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Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch #6
Robert B. Parker's Bull River
Itinerant lawmen Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are back in the saddle with guns blazing in this gritty, intense addition to the New York Times�bestselling series.
After hunting down murderer and bandito Captain Alejandro Vasquez, Territorial Marshal Virgil Cole and Deputy Everett Hitch return him to Citadel to stand trial. No sooner do they remand Vasquez into custody when a major bank robbery occurs and the lawmen quickly find themselves tasked with a new job: investigate the robbery of Comstock Bank, recover the loot, and bring the criminals to justice.
But when their primary suspect is found severely beaten outside a high-class brothel and the suspect turns out to be using a false identity to escape a torrid past, it is Vasquez who becomes the key to their investigation. Cole and Hitch are soon on the trail of the money, two calculating brothers, and the daughter of Saint Louis’s most prominent millionaire in a Cain-and-Abel story that brings revenge to a whole new level.
After hunting down murderer and bandito Captain Alejandro Vasquez, Territorial Marshal Virgil Cole and Deputy Everett Hitch return him to Citadel to stand trial. No sooner do they remand Vasquez into custody when a major bank robbery occurs and the lawmen quickly find themselves tasked with a new job: investigate the robbery of Comstock Bank, recover the loot, and bring the criminals to justice.
But when their primary suspect is found severely beaten outside a high-class brothel and the suspect turns out to be using a false identity to escape a torrid past, it is Vasquez who becomes the key to their investigation. Cole and Hitch are soon on the trail of the money, two calculating brothers, and the daughter of Saint Louis’s most prominent millionaire in a Cain-and-Abel story that brings revenge to a whole new level.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2014
329 people are currently reading
1243 people want to read
About the author
Robert Knott
14 books153 followersChosen by the Estate of author Robert B. Parker to carry on the Cole and Hitch series of western novels.
Robert Knott is an actor, writer, and producer. His list of stage, television, and film credits include the feature film Appaloosa based on the Robert B. Parker novel which he adapted and produced with actor and producer Ed Harris. Also among his credits is the television mini-series The Stand based on the Stephen King novel. Longtime friend, co-writer and frequent co-star with Ed Harris.
Robert Knott is an actor, writer, and producer. His list of stage, television, and film credits include the feature film Appaloosa based on the Robert B. Parker novel which he adapted and produced with actor and producer Ed Harris. Also among his credits is the television mini-series The Stand based on the Stephen King novel. Longtime friend, co-writer and frequent co-star with Ed Harris.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 248 reviews
October 31, 2025
The president of the bank is seen taking all the bank’s cash in broad daylight and is found badly beaten that night but without the money. And while unconscious, his wife mysteriously disappears. A man just taken in custody by Virgil & Everett’s says he thinks he knows what happened and wants to make a deal. He’ll talk but wants to save himself from the hangman’s noose. A pretty good western story along with the enjoyable banter between Virgil & Everett keeps the story fun along with a great reader (audiobook).
January 22, 2014
I've said it before, and I'll repeat it. I fully understand why families of dead authors want to continue their work beyond death. There can be a lot of money at stake. Some resist the temptation: George V. Higgins, Phillip R. Craig. Others like Dick Francis and Robert Parker haven't, and while the ghost writers can often mimic the style to some effect, it is never the real deal. I don't know why I even bother reading these post mortems except for a love of the original. I wonder if Tom Clancy's family will follow suit. This time out, with Bull Run, I found myself speed reading and skimming over much. Yep. Nope. Clearing leather. Virgil stared. And the prostitutes with a heart of gold. I can't recommend anyone starting with these books. Robert Parker wrote over 70. Why not be content with that? Now that his widow is gone, it seems his two sons are continuing anyway.
April 29, 2014
While I am still enjoying this series, these newer entries written by Robert Knott -- who has done a workmanlike job of attempting to continue the tone, mood, setting, and dialogue of the earlier books -- just don't have the same magic as the Robert B. Parker entries. But they are quick, easy-to-read dalliances with characters I have grown quite fond of, in an oft-neglected genre, so I will likely continue reading them, if only for nostalgic reasons, and not logical ones.
December 17, 2014
Children's books are written for beginning readers and they include devices such as citing who is speaking for each comment. Authors expect adult readers to keep up with the give and take of conversation and only attribute a comment if the reader might be confused about who is speaking. When it wore on my last nerve, I had my Kindle search how many times the author typed and I read "Virgil said". My Kindle stopped counting at 500. "Enough, already," Jonquil said.
August 16, 2022
Once again I’d only recommend if you’ve read the previous books in the series and want the characters to live on… and that’s still a stretch. Parker’s better known Spenser series captures his style during his prime.
🐎
Knott does an admirable job mimicking style and picking up where Parker left off after his passing. Like his previous book the pacing was slow and the conversations were dull with little suspense.
🇲🇽
Some of the story takes place by a river overlooking the ocean in Mexico, however, it was a missed opportunity completely lacking in description of setting. This reader just hasn’t been pulled in after Knott took the reins.
🐎
Knott does an admirable job mimicking style and picking up where Parker left off after his passing. Like his previous book the pacing was slow and the conversations were dull with little suspense.
🇲🇽
Some of the story takes place by a river overlooking the ocean in Mexico, however, it was a missed opportunity completely lacking in description of setting. This reader just hasn’t been pulled in after Knott took the reins.
March 2, 2016
Actor/screenwriter Robert Knott's second turn with Parker's Old West lawmen, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, warrants an immediate buyout of whatever contract the publisher signed with him. Knott's first Cole and Hitch novel, Ironhorse, was a run-of-the-mill Western that could have been written by any reasonably competent author and which would have been no different if its leads had been lawmen Dole and Fitch. That's not all on Knott; aside from the first two books in the series Parker himself did little to make the lawmen stand out from their crowded field.
But as shrug-worthy as Ironhorse was, it's light-years better than the convoluted and contrived plot, lifelessly flat and wooden characters, nauseating dialogue and pulled-out-of-the-author's-hat endgame that Knott foisted on Putnam and the Parker estate with Bull River.
Cole and Hitch have caught up with a Mexican national wanted for murder in the United States. But no sooner do they get him to jail for trial than they learn that the town's largest bank has been robbed -- by its own president. He shows back up worse for wear, but neither the money, the robbers nor the bank president's pretty wife are anywhere to be found. And the president himself may not be everything he's claimed to be. Cole and Hitch partner with local lawmen and a couple of surprise allies to chase down the money and the fugitives.
Bull River has none of Parker's narrative sassiness and the Cole-Hitch interchanges plod with so little life and verve you'll want to check your own pulse after reading them. The truth of the bank president's connection to the robbers and the bandit Cole and Hitch capture at the beginning of the book comes out gradually -- perhaps meant to seen like peeling back the layers like in an onion. But it happens in such a stuttering stop-and-start manner that it seems a lot more likely Knott had no idea where he was going until a few pages before he got there. He overshoots the usual Parker page count by about sixty, much of that because he recycles conversations and character interactions several times.
River can't even keep its own clichés straight -- the Mexican robber is said at the novel's opening to speak excellent English but his dialogue varies from almost pidgin to Republic serial stereotyping to semi-standard 21st century English, and he switches between using a first-person pronoun and talking about himself in the third person with no apparent reason. It also comes with plenty of typos and dropped words -- Virgil asks if a character named Comstock is connected to the Nevada silver mining strike called the "Comstock Load" before he and Everett make fun of the man's weight by referring to him as a load. Of course, the pun doesn't work if you write the wrong homonym and you don't call it the "Comstock Lode," since lode is the actual word for a vein of ore.
But we shouldn't be too hard on the editor. He or she probably didn't want to read this all that closely either.
