West Texas

by Al Sarrantonio

When Lieutenant Thomas Mullin, the best tracker around, is sent out to bring back a senator's missing son, he finds himself facing a killer deadlier than any other in the West.

Genres: Westerns, Audiobook

150 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1991

About the author

Al Sarrantonio was an American horror and science fiction writer, editor and publisher who authored more than 50 books and 90 short stories. He also edited numerous anthologies.

Reviews

[Marsha Valance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarrantonio offers us a very implausible western-an African-American Civil War veteran, retired from the cavalry, is hired as a scout to search for the missing son of a U.S. senator in the West Texas desert of the 1890s. Because Lt. Thomas Mullen is a fan of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories in the British "Strand Magazine" (which he has mailed to him from New York City), he employs the Holmesian method of "scientific deduction", along with his familiarity with the local Comanches and Apaches and their land, to track what proves to be a serial killer who mutilates his victims and their horses. Despite its basic implausibility, WEST TEXAS succeeds both as historical mystery and as credible western, strictly on the author's vivid development of characters and landscape. The driven, self-educated Lt. Mullen, whose sense of order permitted him to rise to officer rank in a white army, and his quarry, the tortured serial killer, come to life with believable motivations.

[Isha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the idea of a serial killer thriller set in the Wild West. I don't particularly enjoy Westerns but I did this one because it's fast paced and did not spend to much time trying to be atmospheric. I didn't think much of the book when I found it in a swap (no book cover so I did not have an idea about the premise) but boy did I get hooked after the first chapter.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long on prose but short on plot, I mostly enjoyed the book. It kinda reminded me of a beautifully shot 85-minute movie. There were too many plot lines for him to do any of them real justice in the small amount of space he gave himself.

[Chuck Byrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars..
A good read...

[Louischa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth reading. A total failure.