Black Gold [Mass Market Paperback]

Fred Bean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1998

The Osage Indians lost their ancestral freedom on a windswept reservation in Oklahoma. Now, in the Roaring Twenties, the land is spewing black gold; oil has been found, and every Osage owns a share of the rights. Soon Osage tribal members are being killed for their oil royalties while a corrupt sheriff turns his back on the murders, Special Agent Frank Gordon organizes and undercover operation while working openly with frontier legend U.S. Marshall Will Proctor. Their investigation unearths a string of thirty-three murders, and as they race against death, Osages are still being killed. Gordon is determined to bring down the mastermind behind the ring of cold-blooded butchers. But when one of his own men is murdered and the killers turn on him, Gordon realizes there is a law beyond the law--the law of survival...

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the 1930s, oil is discovered near Longview, Texas, bringing roughneck drillers, wildcat speculators, and unscrupulous camp followers to the little town. Bill Dodd, an inveterate loser who finally makes a strike in the oil fields, is murdered before he can file his claim, and Ranger Lee Garrett is assigned to investigate. Garrett joins forces with a U.S. Treasury agent looking into bootlegging, bypassing corrupt county law enforcement agents. Meanwhile, a local prostitute knows more about the case than she's telling. After some half-dozen people are brutally killed and a suspected Mafia connection is exposed, Garrett solves the case to everyone's satisfaction but his own. A surprise ending gives this story an interesting twist. Bean (Lorena, LJ 12/96) has effectively captured the aura of Texas during the oil boom and Depression years, when the Texas Rangers often used methods as brutal as those of the criminals they pursued. Recommended for public libraries.?Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale Lib.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Although a bit too enamored of the traditions and myths surrounding the Texas Rangers, Bean (Lorena, not reviewed, etc.) does a commendable job in this action-filled adventure set in the East Texas oil fields in the 1930s. The story opens with the murder of hapless wildcatter Bill Dodd on the eve of his registration of a mineral-rights oil lease. Dodd's murder is simply one more violent act in the virtually lawless environs of the east Texas fields, and local authorities ignore it. Texas Ranger Lee Garrett is told to quietly investigate the killing, in response to Dodd's widow's complaint that he was killed by people who wanted to steal the lease. Almost immediately, Garrett discovers that there's more to the case than a simple act of murder and robbery. Tracing Dodd's associations through a prostitute, Molly Brown, Garrett begins to connect the nefarious dealings around the drilling rigs to organized crime in New York. In the meantime, another ranger, Roy Woods, is working with Treasury agents to shut down bootlegging operations in the nearby piney woods. Soon the two rangers are brought together. They tie corrupt officials to Eastern gangsters and discover that the real power behind the crime wave may be none other than Texas oil tycoon H.L. Hunt. Garrett's investigation is complicated by his growing love for the somewhat mysterious Molly. Tension increases as debates between Garrett and Woods over how lawmen should conduct themselves divide the two Rangers and seem to forecast future changes in policies and procedures long held sacred by the rough and ready Rangers. Though burdened by clich‚, a plodding plot, and a tendency toward the sentimental, the novel holds the reader's interest, thanks to Bean's deft hand at character development and his knowledge of the period. The climactic action scenes are well constructed, and the dialogue, though often repetitive, is natural and true to the time and place. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (November 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812545974
• ISBN-13: 978-0812545975
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,038,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical novel!, November 30, 2006

By 

Adam J. Pratt "AJ" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Gold (Mass Market Paperback)

Fred Bean does a great in his story-telling and keeping you interested in the main character's dilemma of being a good Texas Ranger and having feelings for the wrong girl. I really enjoyed the story and the portrayal of 1920's Texas oil boomtown.

Being interested in historical fiction, I think that this was a great read.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good murder mystery and love story with interesting twists and turns, September 4, 2009

By 

William F. Mckinney (Fort Worth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Gold (Hardcover)

This is a great read. Most of Fred's earlier books were westerns. This takes place in the tough East Texas oilfields around the1930s. I couldn't stop reading it but didn't want it to end.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Read, February 18, 2003

By 

Christian Young - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Gold (Mass Market Paperback)

Very good read! Excellent storytelling narrative by the author. Highly recommended.