Original available here.
But as shrug-worthy as Ironhorse was, it's light-years better than the convoluted and contrived plot, lifelessly flat and wooden characters, nauseating dialogue and pulled-out-of-the-author's-hat endgame that Knott foisted on Putnam and the Parker estate with Bull River.
Cole and Hitch have caught up with a Mexican national wanted for murder in the United States. But no sooner do they get him to jail for trial than they learn that the town's largest bank has been robbed -- by its own president. He shows back up worse for wear, but neither the money, the robbers nor the bank president's pretty wife are anywhere to be found. And the president himself may not be everything he's claimed to be. Cole and Hitch partner with local lawmen and a couple of surprise allies to chase down the money and the fugitives.
Bull River has none of Parker's narrative sassiness and the Cole-Hitch interchanges plod with so little life and verve you'll want to check your own pulse after reading them. The truth of the bank president's connection to the robbers and the bandit Cole and Hitch capture at the beginning of the book comes out gradually -- perhaps meant to seen like peeling back the layers like in an onion. But it happens in such a stuttering stop-and-start manner that it seems a lot more likely Knott had no idea where he was going until a few pages before he got there. He overshoots the usual Parker page count by about sixty, much of that because he recycles conversations and character interactions several times.
River can't even keep its own clichés straight -- the Mexican robber is said at the novel's opening to speak excellent English but his dialogue varies from almost pidgin to Republic serial stereotyping to semi-standard 21st century English, and he switches between using a first-person pronoun and talking about himself in the third person with no apparent reason. It also comes with plenty of typos and dropped words -- Virgil asks if a character named Comstock is connected to the Nevada silver mining strike called the "Comstock Load" before he and Everett make fun of the man's weight by referring to him as a load. Of course, the pun doesn't work if you write the wrong homonym and you don't call it the "Comstock Lode," since lode is the actual word for a vein of ore.
But we shouldn't be too hard on the editor. He or she probably didn't want to read this all that closely either.
Original available here.
March 14, 2015
Robert B. Parker is probably best known for his crime fiction. HOWEVER he also wrote other types of books...other genres. A while back I discovered his westerns about Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.
I liked them. These book capture the the taciturn straight forward nature of the American west. the characters often conversing in short declarative sentences they understand direct action and when a problem exists it gets a direct solution.
So, sadly Robert B. Parker passed away in 2010 and the characters were picked up (as other literary characters have been) by Robert Knott who now writes books titled as "Robert B. Parker's" Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.
You know what? He did a good job. Mr. Knott captures the feel of the dusty New Mexico setting and the feel of the characters. This one is a good western and I can recommend it if you like westerns.
Enjoy.
I liked them. These book capture the the taciturn straight forward nature of the American west. the characters often conversing in short declarative sentences they understand direct action and when a problem exists it gets a direct solution.
So, sadly Robert B. Parker passed away in 2010 and the characters were picked up (as other literary characters have been) by Robert Knott who now writes books titled as "Robert B. Parker's" Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.
You know what? He did a good job. Mr. Knott captures the feel of the dusty New Mexico setting and the feel of the characters. This one is a good western and I can recommend it if you like westerns.
Enjoy.
January 28, 2016
I recieved this sixth installment in the Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch series through First Reads. I haven't read any of the previous books in the series, but my father is a fan and we tend to have similar taste when it comes to westerns. We both read this one and were both disappointed. He said that it was lacking something that he liked in the earlier books. He had only read the first couple which were written by Robert Parker. Having not read any of the others, I had nothing to compare this one to, but I just couldn't get into it. The plot was intriging enough and, by the end, I had come to like a couple of the characters enough to root for them, but the way the dialogue read was off putting and difficult to follow at times. It was a quick read when I was able to get into the story, but by the end I was very ready to be done with it.
