Webb's Posse

By Ralph Cotton

Book Overview

When the Peltry Gang swoops into Rileyville, the attack is sudden and merciless. Before the townsfolk know what hit them, one of their own lies dead on the dirt street, Deputy Abner Webb is caught with his pants down, and just for good measure, the desperadoes shoot the sheriff and leave him for dead as they head out. Webb knows he must capture the outlaws for what they've done, but that won't be easy for the inexperienced lawman. Yet with the help of a shady horse trader and an ornery schoolmaster, Webb just might bring the gunslingers in on their feet--or slungover their saddles.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451208854
• ISBN13: 9780451208859
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Ok

I just cannot read Cottons work. He probably is a great author but not my kind.

THROUGH THE DESERT AND INTO OLE MEXICO

I don't know if Ralph Cotton ever wrote a 'bad' book, but if he did, this one is not it! This western novel from July, 2003, is one of the better ones from him I've read, and all the others were pretty good. As standard are the 'good' guys versus the 'bad' guys, and Ralph's 'bad' guys can be very seedy and bad-to-the-bone characters. The Peltry Gang led by Goose and Moses, called 'Devil' by some, will not only give you dislike but also a few laughs. And when they join forces with Doc Murdock and his gang of scalphunters events get even worse. Pity be the dusty border town or Mexico inhabitants that cross the paths of these nasty men. Even the Federales get chewed up by this bunch. Webb's posse is not so much the property of Deputy Abner Webb as it becomes that of Will Summers, Sherman Dahl, and Sergeant Teasdale, with Webb supplying the legal aspect to this huntdown of the Peltry and Murdock gangs. Eventually due to the excess of the 'bad' guys, even ole Abner takes off his badge. And Teasdale's U.S. Army personnel remove their uniforms to enter Mexico as civilians. As the killings and deaths on both sides mount up, all the survivors become just that much more determfined and deadly set in their ways to catch and eliminate their opposite numbers. So many of Ralph Cotton's books of the west, are in a series; as far as I can determine this book stands by itself. But it is so riveting that I hope Ralph brings out at least a sequel on Will Summers and his horses, and Sherman Dahl the schoolmaster, several others that survive this keep 'em loaded, deadly shootout, western novel. These men are interesting in their own rights, and their individual stories would also be of interest. If you haven't read any of Ralph Cotton's books, this is certainly a grand one with which to start off. And if it has been awhile since you veterans readers have read one, well, read this one again. The book will repay one and all readers with several days reading enjoyment. Whenever you ride the trails with Ralph's characters it is a bumpy, but enjoyable ride. Recommended. Semper Fi.

great western fiction

If you have never read a Ralph Cotton book, I urge you to run to the closest bookseller and pick one up. Every Cotton novel I have read has been impossible to put down. This, from a guy who has been known to slam-dunk books into the trash-can. Cotton not only knows how to tell a great story, he also creates very believable characters. WEBB'S POSSE grabbed me from the very first page, when the Peltry Gang invades a small town and catches Deputy Abner Webb with his pants down. Literally. The Peltrys are ruthless, and after leaving the town to burn in their wake, Webb and a group of citizens form a posse to track them down. Problem is, most of them have no idea what they're in for, save for a school teacher, who proves very capable with a gun, and a horse seller, who knows the Peltry brothers and their ways. Cotton blends tension, sympathy and some very unexpected comedy into a tale that should have you scanning the bookshelves for anything with his name on the cover. Don't miss this book, folks. Even if you don't like westerns, this one will entertain you more than some of todays so-called master storytellers.