MOUNTAIN KILLER - Book review

 Mountain Killer is the first in a series concerning the Tales of Tom Mix by Scott McCrea (2022).

This adventure takes place in 1911 when Mix was thirty-one and a marshal of Dewey. By this time he had already starred in films and was well known. ‘Sheriff Kohl liked the showman-Marshal well enough, but suspected there was more show than sand in Tom Mix’ (p1).

On his way to give a talk to some Texas Rangers, Tom’s passing through the small city of La Mort Sanglante in the Oklahoma mountains. The place twenty-five years back had been a tent city but now was quite prosperous, virtually owned in its entirety by Mr Pierre Cavanagh. The previous night Mrs Evelyn Cavanagh was savaged by a bear, probably the notorious Big Claw, in her mansion’s library. Sheriff Kohl invites Mix to help out in an unofficial capacity.

The blurb tells us so it isn’t giving anything away to reveal that Mix suspects that the woman’s death was not caused by a bear but by a man.

How he arrives at this conclusion and his relationship with the various townsfolk keep the reader guessing. What seems likely is that some incidents over two decades ago are now casting fatal shadows over the township. The threat is decidedly real: while escorting Cavanagh’s pretty daughter Hillary they are shot at – whether that’s by a disgruntled film critic, an old enemy from Mix’s past, or a particularly talented bear remains to be seen.

It is clear that Mix has an eye for the ladies – not least the plucky Hillary – which is not surprising, perhaps, since he was married five times. During these events he was married to his third wife, Olive and nothing improper occurred.

Indeed, there are enough fascinating and amusing characters to enliven the story, not least the alcoholic Doc Gamble, the reclusive governor Suchet and his giant of an Indian butler-cum-bodyguard, Morgan.

There are also some amusing asides and observations to balance the grim killings in this engaging tale.

McCrea has created a likeable hero who clearly has the potential for many adventures: this one is followed by Savage Mesa, Cowboy Justice, Deuces Wild and Hogg Wild in that order.