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Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch #10
Robert B. Parker's Buckskin
Lawmen Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch must prevent all-out war between rival factions in the latest adventure in the New York Times-bestselling series.When gold is discovered in the foothills just outside of Appaloosa, it sets off a fight between two shrewd local business operations as their hired gun hands square off over the claim. First a young miner disappears, then another. And then one of the businessmen himself is killed, right on his front doorstep.Meanwhile, as Cole and Hitch try to put a stop to the escalating violence, another killer is making his way toward town in pursuit of a long-lost dream, and a mission of vengeance. Cole and Hitch will have their work cut out for them to keep the peace, especially when all these ruffians converge at the huge Appaloosa Days festival, where hundreds of innocent souls might get caught in the crossfire . . .
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 7, 2019
518 people are currently reading
600 people want to read
About the author
Robert Knott
14 books153 followersChosen by the Estate of author Robert B. Parker to carry on the Cole and Hitch series of western novels.
Robert Knott is an actor, writer, and producer. His list of stage, television, and film credits include the feature film Appaloosa based on the Robert B. Parker novel which he adapted and produced with actor and producer Ed Harris. Also among his credits is the television mini-series The Stand based on the Stephen King novel. Longtime friend, co-writer and frequent co-star with Ed Harris.
Robert Knott is an actor, writer, and producer. His list of stage, television, and film credits include the feature film Appaloosa based on the Robert B. Parker novel which he adapted and produced with actor and producer Ed Harris. Also among his credits is the television mini-series The Stand based on the Stephen King novel. Longtime friend, co-writer and frequent co-star with Ed Harris.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
August 7, 2020
A good entry in the Cole & Hitch series. Knott has done a good job in keeping this series going, very much in the style of Parker. Competing gold companies make life interesting in Appaloosa. I think the questionable ending will be completed in the next book in the series. Recommended for Cole & Hitch fans.
May 10, 2019
I've only read a few of the Cole & Hitch books, but I enjoy entering into that Old West and the need for lawmen. They are certainly needed in the area of Appaloosa where gold is being mined by two criminal opposing forces. There is also the additional thread of a young man and his criminal path until he finally reaches his goal and we discover the reason for the title, Buckskin.
June 6, 2019
Time for a new author. The Parker family needs to find someone else to continue this series. Someone who will support Robert B. Parker’s western style.
December 9, 2025
Book #10 of the series and the last one published. The series has been very entertaining and consistent despite having two authors. It’s a great western series and I hope it continues. The last part of this book creates a question that indicates there should be another one.
April 8, 2023
#10 in the series and the books really didn’t improve with time. I continued on with the series for the love of great characters, and Cole, Hitch and Allie are good enough to keep me dialed in.
🐎
In Buckskin there were too many loosely drawn out and shallow characters to keep track of, I wasn’t vested in any of them and when one died it didn’t move the story along much. High body counts are fine but good Westerns don’t need adultery and an overdose of bad language in an attempt to improve the story.
🐎
In Buckskin there were too many loosely drawn out and shallow characters to keep track of, I wasn’t vested in any of them and when one died it didn’t move the story along much. High body counts are fine but good Westerns don’t need adultery and an overdose of bad language in an attempt to improve the story.
May 17, 2019
The discovery of gold in the foothills outside Appaloosa pits two locals against each other. With hired guns on both sides, it isn’t long before folks start disappearing. Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch have their hands full trying to keep the rivals from all-out war while, at the same time [and unknown to them], a killer bent on vengeance heads for town.
In this, the tenth outing for Virgil and Everett, most of the expected characters make an appearance. The intriguing subplot involving the young killer plays out with a few unexpected twists and turns, leading to a surprising revelation as the unfolding story comes to a close. The overuse of an unnecessary expletive seems out of character for the Robert B. Parker tradition and may be annoying to readers of the series.
In this, the tenth outing for Virgil and Everett, most of the expected characters make an appearance. The intriguing subplot involving the young killer plays out with a few unexpected twists and turns, leading to a surprising revelation as the unfolding story comes to a close. The overuse of an unnecessary expletive seems out of character for the Robert B. Parker tradition and may be annoying to readers of the series.
