelaw. He accepts his case in an unknown town in Montana. He is pointed north towards the Canadian border. Before he sets off on the epic adventure he needs a guide and provisions if he wants to tackle the Canadian wilderness. He receives his provisions from a local guide just north of the Canadian border from a man named Philippe. He was a run away from the Metis tribe. Philippe had a wife Claude who had to come along for the adventure. Claude was a short skinny man that often took to big of a bight to swallow. He was a horrible shot but his wife Claude made up for that because she hapends to be an expert marksman. Claude doesn't talk much but her actions do the talking. They road to the upper regions of the Canadian wilderness encountering many obstacles along the way. They make there final stand at a fort previously inhabited by a Mites tribe. Will they capture Bliss and Whitelaw, or will they go down in a storm of bullets? You will have to read the book to find out.
In my opinion this book rocked. This western isn’t your cliché hero saves the day story. You will be shocked at the twists and turns of the story.Estleman brings his characters to life with the best dialogue in the business. He skillfully mingles all types of characters you will come in contact with in the eighteen hundreds. As readers have come to expect of this veteran writer, Estlmen grasps the reader’s attention and never relinquishes it. Some refer to it as a “masterpiece, carefully crafted, intricately plotted, and evocatively written”-Star Telegram. This book is perfect for the thrill seeking teen or thrill seekers of any age for that matter. If you get this book prepare to be amazed. Elstleman emphasizes on the importance of individuality throughout his book. Clearly showed in chapter 14 when deputy Murdock doesn't take the advice of his Indian captures, but instead betrays them and sneaks out of the cabin at night. The other people that where captured where raped and tortured later that night. Eltleman wants to make a point on individuality because in today's society people are relying more on others than they are themselves. Not only do you get a great message in the book you also intrigued by an adventure no one could pass up.
Estsleman tells a story through the body of deputy Murdock,an intelligent, good looking, independent, quick on his feet but even quicker on the trigger. Murdock is assigned to kill or capture criminals Bliss and Whitelaw. He accepts his case in an unknown town in Montana. He is pointed north towards the Canadian border. Before he sets off on the epic adventure he needs a guide and provisions if he wants to tackle the Canadian wilderness. He receives his provisions from a local guide just north of the Canadian border from a man named Philippe. He was a run away from the Metis tribe. Philippe had a wife Claude who had to come along for the adventure. Claude was a short skinny man that often took to big of a bight to swallow. He was a horrible shot but his wife Claude made up for that because she hapends to be an expert marksman. Claude doesn't talk much but her actions do the talking. They road to the upper regions of the Canadian wilderness encountering many obstacles along the way. They make there final stand at a fort previously inhabited by a Mites tribe. Will they capture Bliss and Whitelaw, or will they go down in a storm of bullets? You will have to read the book to find out.
In my opinion this book rocked. This western isn’t your cliché hero saves the day story. You will be shocked at the twists and turns of the story.Estleman brings his characters to life with the best dialogue in the business. He skillfully mingles all types of characters you will come in contact with in the eighteen hundreds. As readers have come to expect of this veteran writer, Estlmen grasps the reader’s attention and never relinquishes it. Some refer to it as a “masterpiece, carefully crafted, intricately plotted, and evocatively written”-Star Telegram. This book is perfect for the thrill seeking teen or thrill seekers of any age for that matter. If you get this book prepare to be amazed. Elstleman emphasizes on the importance of individuality throughout his book. Clearly showed in chapter 14 when deputy Murdock doesn't take the advice of his Indian captures, but instead betrays them and sneaks out of the cabin at night. The other people that where captured where raped and tortured later that night. Eltleman wants to make a point on individuality because in today's society people are relying more on others than they are themselves. Not only do you get a great message in the book you also intrigued by an adventure no one could pass up.
November 24, 2022
Western stories are usually monocultural or bicultural. By that I mean that in the first instance, the marshals, the cowboys, and the desperadoes all have similar backgrounds (more often than not, they're Scots-Irish transplants on the American frontier). In the second instance, authors write about the interaction between Westernized settlers and Native Americans.
Loren Estleman's casual mastery of the genre is such that in "White Desert," he's upped the ante by writing a multicultural western. You've got a familiar character, deputy U.S. marshal Page Murdock, but even he's more complicated than most of his two-dimensional forebears. Beyond that, Estlemen looks at the differences between America and Canada in the nineteenth century by having Montana-based Murdock work uneasily with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Then Estlemen adds aboriginal culture, but unlike most other writers of Westerns, he does not assign the Plains Indians to that role. Instead, he introduces Murdock (and us) to the Metis, chiefly via the guide whom Murdock hires to help him cross the unchartered northern prairies. Metis, it turns out, are French-speaking cousins to the more familiar Sioux, and they're ably represented here by three members of the du la Rochelle family. A Cree chief who was an actual historical figure also has a prominent impact on the narrative.
