#21: Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker

Gunmen Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, two hard-bitten heroes with their own moral compass, return to Appaloosa to rout out a crooked sheriff in Robert B. Parker's Blue-Eyed Devil, published posthumously.

This is the fourth in this Western series, and features the same elements that made the others successful; interesting characters, no-nonsense plotting, and hyper-laconic dialogue.  I would rate this entry slightly above the previous entry as the series circles around to some of the original characters and locations that made the first novel, Appaloosa, so rewarding.

I was glad to see that Robert B. Parker had one more of these tucked away.  Enjoyable, for fans of the series.

I checked this out from the Morrison-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read a lot of it in one fell swoop.

#21: Brimstone by Robert B. Parker

Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, the two laconic gunmen from Robert B. Parker's Appaloosa and Resolution novels, return for a third round in Brimstone, another tightly-wound Western.

Here our lawmen sort out a town in which a somewhat suspicious religious leader carries on a spiritual campaign against the saloons with some heavily-armed "deacons" while a rogue Indian killer nips at the town's heels. But at the center of the story is Virgil Cole's relationship with a serially unfaithful woman, highlighting that even the fastest gun in the West is still susceptible to the p-whip.

I would rate this trilogy highly in the modern Western canon; certainly not at the level of Larry McMurtry or Cormac McCarthy but within shooting range of Elmore Leonard and probably ready to have a showdown with Loren Estleman. Terse writing, leavened with humor, makes this a fast read.

I checked this out from the Farmland Public Library and chewed through it quickly.