Last Stand at Bitter Creek

by Tom Rizzo

For one battle-weary Union spy, the war is not over. Grant Bonner lived in the shadows during the war and is eager to put those years behind him. But he learns his hunger for a fresh start comes with a steep price when he agrees to delay his plans and complete one last assignment. But he’s not been told everything about the mission. His routine surveillance goes terribly wrong and puts him in the crosshairs of a cunning and accomplished military leader. Left to die on a rain-soaked field, Bonner survives and embarks on a mission of revenge and redemption. A riveting thriller that evolves from a seemingly-unrelated ambush of a small patrol of Union soldiers in the hills of Pennsylvania. Bonner is forced to run for his life on a journey that takes him to the frontier town of Bitter Creek, Wyoming, where he uncovers an elaborate conspiracy. To stop it, he must enlist help from an improbable source and risk everything in a lethal confrontation with the demon of his past.

Genres: Westerns

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2012

Reviews

[Una Tiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una Tiers, author of Judge vs Nuts.
Last Stand at Bitter Creek by Tom Rizzo, catches your eye with a prescient cover of a lone Union soldier with a long, winding path ahead of him. The plot gallops at a steady pace through treacherous canyons and small towns, replete with obstacles. It includes a spy, a train robbery, murder, a gold heist and authentic dialogue. Contrasting the war and greed is a steady theme of the kindness of strangers. This book will keep you guessing to the end of the dusty, blood stained trail.

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written, excellent Old West fiction.

[Robyn Echols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting Story

This story started during the American Civil War and continued on years afterwards as two men work to achieve their goals. The hero and the villain are both well-written characters, plus there are many other secondary characters to keep things interesting. This non-stop action western kept me guessing and reading.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Civil War is almost over when Union spy Grant Bonner receives his last assignment. Although he’s more than ready to go home and forget the past four years, he reluctantly agrees to a job he finds both distasteful and alarming: spying within the Union’s own ranks. The assignment goes south in a big way, leaving Bonner wounded and on the run, accused of grand larceny and murder. As he attempts to clear his name, he becomes both hunter and prey in a monumental chess match where all of the pieces are pawns.

Houstonian Tom Rizzo’s debut novel wanders a bit in spots, much like the trail of the sociopath Bonner tracks. The writing stumbles in a few places, but almost every novel suffers that fate. The true test of a good story, in my opinion, is whether readers will remember the experience after they’ve finished the book. I finished reading weeks ago, and I’m still thinking about this one.

In Rizzo’s hands, Bonner, his tenuous supporters, and the villain become the sort of “sticky” characters that just won’t go away. Some of the bad guys are evil to the core; some of the good guys seem untrustworthy. Just as it appears Bonner is about to make a breakthrough, the invisible hand of Fate bumps the chessboard and scatters the pieces. By the conclusion readers may find themselves exhausted — in a good way.

LAST STAND AT BITTER CREEK also is notable for the historical trivia Rizzo winds through the tale. Though the events that set the plot in motion may seem improbable, all are based in historical fact. History buffs will enjoy the end note.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Rizzo has taken three unsolved mysteries from the 1860s and woven them into a story of espionage and criminality. His central character is an innocent man, just doing his job, who becomes a wanted fugitive.

Grant Bonner is a young Civil War veteran who has been a spy for the Union in the Confederate South. As the war ends, he is put on the trail of a colonel in the Union Army suspected of engineering the robbery of a gold shipment. Accompanying five heavy coffins in the express car of a westbound train from Cincinnati, Bonner is surprised by a derailment that leaves him running for his life from thieves. . .

Read my review at my blog.