Jury of Six (Luke Starbuck) [Mass Market Paperback]

Matt Braun (Author)

Book Description

Series: Luke Starbuck | Publication Date: July 7, 2002

Texas rancher Ben Langhan left his sprawling inheritance to the man he trusted most: Luck Starbuck. Once Starbuck has dreamed of owning land of his own. Now he was more interested in finding out who gunned down Ben Langham. With the Cattleman's Association behind him, Starbuck has all the authority he needs to ride into New Mexico on the path of a murderous band of thieves. But he didn't count of coming face to face with a scrawny killer named William "The Kid" Bonney, a shifty sheriff named Pat Garret, or the true story behind the legendary Lincoln County War. Suddenly, Luke Starbuck is up against more than a killer or two. He's striking at a conspiracy that reached into the heart of power--and to a handful of men who have already decided that Luke Starbuck must die...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Matt Braun is one of the best!"--Don Coldsmith, author of the Spanish Bit series

"He tells it straight--and he tells it well."--Jory Sherman, author of Grass Kingdom

"Matt Braun is a master storyteller of frontier fiction."--Elmer Kelton

From the Inside Flap

Fighting Back...

Durant's instincts kicked in from the war. He sought cover, dodging behind a telephone pole, and pulled the Luger from his waistband. The two gunmen fired almost simultaneously, one shot nicking the telephone pole and the other whistling past his ear. He crouched, arm extended at shoulder level, and caught the sights in the reflection from the streetlight. He ripped off three quick shots.

The first shattered the car's windshield. The second plucked at the sleeve of the man by the passenger door. The man by the rear door grunted with surprise, a starburst of blood covering his shirt front from the third slug. He lurched sideways, his legs collapsing, and slumped face-down on the curb. The driver shouted a curse.

The other man jumped on the running board as the Buick roared away. Durant rose from behind the telephone pole, glancing at the dead hoodlum, and decided to make tracks. The cops, given the opportunity, would charge him with murder.


Praise For Spur Award-Winning Author, Matt Braun:

"Matt Braun is head and shoulders above all the rest who would attempt to bring the gunmen of the old west to life." -Terry C. Johnson, author of The Plainsman series

"Matt Braun has a genius for taking real characters out of the Old West and giving them flesh-and-blood immediacy." -Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (July 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312981767
• ISBN-13: 978-0312981761
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,092,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solidly enjoyable gangster novel, June 7, 2004

By 

F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... (Birmingham England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Overlords (Mass Market Paperback)

The Overlords is packaged as a Western , unsuprisingly ,given Matt Braun's eminence in the genre , but in all conscience it is nothing of the sort and it owes more to the gangsters and crimebusters school .Those seeking a cinematic comparison for the book would find it in the classic Warner Brothers crime movies of the thirties rather than a Western .
The time is the prohibition era and the setting is Galveston which Braun points out in a short but informative foreward was a kind of Southern version of Chicago dominated by the mob in alliance with respectable mainstream business interests .
The focal point is the Hollywood Club ,ostensibly a night club with the means to attract celebrity acts such as Al Jolson and Sophie Tucker but whose main income comes from illegal gambling .The club is run by Quinn and Voight who have an understanding with the town's major bankers and the local law firmly in their pockets .
The pair face a double threat -the Texas Rangers have placed an agent to infiltrate the outfit and Durant , a movie stuntman for Tom Mix who inherits a small bank and resists the attempt of the corrupt banker Magruder to force him to sell despite the "persususions " of the mob enforcers acting at Magreuder's behest .
Simply but vividly drawn characters -like the chief mob enforcer ,Nolan -together with a propulsive narrative style heavy on dialogue ,ensure that despite its being longer than most novels of its kind it never wears out its welcome and remains a crisp piece of modern pulp writing .
As usual in Braun there is a great deal of name dropping with cameo roles for stars of the period like Jolson (pictured as an egotistical and dislikeable man but supremely good at what he does ) and the man chasing Sophie Tucker .Also present are the usual doses of Braun's social conservatism and rather clumsily interpolated historical research

Brisk and fun but Western readers beware -it is not in your chosen genre

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars STARBUCK BRAND OF JUSTICE!!!, October 27, 2002

By 

Mac Blair "Mac Blair" (Huntingdon, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jury of Six (Luke Starbuck) (Mass Market Paperback)

Anothe book about Luke Starbuck. His friend Ben Laugham has ben gunned down. He is determined to find the killers, little knowing it would lead him to Billy the Kid. He faces The Kid and also has to face the men The Kid is working for. He also has to put up with Pat Garrett, who is more concerned about getting relected than doing his job. Can Luke find all the powers behind the killing? A fairly fast moving western. I gave it a four instead of a five because several pages are all talk with out much going on. As a whole it will hold your attention. I like Lukes brand of justice. It is much better than some we have today.