June 12, 2016
Robert Knott has written an enjoyable book. He has Parker's style down very well--short chapters and lean dialogue. Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, deputy US Marshalls solve a bank robbery, kidnapping and some murders along the way. Both Cole and Hitch and their laconic speech style were created by Parker.
This was a fast read, 3 days, like all Parker books
This was a fast read, 3 days, like all Parker books
June 18, 2014
Robert Knott tackles Robert B. Parker’s wester series, and does an admirable job. Territorial marshall Virgil Cole and De[uty Everett Hitch capture the elusive outlaw Alejandro Vasquez. As they escort him to San Cristobal to stand trial, the Comstock Bank is robbed. Witnesses say the bank manager was the culprit, and the local lawman asks Cole and Hitch for help. It’s Spenser and Hawk in the Old West, and fans of the series will enjoy riding along with the taciturn duo.
August 24, 2025
Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch 05 Robert B. Parker's Bull River by Robert Knott
challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus: Yes
3.5 Stars
This book is not at the level of a Robert B. Parker Cole and Hitch story, but it is getting a voice of its own. Robert Knott is not able to write as minimalistically as Robert B. Parker. He has to find his own voice for these characters...and then go from there. I know that not everyone will stick with him, but I am going to. I already have all ten books, so let's find them together.
In this story, a bank has been robbed, but the thief is not someone that you'd think would've robbed it. And then you start to think...it isn't that cut and dry, there has to be some OTHER force...that has been applied.
Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are the men on the job, and once they start something...they eventually follow through...till they get their bad, or die trying.
I had a LOT of fun with this one, and cannot wait to pick up the next one.
Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch 06 The Bridge. Let's go!
challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus: Yes
3.5 Stars
This book is not at the level of a Robert B. Parker Cole and Hitch story, but it is getting a voice of its own. Robert Knott is not able to write as minimalistically as Robert B. Parker. He has to find his own voice for these characters...and then go from there. I know that not everyone will stick with him, but I am going to. I already have all ten books, so let's find them together.
In this story, a bank has been robbed, but the thief is not someone that you'd think would've robbed it. And then you start to think...it isn't that cut and dry, there has to be some OTHER force...that has been applied.
Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are the men on the job, and once they start something...they eventually follow through...till they get their bad, or die trying.
I had a LOT of fun with this one, and cannot wait to pick up the next one.
Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch 06 The Bridge. Let's go!
August 2, 2018
The writer's of the books after Robert B. Parker's death has succeeded. I have enjoyed all 6 of these books.
July 17, 2023
Cole and Hitch travel to Mexico to find the evil shark. Quick easy read.
February 14, 2025
3hrs7mins 3x
October 9, 2015
Before I start, I have to get something off my chest. I've only read one other Robert B. Parker book (one of his Spencer novels) so my only other exposure to his writing has been through this series. I understand fan loyalty, but it frustrates me to see reviews where readers are constantly knocking an author because he doesn't live up to their idea of Robert B. Parker's writing. He's NOT Robert B. Parker! Give Knott a chance and base your review on his work. I thought he did an exceptional job with Ironhorse. In fact, I liked it as much as Appaloosa and appreciated the fact that the "F" word was used sparingly. Now that I'm done with my mini-rant, I'll get to the review of Bull River.
I thought the story was good and I enjoyed Captain Alejandro's character very much. He kept things interesting...especially considering how Virgil and Everett were often limited to one word responses in dialogue. If it wasn't for Alejandro, I might not have finished this one. What the heck was wrong with this editor? Virgil and Everett's repeated use of one word responses (i.e., "is", "does", "will") got on my last nerve. Who talks like that?
On the plus side, I think Knott has a good grasp on creating diverse characters. There have been times that I wouldn't have known which character was speaking had it not been for speech tags (aside from Virgil and Everett - then the tags were overkill). In this book, the new characters each had a unique communication style. I found that to be a nice change of pace.
