The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

by Jake Logan (AKA ???) Slocum is jailed on a trumped-up charge and offered a way out by the local sheriff: escort a widow on a long trip to her new home.  Well, it beats sitting in a cell, but it quickly becomes clear that the arrangement is not as simple as it first appears.  They have a number of dangerous encounters along the trail… and who are those characters who can often be seen on the distant horizon?  Slocum seems to be changing from a somewhat battered drifter who often seemed only partly in control of his circumstances into a more conventional action hero and is a little less interesting for that reason.  The novel feels smooth and effortless.  There are several good scenes, but the payoff disappoints.  It goes down easily but leaves only a modest impression afterward.