As if that weren't enough, Murdock also has reason to visit a colony of former slaves who left the United States to found a Canadian enclave they call Shulamite. Shulamite is led by a "Committee of Public Vigilance" and a voodoo practitioner who calls herself Queen Fidelity. Settlers there have a distincitve culture, too.
Watching Estlemen keep all the balls in play is great fun. Some of the violence in the book is almost shockingly graphic, and some of the language used by the bad guys is, too, but Estlemen never forgets that he's telling a story, and he does it very well indeed.
Loren Estleman's casual mastery of the genre is such that in "White Desert," he's upped the ante by writing a multicultural western. You've got a familiar character, deputy U.S. marshal Page Murdock, but even he's more complicated than most of his two-dimensional forebears. Beyond that, Estlemen looks at the differences between America and Canada in the nineteenth century by having Montana-based Murdock work uneasily with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Then Estlemen adds aboriginal culture, but unlike most other writers of Westerns, he does not assign the Plains Indians to that role. Instead, he introduces Murdock (and us) to the Metis, chiefly via the guide whom Murdock hires to help him cross the unchartered northern prairies. Metis, it turns out, are French-speaking cousins to the more familiar Sioux, and they're ably represented here by three members of the du la Rochelle family. A Cree chief who was an actual historical figure also has a prominent impact on the narrative.
As if that weren't enough, Murdock also has reason to visit a colony of former slaves who left the United States to found a Canadian enclave they call Shulamite. Shulamite is led by a "Committee of Public Vigilance" and a voodoo practitioner who calls herself Queen Fidelity. Settlers there have a distincitve culture, too.
Watching Estlemen keep all the balls in play is great fun. Some of the violence in the book is almost shockingly graphic, and some of the language used by the bad guys is, too, but Estlemen never forgets that he's telling a story, and he does it very well indeed.
May 28, 2014
Read this as the lastest Murdock before Loren Estleman's appearance at the Library on 10/20/00. Considering, I'm not much a fan of Westerns, this one did get my attention, basically through the character of Murdock who is not what you would expect. Seems he always has trouble with horses! Estleman commented to me that this was a very difficult book for him to write because there were only so many ways to describe snow -- and there's lots of it here!
May 30, 2015
Wonderful entertaining dialogue. The first story that I have ever read with regard to indians, a U.S. deputy marshal and Canadian mounties. Will read every one of this author's books if I can ... hopefully our local library has them.
October 25, 2025
Of the six Page Murdock books I've read, this one was the best, so far. I'm not a regular reader of westerns and I believe most readers of adventures and thrillers would enjoy this one to the extreme.
I don't think a western can get much better than this one. It's not mindless gore, fighting and the rough frontier, though it has those elements. It's much more of a thinking man's western.
I don't think a western can get much better than this one. It's not mindless gore, fighting and the rough frontier, though it has those elements. It's much more of a thinking man's western.
July 24, 2017
The vision of the territories which would become part of Canada were not necessarily accurate I'd suggest, but as a function it was a good western read
August 20, 2017
Just a fun dime-store Western. Nothing fancy or elaborate, just fun.
October 13, 2019
Good solid story but there were just too many 'perils of paulene' situations that seemed in place to flesh out the tale.
June 23, 2024
Another rip snorting adventure. I like that he does a where are they now segment at the end
May 21, 2013
This is a part of the Page Murdoch series. Federal Marshall Murdoch is dispatched from his Montana base north to Canada to bring back two notorious, vicious murderers. In the process, he must battle the harsh Canadian winter and outwit a band of Metis, a colony of American Blacks who fled slavery and still hold a grudge, and some Sioux who followed Crazy Horse.
Estleman successfully develops his characters—the tough ass kicking Murdoch and each of those who challenge him and finally the evil duo of murderers. There is action throughout as the story moves swiftly. At times I wished the pace would slow down, especially uring those times when Murdoch faces extreme duress. Still this was a good one.
Estleman successfully develops his characters—the tough ass kicking Murdoch and each of those who challenge him and finally the evil duo of murderers. There is action throughout as the story moves swiftly. At times I wished the pace would slow down, especially uring those times when Murdoch faces extreme duress. Still this was a good one.
February 9, 2016
#6 in the Page Murdock series.
Page Murdock western - Deputy U.S. Marshall Murdock is sent to Canada to assist the Mounties in tracking a band of American renegades. He encounters a blizzard, a band of hostile Cree, and a settlement of ex-slaves on his quest.
Page Murdock western - Deputy U.S. Marshall Murdock is sent to Canada to assist the Mounties in tracking a band of American renegades. He encounters a blizzard, a band of hostile Cree, and a settlement of ex-slaves on his quest.
September 18, 2016
"White Desert" by Loren D. Estleman was a good Western with the adventure of a chase of outlaws into northern Saskatchewan. The outlaws are as bad as bad can be. The adventure has all sorts of obstacles that makes the chase compelling.
February 21, 2008
Western series featuring Page Murdock. Good tight, humorous writing.
February 23, 2009
Author has a series of books with a deputy US Marshal as the protagonist, Page Murdock. This is one of those novels. Well written, I stayed up late to finish it.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews