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Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves is a man of the law he always gives the culprit a chance to confess before he pulls the trigger. Reeves is also illiterate and an ex-slave, but Judge Parker is happy to read the warrants aloud in order to employ Reeves' skills and dedication. It's 1879, and the judge sends Reeves and an Indian deputy to stop the sale of guns and liquor in the Indian Territories. The two lawmen eliminate the thieves, permanently, but they stumble on a bigger problem: a psychopath with a Gatling gun. By pumping weak links in the man's organization, Reeves learns he's planning to rob a train by mowing down a platoon of soldiers. Reeves has to stop him. The denouement that follows, unlike earlier shoot-outs, is gripping, across-the-board violence. The train robbery is a doozy and Reeves is a protagonist to follow. The Old West was not a politically correct place, and Black's novel abounds with ethnic slurs and language that may jar modern readers.--Jeanne Greene Copyright 2019 Booklist