September 8, 2019
Disappointing. Though the Cole and Hitch novels written by Robert Knott are more complex, grittier and more violent than those written by Robert B Parker, generally the strength of the stories was enough to cancel out the negatives. Not so in this case. First, the narrator is the author, and frankly, he just is not very skilled at narration (unlike the narrator of the others in the series, who is really skilled). Second, the book is filled with gratuitous foul language, violence and sex--none of which add to the story, and indeed, actually detract from what was a pretty weak story line to begin with. Finally, the story line is contrived and weak. In summary, this novel is just not worth the time to read or listen to it.
May 19, 2019
i'm glad that this series is continuing. I think the Parker estate found a writer who does emulate his voice well in the writing.
i really like the cole & everett characters.
unfortunately, i didn't like this one very much.
i couldn't figure out what the heck "the kid" character was doing and i found his chapters disturbing.
the 2 mystery storylines of the who Helen was & who was the murderer did keep me guessing. that element was well done.
BUT THE ENDING SUCKED!!!!I mean seriously, how do you end it like that????
it was not cool to do that.
August 5, 2019
Let’s just be clear. I did not read this book! I had borrowed it from the listening library and within 60 seconds started dropping the F bomb repeatedly. I hit the stop button and I returned it to the loan library- one minute after borrowing. Seriously! Is there really a market for people to want to read books full of profanity? I guess so. Perhaps I find it so disturbing because profanity is so commonplace in our society that most people probably think I’m overreacting because they use it so regularly in their daily vocabulary.
September 30, 2019
Pretty good! But not great. I like an action-packed Western every once in a while. What I didn’t realize until I started was that Robert Parker is dead, and another author has picked up his love of Westerns to continue writing in his tradition - lots of short, snappy dialogue, chapters no longer than five or six pages, and characters who are on a collision course for a final showdown. There are some pretty disgusting scenes in here, and I thought that some of the characters weren’t as well-drawn as they should have been. Maybe if the book was a little longer than 326 pages, I would’ve been more satisfied.
June 28, 2019
Robert B. Parker's Buckskin (Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch #10) by Robert Knott (G.P. Putnam's Sons 2019) (Fiction – Western). Robert Knott has penned another cracking good installment in the Appaloosa series created by Robert B. Parker of the adventures of U.S. Marshals Vigil Cole and Everett Hitch in the Old West. This tale opens with gold having been found in Appaloosa, and as we are told over and over, the lust for gold makes people do unnatural things. Two groups of competing interests have brought fierce gunmen to town, and it's up to Virgil and Everett to prevent an all-out shooting war. If that's not complication enough, a young killer gunman and a giant gypsy woman are headed for Appaloosa with scores to settle and deaths to avenge, and Virgil and Everett are right in their crosshairs. Finally, Everett may have met a woman (Martha Kathryn, an actress and singer) who could finally put an end to his bachelorhood.
This volume lacks the big finish that we have often seen in this series, but it's still a perfectly acceptable read. My rating: 7/10, finished 6/28/19.
This volume lacks the big finish that we have often seen in this series, but it's still a perfectly acceptable read. My rating: 7/10, finished 6/28/19.
July 29, 2019
Robert Knott continues the western series started by the late, great, Robert B Parker. Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are two marshals who have been through hell together and back again, and make a formidable team. They've been in the town of Appaloosa almost since it started, and the place has grown and prospered with each year. But with more people come more problems, and a big gold strike just outside town on land owned by two different companies sends the tension soaring to new levels.
The town is also set for a big celebration, Appaloosa Days, which Virgil's wife Allie has been a big part in setting up. Everett, the narrator of these books, has been struck by Martha Kathryn, an actress in town with a traveling show. Their affair deepens as they spend time and enjoy each other, but the matter of the feuding gold companies keeps intruding as bodes start dropping.
In this book, some chapters are devoted to a nameless "Kid" who murders his way along the trail, eventually meeting up with equally nameless characters who introduce him to Russian mysticism and sex. The wife has a vendetta to settle in Appaloosa and the Kid's mother is supposedly to be found there as well. Their courses are set to collide as everything starts coming together.
This is a good western, and a fine continuation of the series. This particular one seems a bit more violent in some ways than the others in the series, and there's definitely more sex, so be warned of those thing bother you. They don't me, and I very much enjoyed this.
The town is also set for a big celebration, Appaloosa Days, which Virgil's wife Allie has been a big part in setting up. Everett, the narrator of these books, has been struck by Martha Kathryn, an actress in town with a traveling show. Their affair deepens as they spend time and enjoy each other, but the matter of the feuding gold companies keeps intruding as bodes start dropping.
In this book, some chapters are devoted to a nameless "Kid" who murders his way along the trail, eventually meeting up with equally nameless characters who introduce him to Russian mysticism and sex. The wife has a vendetta to settle in Appaloosa and the Kid's mother is supposedly to be found there as well. Their courses are set to collide as everything starts coming together.
This is a good western, and a fine continuation of the series. This particular one seems a bit more violent in some ways than the others in the series, and there's definitely more sex, so be warned of those thing bother you. They don't me, and I very much enjoyed this.
June 4, 2021
I have enjoyed the series up to this point and enjoyed Robert Knott's take and continuation of Robert B Parker's characters but this book was a strike out. To quote Shakespeare "much ado about nothing"and that is exactly what happens in this book "nothing". There are a couple of different plots and a rather tepid murder mystery woven into the fabric of this narrative but nothing happens. One does not sympathize or even become invested in the characters and nothing is resolved or explained. One gets the feeling that it was just a bunch of notes and an outline given to an assistant with a note paper clipped to the front "here, make something out of this. I'm going fishing!" Babe Ruth struck out 1330 times so not every attempt can be a home run. This is Knott's strike out.
June 15, 2019
Still love the characters. Crazy side story
August 16, 2019
After Robert B. Parker died in 2010 at the age of 77 having written more than 60 books, G. P. Putnam's Sons made an agreement with his estate to continue some of his series in the hands of other respected and accomplished writers. Robert Knott, a talented author, actor, and producer was selected to continue Parker's celebrated Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch Western series. Robert B. Parker fans, readers of Western novels, and cowboy junkies (the devotees of cowboys not the Canadian rock group) can expect to be disappointed in this book. Knott, though successful in his other endeavors, does not quite measure up to Robert B. Parker. But in all fairness, who does?
Parker, the recipient of numerous prestigious writing awards, was considered the dean of American crime fiction. He was critically acclaimed for his still popular Spenser novels, two other bestselling detective series, and his Western novel, Appaloosa, which was made into a hit movie two years before he died.
If there ever was a book for Western readers to love, it should have been this one. The characters are there, sort of, the setting is there, sort of, and the plot is there, somewhere. A secondary plot threaded throughout the narrative is far more compelling. (More on that later.) The main story conflict is set up early on. Competing gold mine operators have each hired gunslingers, for protection, they say, but soon workers turn up missing, and then a mine executive is murdered. Cole and Hitch are called on to forestall the anticipated violence which, in the story, is a long time coming. After setting the stage with the main players and their concerns, the tale occasionally wanders off on tangents.
Despite Knott's best efforts, the book is draggy (slow as molasses), lacks convincing Western ambience (dubious contemporary turns of phrase detract from the illusion,) spoken and internal dialogue are inconsistent in tone (have you ever known a cowboy to have the word elegant in his vocabulary?) In the author's attempt to portray the way cowboys really talk (John Wayne anyone?) and to emulate the way Parker wrote cowboy lingo, Knott often makes Cole and Hitch and some of the others sound like wannabes, or worse, suggests they have a mental deficiency of some kind.
Uneven in its implementation, the evolution of the story has the feeling of having been written by three different authors. Here's an example of the short, choppy, less-is-more, page-filling dialogue:
"Virgil glanced at me.
"'Sounds right,' I said.
"'Does,' Virgil said.
"'To the hotel?' she said
"'Indeed,' Allie said.
"Martha Kathryn took my arm and we walked, following Virgil and Allie toward the Hotel Windsor.
"'What'd you think, Mr. Hitch?'
"'Think you're damn good.'
"'About the show.'
"'I enjoyed it, didn't completely understand the plot, but I enjoyed it.'
"She laughed.
"'Yes, it is a rather nonsensical show.'
"'But I enjoyed it. Enjoyed you.'"
