Torn and Frayed by David Cranmer

The seventh book in the Drifter Detective series sees Jack Laramie wandering in to yet another new town.  This story felt different from some of the other Drifter books. It felt like Laramie was going to settle down and this was going finish the series with a nice and neat ending. I was wrong. Fans of clean endings may find this one frustrating. I really liked the ending or as some may have thought the lack of one. For me the entire series has been about Laramie never really getting closure for his issues and that was emphasized nicely in this story.

In this story Laramie finds himself embroiled in a long running bitter feud that could not have ended well for anybody. As usual the gains from this adventure are at best minimal and Laramie continues his hand-to-mouth tour of America with redemption still beyond the horizon.

I enjoyed this book but I have to admit that I preferred the bonus story at the end. Missing was a Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles story set in The Old West. I’ve been a fan of these characters for a while and it wasn’t a surprise that I enjoyed it. My one  criticism was that having sat with my thumbs on the triggers I had trouble understanding how anybody could describe the Maxim as a large pistol. For me  it has always been a weapon apart. That said the use of the gun in the story worked really well and was an interesting way to show that time of the gunslinger was at risk from modern weaponry.