I love westerns and I'm a big fan of Virgil and Everett, so unless things suddenly take a nosedive into ridiculousness - which I don't see happening - I'm in it for the long haul. I still give the series high marks and would recommend the books to any western fan.
I thought the story was good and I enjoyed Captain Alejandro's character very much. He kept things interesting...especially considering how Virgil and Everett were often limited to one word responses in dialogue. If it wasn't for Alejandro, I might not have finished this one. What the heck was wrong with this editor? Virgil and Everett's repeated use of one word responses (i.e., "is", "does", "will") got on my last nerve. Who talks like that?
On the plus side, I think Knott has a good grasp on creating diverse characters. There have been times that I wouldn't have known which character was speaking had it not been for speech tags (aside from Virgil and Everett - then the tags were overkill). In this book, the new characters each had a unique communication style. I found that to be a nice change of pace.
I love westerns and I'm a big fan of Virgil and Everett, so unless things suddenly take a nosedive into ridiculousness - which I don't see happening - I'm in it for the long haul. I still give the series high marks and would recommend the books to any western fan.
January 13, 2014
Lawmen Virgil Cole and Everett Hutch bring a wanted man to a small town in Texas to stand trial. They learn that the local bank was robbed by the president of the bank and now the man's wife has also disappeared.
The man they were bringing to trial, Capt. Vasquez claims to know who the bank president really is and where the robbers were going. He offers to show the lawmen the hideaway in return for getting out of jail.
The story is like an old time western with heroes similar to those in "Lonesome Dove." They are competent and brave and have little use for lengthy sentences. Often in response to a question there response is "is."
The trail leads through a number of Texas towns into Mexico. We see the new railroad, the hotels and whore houses along the way and the men are joined by another lawman whose sheriff was murdered by the robbers.
The plot moves nicely and the author, Robert Knott has taken the characters from Robert B. Parker. They are well described and refreshing. The conclusion is nicely done and the story is entertaining and an easy read.
The man they were bringing to trial, Capt. Vasquez claims to know who the bank president really is and where the robbers were going. He offers to show the lawmen the hideaway in return for getting out of jail.
The story is like an old time western with heroes similar to those in "Lonesome Dove." They are competent and brave and have little use for lengthy sentences. Often in response to a question there response is "is."
The trail leads through a number of Texas towns into Mexico. We see the new railroad, the hotels and whore houses along the way and the men are joined by another lawman whose sheriff was murdered by the robbers.
The plot moves nicely and the author, Robert Knott has taken the characters from Robert B. Parker. They are well described and refreshing. The conclusion is nicely done and the story is entertaining and an easy read.
August 13, 2016
Robert B. Parker's Bull River by Robert Knott about itinerant lawmen Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch is an awesome western adventure that lovers of the genre will really appreciate. It is swiftly-paced, and the story absorbing, and if you are a true fan of western novels there’s never going to be a dull moment.
It follows the exploits and adventure of territorial marshal Virgil Cole and his deputy, Everett Hitch, who arrived in San Cristobal with a notorious criminal they had captured. No sooner had they accomplished their mission they are informed of the major robbery at Comstock Bank, and are requested to assist in the investigation by the bank officials. Their task is to recover the loot and bring the bank robbers to justice. Will they succeed?
With plot twists that are beyond the ordinary, Robert B. Parker's Bull River by Robert Knott is a thrilling western with “guns” blazing right into the heart of readers. It is fascinating, fast-paced and pure indulgence!
It follows the exploits and adventure of territorial marshal Virgil Cole and his deputy, Everett Hitch, who arrived in San Cristobal with a notorious criminal they had captured. No sooner had they accomplished their mission they are informed of the major robbery at Comstock Bank, and are requested to assist in the investigation by the bank officials. Their task is to recover the loot and bring the bank robbers to justice. Will they succeed?
With plot twists that are beyond the ordinary, Robert B. Parker's Bull River by Robert Knott is a thrilling western with “guns” blazing right into the heart of readers. It is fascinating, fast-paced and pure indulgence!