And so on. The scarcity of attributions prompts quite a bit of re-reading in order to follow who said what.
Here's a bit more from the Acting Sheriff:
"'What can I do for you?' Lloyd said.
"'Who's in charge around here?'
"'Charge of what?'
"'Who's the sheriff?'
"'For the time being, that'd be me.'"
On the other hand, most of the narrative is quite articulate. Marshal Virgil Cole's internal dialogue is considerably more fluent than when he's conversing with Everett Hitch:
"The McCormick brothers were new to Appaloosa. They were not the rough-and-tumble, and often crude, Irishmen we normally encountered. They were very different. Educated and civilized. They were older, industrious men who moved to town with money in their pockets. And from what we knew of them, they were not crooks. They started up a number of businesses within their first year of residency, and they employed a good number of people. They were ranchers with a decent size cow/calf operation, but they also owned a dry-good business, a furniture store, and now a gold-mining outfit."
And most absorbing of all, from the intriguing secondary plot (printed entirely in italics)—a young cowboy's escape from jail:
"The kid was small, not tall at all and one hundred thirty pounds soaking wet. He backed away as the cell door opened and the burly jailer charged him. He slapped the kid so hard blood flew . . . The next strike came from the kid. It was swift and in the jailer's throat, and it was the sharp spoon handle that buried into the man's neck. . . . The jailer stumbled, hurt and bleeding. He dropped on the bunk . . . Then the kid held up the stabbing tool. He showed the spoon to the jailer.
"'This here spoon was from that lousy plum pudding your asshole buddy gave me yesterday. That was all I had to eat. . . '"
Overall, Knott's worthy attempt fails in style and form. I've issued this complaint before. I understand the family-estate's interest in continuing to generate income from a popular source, but in the end, it only diminishes the body of work as a whole--and Parker was aiding that himself with sticking to cliched behaviors and dialogue.
Parker, the recipient of numerous prestigious writing awards, was considered the dean of American crime fiction. He was critically acclaimed for his still popular Spenser novels, two other bestselling detective series, and his Western novel, Appaloosa, which was made into a hit movie two years before he died.
If there ever was a book for Western readers to love, it should have been this one. The characters are there, sort of, the setting is there, sort of, and the plot is there, somewhere. A secondary plot threaded throughout the narrative is far more compelling. (More on that later.) The main story conflict is set up early on. Competing gold mine operators have each hired gunslingers, for protection, they say, but soon workers turn up missing, and then a mine executive is murdered. Cole and Hitch are called on to forestall the anticipated violence which, in the story, is a long time coming. After setting the stage with the main players and their concerns, the tale occasionally wanders off on tangents.
Despite Knott's best efforts, the book is draggy (slow as molasses), lacks convincing Western ambience (dubious contemporary turns of phrase detract from the illusion,) spoken and internal dialogue are inconsistent in tone (have you ever known a cowboy to have the word elegant in his vocabulary?) In the author's attempt to portray the way cowboys really talk (John Wayne anyone?) and to emulate the way Parker wrote cowboy lingo, Knott often makes Cole and Hitch and some of the others sound like wannabes, or worse, suggests they have a mental deficiency of some kind.
Uneven in its implementation, the evolution of the story has the feeling of having been written by three different authors. Here's an example of the short, choppy, less-is-more, page-filling dialogue:
"Virgil glanced at me.
"'Sounds right,' I said.
"'Does,' Virgil said.
"'To the hotel?' she said
"'Indeed,' Allie said.
"Martha Kathryn took my arm and we walked, following Virgil and Allie toward the Hotel Windsor.
"'What'd you think, Mr. Hitch?'
"'Think you're damn good.'
"'About the show.'
"'I enjoyed it, didn't completely understand the plot, but I enjoyed it.'
"She laughed.
"'Yes, it is a rather nonsensical show.'
"'But I enjoyed it. Enjoyed you.'"
And so on. The scarcity of attributions prompts quite a bit of re-reading in order to follow who said what.
Here's a bit more from the Acting Sheriff:
"'What can I do for you?' Lloyd said.
"'Who's in charge around here?'
"'Charge of what?'
"'Who's the sheriff?'
"'For the time being, that'd be me.'"
