Bitterroot

by Cameron Judd

When Simon Caine is saved from a lynch party, he repays his indebtedness by leading Crosston to a showdown with a team of blood thirsty bounty hunters

Paperback

First published March 1, 1989

About the author

Cameron Judd (AKA: Tobias Cole) is a bestselling author of over forty historical and Western novels, including The Canebrake Men and Crockett of Tennessee. A former award-winning journalist, he continues to write his acclaimed column “Clips to Keep” and lives with his family in Greene County, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simon Caine's wife and kids were killed by Union raiders during the Civil War and he is now on a quest of vengeance against their killers. Robert Montrose is the last of those killers that Simon is seeking. John Crosston is an Englishman pursuing an undescribed treasure of untold value in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. Clinton Brannigan is a bounty hunter who finally catches up to Caine in the book's opening pages. Cordell Brannigan is Clinton's brother, who with a friend Artemis Frye, takes up Clinton's bounty when Simon kills him. Sam Ten Pennies is a half-black half-Indian whose wife was murdered by a white man so he and his gang are now on a mission of revenge against all white people. Jake Armitage is Caine's very old friend, and the two of them are enlisted by Crosston to help him find the treasure he is seeking. Opequan is a squaw whose husband has been murdered and now she's on her own trail of vengeance against Ten Pennies. William Montrose is Robert's brother who takes up his own mission of revenge against his brother's killer. Morrison DeGuerre is a bounty hunter hired by William Montrose to kill Simon. Marshall Jim Ballentree is bouncing around trying to sort out all this mess and capture Caine. I'm sure I'm missing somebody important but you get the point.

Verdict: A jumbled, clunky, haphazard mess of a western revenge and treasure hunt story. Judd has much better stuff out there.

Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13