U.S. Marshal Vic Verdugo returns in VERDUGO’S VENDETTA, the second book in the traditional Western series by James J. Griffin. Verdugo, who was a deputy marshal assigned to Fort Griffin, Texas, in the first book, gets a promotion in this one and becomes the chief marshal for a vast, untamed district that includes the southeastern part of New Mexico Territory and the far western reaches of Texas, including El Paso.
Unfortunately, Verdugo’s supervisor in this new role is an arrogant, by-the-book federal judge who has some unsavory secrets in his past. A clash with a murderous family of outlaws and rustlers complicates things even more. Luckily, Verdugo has some competent deputies to help him, chief among them William Cloud Gatherer, a half-Paiute lawman who works very well with Verdugo.
You could call this book a frontier police procedural, because there’s not really a main plot that runs through the entire book. It’s more a series of cases worked by Verdugo and Cloud Gatherer, although the trouble with the vicious Benson clan does take up much of the second half and leads to a satisfying conclusion. What makes it work is Griffin’s skill in depicting the setting, as well as his sure hand with indomitable protagonists and despicable villains. Vic Verdugo is a very likable hero, and William Cloud Gatherer is a great supporting character, as is Verdugo’s horse Topper. The action scenes are plentiful and suitably gritty.
Griffin has been writing Western novels for a long time and has a legion of fans. VERDUGO’S VENDETTA should please all of them. I certainly had a good time reading it. It’s available from Amazon in an e-book edition.
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