On the other hand, most of the narrative is quite articulate. Marshal Virgil Cole's internal dialogue is considerably more fluent than when he's conversing with Everett Hitch:
"The McCormick brothers were new to Appaloosa. They were not the rough-and-tumble, and often crude, Irishmen we normally encountered. They were very different. Educated and civilized. They were older, industrious men who moved to town with money in their pockets. And from what we knew of them, they were not crooks. They started up a number of businesses within their first year of residency, and they employed a good number of people. They were ranchers with a decent size cow/calf operation, but they also owned a dry-good business, a furniture store, and now a gold-mining outfit."
And most absorbing of all, from the intriguing secondary plot (printed entirely in italics)—a young cowboy's escape from jail:
"The kid was small, not tall at all and one hundred thirty pounds soaking wet. He backed away as the cell door opened and the burly jailer charged him. He slapped the kid so hard blood flew . . . The next strike came from the kid. It was swift and in the jailer's throat, and it was the sharp spoon handle that buried into the man's neck. . . . The jailer stumbled, hurt and bleeding. He dropped on the bunk . . . Then the kid held up the stabbing tool. He showed the spoon to the jailer.
"'This here spoon was from that lousy plum pudding your asshole buddy gave me yesterday. That was all I had to eat. . . '"
Overall, Knott's worthy attempt fails in style and form. I've issued this complaint before. I understand the family-estate's interest in continuing to generate income from a popular source, but in the end, it only diminishes the body of work as a whole--and Parker was aiding that himself with sticking to cliched behaviors and dialogue.
April 24, 2025
Pretty straightforward western. It was OK. I just feel guilty giving a book two stars. It feels wrong. So 3 stars it is!
May 2, 2023
I have enjoyed all the Cole and Hitch novels. The last few though have felt a little forced. It feels like the characters are just starting to tire out, not from the story line aspect, from the authors aspect. This novel read more like a mystery novel than a western. Mr. Knott, you may want to look into letting Virgil and Everett ride off into the sunset…and soon.
May 27, 2019
I loved all Robert Parker's books about Virgil and Everett and I love Robert Knott's as well. This one was a bit confusing with all the different characters and kind of a separate story. The main one was was with Cole and Hitch and all their difficulties with lawlessness and in Cole's life there is always Allie to contend with. Then in a completely different story, there is the nameless killer boy and his sturdy companion. Both of them are looking for someone and the culmination of all this is in Appaloosa. Of course. Much carnage on both sides.
May 15, 2019
Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are at it again this time the core of the story is a feud between two mining companies both located in Appaloosa. The story starts fast and doesn't slow down. There is a parallel story in this book and there is a jumping back and forth between the stories. Now this might be a bit off putting to some readers, but I was okay with it. The parallel story deals with a character that doesn't reveal his name to the end of the book. The stories do connect at a point in the story and it makes for a close run joining. Oh, did I mention that on top the feud between mining companies there are a couple of murders that Cole and Hitch have to solve. The thing that I liked best was the narrative that is provided by Hitch. It is like someone is telling you the story as it unfolds. My only problem with this book was it ended and now I have to wait for the next story to come out.
October 29, 2020
Knott has taken over Robert B. Parker's Everitt Hitch and Virgil Cole western series. In this installment he creates a decent western and a pitiful excuse for one. The basic story is good, well developed, with some minor flaws, but overall a good western story with a bit of a mystery tied in. Two mining groups are competing across a river, with hired guns everywhere, trouble is bound to begin. The other story is a poorly contrived, surreal effort at a western novel with a touch of weirdness to it. This story repeatedly interrupts the main story, with its chapters written in an annoying italicized font. It disrupts the main story-- almost as if Knott was told this was the last time he could write for this series and so he combined two separate and unrelated plot lines. The Kid, in the side story, is an interesting character, a semi- Billy-the-kid cutout... But all of the characters in that side story are odd, emotionally and morally crippled, with no socially redeeming qualities.
The flaws of Knott's book (beyond the side story interrupting the pacing and tension) are numerous.
First, Knott drops a literal barrage of F-bombs, a word which had little or no usage in the old west, and certainly not to the extent Knott uses it to demonstrate that his characters are crude, vulgar, and tough. To use this anachronistic language so prevalently is as grating as if the characters rode up to the site of the mine in a Sherman tank. It just doesn't fit.
