Jury of 6

Luke Starbuck #2

by Matt Braun

Texas rancher Ben Langhan left his sprawling inheritance to the man he trusted Luck Starbuck. Once Starbuck has dreamed of owning land of his own. Now he was more interested in finding out who gunned down Ben Langham. With the Cattleman's Association behind him, Starbuck has all the authority he needs to ride into New Mexico on the path of a murderous band of thieves. But he didn't count of coming face to face with a scrawny killer named William "The Kid" Bonney, a shifty sheriff named Pat Garret, or the true story behind the legendary Lincoln County War. Suddenly, Luke Starbuck is up against more than a killer or two. He's striking at a conspiracy that reached into the heart of power—and to a handful of men who have already decided that Luke Starbuck must die...

Genres: Westerns

Paperback

First published December 31, 1980

About the author

Matt Braun is an author of fifty-six books, most of which are in the Western genre and has over 40 million copies in print.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery with a strong finish.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

For being the first western book that I've read, I find that I may start reading more. It was well written, brought the life of a rustler and law man in early america alive.

Had one chapter that could have been left out, but it seems that a sex just has to be included everywhere.

[Richard Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's an excellent fast read that both enhances and rehashes the fables and mystique surrounding the 1878 Lincoln County war in New Mexican Territory along with the colorful characters of William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett and fictitious characters surrounding Chisolm's JingleBob Ranch. This is a second installment in the Luke Starbuck tales in which Matt Braun has created a Manhunter of excellence who will ride the shady edges of the the law with or without a badge in order to get his man. There weren't a lot of nice clean-cut men out working the ranches in those days and Braun has excellent descriptive abilities to pull us into both the story and the hard scrabble lives of his characters. Starbuck becomes the dirty unshaven lone rider in some cases as he tracks his quarry, but is also backed by John Poe and four other LX cowhands as they search for the killers of rancher Ben Langham and the gang of rustlers surrounding Billy the Kid. Enjoy the read, it's a model for those of us who are wannabe writers about the old west.