Second, Knott doesn't comprehend the difference between territorial marshals, sheriffs, and town marshals. Early in the story, they are declared to be territorial marshals, but in one encounter the bad guys tell them that they don't have jurisdiction outside of town. Which, Virgil and Everett don't dispute. Throughout the book, the heroes act as if they are town marshals rather than territorial lawmen. Knott mentions the temporary sheriff as being appointed by the city aldermen. City aldermen did appoint town marshals or chief of police, but sheriff was a county position and it was an elected position, not an appointed one.
Finally, the flawed side story's resolution is incomplete.. The boy is searching for his mother and the novel ends in a very unsatisfying conclusion... the mystery remains unsolved.
Knott comes closer to recreating Parker's pacing, but the cadence of the dialogue isn't true to the original, though he came closer in this effort. Virgil is stoic, but doesn't repetitively stumble over big words as he does in the original.
The flaws of Knott's book (beyond the side story interrupting the pacing and tension) are numerous.
First, Knott drops a literal barrage of F-bombs, a word which had little or no usage in the old west, and certainly not to the extent Knott uses it to demonstrate that his characters are crude, vulgar, and tough. To use this anachronistic language so prevalently is as grating as if the characters rode up to the site of the mine in a Sherman tank. It just doesn't fit.
Second, Knott doesn't comprehend the difference between territorial marshals, sheriffs, and town marshals. Early in the story, they are declared to be territorial marshals, but in one encounter the bad guys tell them that they don't have jurisdiction outside of town. Which, Virgil and Everett don't dispute. Throughout the book, the heroes act as if they are town marshals rather than territorial lawmen. Knott mentions the temporary sheriff as being appointed by the city aldermen. City aldermen did appoint town marshals or chief of police, but sheriff was a county position and it was an elected position, not an appointed one.
Finally, the flawed side story's resolution is incomplete.. The boy is searching for his mother and the novel ends in a very unsatisfying conclusion... the mystery remains unsolved.
Knott comes closer to recreating Parker's pacing, but the cadence of the dialogue isn't true to the original, though he came closer in this effort. Virgil is stoic, but doesn't repetitively stumble over big words as he does in the original.
May 12, 2019
The tenth entry of Cole And Hitch there is a celebration and why not its Appaloosa's tenth anniversary as a town. Now in these ten years Appaloosa has grown and in this book its continued grown brings problems like the discovery of gold close by. Because the gold is found on neighboring land there are two different companies with eye on the others mines, which bring about some hired guns and of course that can only lead to trouble for our lawmen Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.
now this story would fine just with that but oh on under the careful plotting of Robert Knott, there is more. A crazed young killer is looking for his mother, who abandoned him when he was young, and don't just know she is living in Appaloosa. Not only only that but teams up with a woman who also on a mission to kill the lawman who killed her father many years before.
Robert B. Parker must be smiling to see how Robert Knott has done such a masterful job of continuing his great western series.
Highly recommended.
now this story would fine just with that but oh on under the careful plotting of Robert Knott, there is more. A crazed young killer is looking for his mother, who abandoned him when he was young, and don't just know she is living in Appaloosa. Not only only that but teams up with a woman who also on a mission to kill the lawman who killed her father many years before.
Robert B. Parker must be smiling to see how Robert Knott has done such a masterful job of continuing his great western series.
Highly recommended.
December 13, 2019
Robert B. Knott wrote the latest of the Virgil and Hitch western, in his trademark laconic style that mimics the dialog between the two heroes of the books. ThIs means that in a book where description of people and places are sparse, one has to rely on conversations to get a sense of the unfolding story. It also means that the reader must pay close attention or miss who is talking and about what. Not easy. Often disconcerting. Ultimately boring. Right? Yes.
“Buckskin” was a disappointment to me.
It was the first western novel I have ever read that used, or perhaps exploited, crude sexual language and homosexuality to show motivation. The purpose was , I guess, to show why a story character , a young drifter, depicted as a lover of fancy Mexican clothing, music and dancing, Became a stone, cold killer. That the young man suffered an abusive past , related in a scene highly reminiscent of the movie “ Chinatown” , allowed the author to write in a extraneous scene where the drifter has to fend off a crude male advance seemed a step too far. Furthermore, attention to the primary characters was cursory, with a plot that was no more than a sketch, that had two competing gold- mining companies warring, and a beautiful, beguiling actress turning Cole ‘s( or was it Hitch’s) head.
I conscientiously read the first 150-75 pages, then started skimming to try to make some sense of this mash- up. It was definitely fated for my “ another good series gone stale” list. So much of that these days.
Sensitivity warnings: gunplay, senseless killer on the loose, graphic sexual references.
My opinion: Pass this one by.
“Buckskin” was a disappointment to me.
It was the first western novel I have ever read that used, or perhaps exploited, crude sexual language and homosexuality to show motivation. The purpose was , I guess, to show why a story character , a young drifter, depicted as a lover of fancy Mexican clothing, music and dancing, Became a stone, cold killer. That the young man suffered an abusive past , related in a scene highly reminiscent of the movie “ Chinatown” , allowed the author to write in a extraneous scene where the drifter has to fend off a crude male advance seemed a step too far. Furthermore, attention to the primary characters was cursory, with a plot that was no more than a sketch, that had two competing gold- mining companies warring, and a beautiful, beguiling actress turning Cole ‘s( or was it Hitch’s) head.
I conscientiously read the first 150-75 pages, then started skimming to try to make some sense of this mash- up. It was definitely fated for my “ another good series gone stale” list. So much of that these days.
Sensitivity warnings: gunplay, senseless killer on the loose, graphic sexual references.
My opinion: Pass this one by.
June 18, 2019
The next book in a great series, especially if you enjoy western novels. Virg and Hitch have problems keeping the peace when gold is found in the hills near town. There are a couple of side stories that keep things moving, but there is a lot of italics, maybe Mr. Knott could use a different font, instead of italics, to differentiate what is about 30% or more of the book. It's definitely a hard book to put down, really enjoyed the writing and the story.
August 14, 2019
A real miss for me. I'm very surprised, since usually the Cole & Hitch books retain most of the Parker "flavor," much more so than the other series.
-Doesn't reveal who the mother is, which is a big part of the story.
-More than a few turns of phrase that do not fit the setting of the book.
I finished it in about four days, but I was really hoping for more from this volume. Usually I sail through these books.
-Doesn't reveal who the mother is, which is a big part of the story.
-More than a few turns of phrase that do not fit the setting of the book.
I finished it in about four days, but I was really hoping for more from this volume. Usually I sail through these books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2021
Very disappointing. I have read and enjoyed all the Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch books but this one was a letdown. Didn't even finish it. Seems like the author lost track of the main characters with all the nonsense of the kid and the nutty "wife". Parker's focus was always on the lawmen not on sexual perversion and garbage like this. I expected more from Knott than this waste of paper. Knott should just let the marshalls ride off into the sunset in peace.
June 9, 2019
I didn't find the book interesting, but I read to the end to find out who the kid's mother was and was outraged that the author did not tell us.
Possibly the author felt he was being clever, possibly he thought it was a hook to force the reader to get the next book, but the effect was to make me swear off any more in this series.
Possibly the author felt he was being clever, possibly he thought it was a hook to force the reader to get the next book, but the effect was to make me swear off any more in this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2020
I have really liked these Cole/Hitch books and their characters. This one kept my interest with the two running plots and wondering if they were connected. The end however left me puzzled and seemed incomplete.
June 4, 2019
a good story without a conclusive ending. There were a few storylines that just seemed to drop at the end of the book
June 26, 2019
Very unimaginative ending. Just kill everyone off. Only remaining question - Who is Helen(The Kid's mother,aka Buckskin)? Allie, Martha Katherine, or Bernice McCarthy?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2022
This book doesn't feel like the author, Robert Knott, is imitating Robert B. Parker. The main characters are the same, but he has made them his own. There are actually two separate stories that converge at the end of the book during the climax. Everett Hitch is the narrator of the first, and the second is written in annoying italics, which can be eye straining, although it helps define that story line. I gave only three stars because of the gratuitous profanity, violence and sex. (Parker was able to convey all of the above without actually describing it.)
Appaloosa has expanded and prospered and over 3,000 residents live there now. Even Allie's shop, Mrs. French's Fine Dresses, has become a profitable business. Territorial Marshalls, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, are concerned about the ongoing friction of two competing mining camps. One is owned by a consortium known as the Baptiste Group, and the other is owned by McCormick Enterprises. The McCormick brothers actually purchased their mine from the Baptiste Group a year prior to a gold discovery. Unfortunately, they both share the same road to their respective mines. Now each group has hired their own gun hands to intimidate each other's miners. Henri Baptiste has hired Victor and Ventura Bartholemew and followers, and the McCormick brothers, has hired Edward Hodge and his followers. The problem at the beginning of the book is that a miner from the McCormick group has gone missing and later another one goes missing. This escalates the animosity between the groups.
The 2nd story line involves a character that is just called "Kid". He is a young, demented killer who has just broken out of jail on a festival day in Mexico. His aimless travels are told in several vignettes, where he leaves a trail of dead bodies, until he reaches the house of his dying father who wanted to see him. Kid despises him for his cruel upbringing. The father offers him a confession about his mother who Kid never knew because he thought she had abandoned him. After taking "care" of his father, he commences his travels looking for his ethereal mother. He encounters a teamster and his mysterious wife who was raised by gypsies, and she begins to groom him for a vendetta of her own involving someone who lives in Appaloosa. The two-story lines culminate during the Appaloosa Days Celebration which Allie has created and helped organize. The ending of this story line explains the name of the book - Buckskin.
Meanwhile, Everett is bedding Martha Kathryn who is an actress and singer traveling with a theatrical company and now performing at the Appaloosa Theater. The two mining companies are heading for war, especially when the two McCormick brothers, James and Daniel, are found poisoned. The ending is full of twists and turns along with a surprise ending. Several of the reviews I read criticized the unsatisfying conclusion and were disappointed that Kid's mother was not revealed. BUT, if you read page 280 in the hardback edition, I'm pretty sure that is a definite clue as to which of the three ladies in the climax is his mother. Happy hunting.
Appaloosa has expanded and prospered and over 3,000 residents live there now. Even Allie's shop, Mrs. French's Fine Dresses, has become a profitable business. Territorial Marshalls, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, are concerned about the ongoing friction of two competing mining camps. One is owned by a consortium known as the Baptiste Group, and the other is owned by McCormick Enterprises. The McCormick brothers actually purchased their mine from the Baptiste Group a year prior to a gold discovery. Unfortunately, they both share the same road to their respective mines. Now each group has hired their own gun hands to intimidate each other's miners. Henri Baptiste has hired Victor and Ventura Bartholemew and followers, and the McCormick brothers, has hired Edward Hodge and his followers. The problem at the beginning of the book is that a miner from the McCormick group has gone missing and later another one goes missing. This escalates the animosity between the groups.
The 2nd story line involves a character that is just called "Kid". He is a young, demented killer who has just broken out of jail on a festival day in Mexico. His aimless travels are told in several vignettes, where he leaves a trail of dead bodies, until he reaches the house of his dying father who wanted to see him. Kid despises him for his cruel upbringing. The father offers him a confession about his mother who Kid never knew because he thought she had abandoned him. After taking "care" of his father, he commences his travels looking for his ethereal mother. He encounters a teamster and his mysterious wife who was raised by gypsies, and she begins to groom him for a vendetta of her own involving someone who lives in Appaloosa. The two-story lines culminate during the Appaloosa Days Celebration which Allie has created and helped organize. The ending of this story line explains the name of the book - Buckskin.
Meanwhile, Everett is bedding Martha Kathryn who is an actress and singer traveling with a theatrical company and now performing at the Appaloosa Theater. The two mining companies are heading for war, especially when the two McCormick brothers, James and Daniel, are found poisoned. The ending is full of twists and turns along with a surprise ending. Several of the reviews I read criticized the unsatisfying conclusion and were disappointed that Kid's mother was not revealed. BUT, if you read page 280 in the hardback edition, I'm pretty sure that is a definite clue as to which of the three ladies in the climax is his mother. Happy hunting.
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