March 8, 2014
I thought Robert Knott did an exceptional job with this book. I am not a western cowboy reader, but I am a loyal follower of Robert B. Parker. So I have read all his western stories. In this one I feel Robert Knott matched Parker's writing with perfection. I enjoyed the book, and I felt I was reading Parker all over again. There is only one quibble. The title BULL RIVER is okay, but the river does not appear in the story until the end of the book and then only in a minor way.
April 14, 2014
Not as quick a read as Knott's previous attempt at succeeding Robert B. Parker and, as a matter of fact, a bit more verbose. What happened to Allie French? Just a passing nod to her straying ways and Virgil's concerns about her. I did like the inclusion of the naval/maritime theme, Mary May the Harvey Girl and Alejandro's Medicine Hat Gelding. Still hard to beat the team of Cole and Hitch in a gun fight. As Virgil Cole says: "Feelings get you killed."
February 4, 2015
Standard western fare. I would give it a higher rating but for the irritating dialogue style copied mostly from Parker himself and adopted late in Parker's writing career. An example of a conversation between the two main characters would be:
"It's gonna be hard to run him down," I said.
"Will."
"He's got some mean hands riding with him, too," I said.
"Does."
This sort of thing never ends and becomes really tiring.
Does.
"It's gonna be hard to run him down," I said.
"Will."
"He's got some mean hands riding with him, too," I said.
"Does."
This sort of thing never ends and becomes really tiring.
Does.
February 9, 2014
Glad Robert Knott has taken on the task of continuing Robert Parker's Virgil and Hitch series. As the writer of the screenplay for "Appaloosa", he's got a good feel for how Parker would write the books. A little more cursing than I remember but otherwise it's fun too keep up with these two characters and their adventures.
April 21, 2014
A bit convoluted, but a good read.
Robert B. Parker created some interesting characters in Cole and Hitch. Knott has done a good job of maintaining the honesty of the characters in this book. The plot gets a bit twisted and extreme, but for Parker fans, reuniting with old pards like Cole and Hitch is as welcome as a warm blanket on a cold trail.
Robert B. Parker created some interesting characters in Cole and Hitch. Knott has done a good job of maintaining the honesty of the characters in this book. The plot gets a bit twisted and extreme, but for Parker fans, reuniting with old pards like Cole and Hitch is as welcome as a warm blanket on a cold trail.
January 2, 2014
Excellant addition to the series! Fun read as always. BTW I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads!
January 21, 2014
A less than average effort on behalf of the late Robert B. Parker by Robert Knott in this western yarn. 3 of 10 stars
April 23, 2019
Once again I read this book as a stand-alone and not as an imitation of Robert B. Parker. Having said that, I found this book to be slower and not as exciting a read as the last in the series - Ironhorse. It's really an old time western Marshall's law enforcement procedural.
The book opens with our dynamic duo, Marshall Virgil Cole and deputy Everett Hitch, capturing bandito Captain Alejandro Vasquez (who is well known for his fancy Mexican attire) in the dusty village of El Encanto. They transport him to San Cristobal where he is wanted for killing two men. Upon arriving in San Cristobal, Cole and Hitch hear the Comstock National Bank has been robbed of two hundred thousand dollars, and it was robbed by the bank president, Henry Strode. Sheriff Webster Hawkins asks for help from Cole and Hitch. Later, Strode is dumped off at a high-class brothel named Cottonwood Springs near the edge of town. He is badly beaten and unconscious. Before our duo can interrogate him, he escapes. Cole and Hitch soon discover that Strode is not who he says he is and that he is out to get his wife back. Meanwhile Strode's pretty wife, who has disappeared, happens to be the daughter of the wealthiest man in town, Jantz Wainwright. He will pay to get his daughter back.
It turns out that Captain Alejandro knows who Strode really is and that Strode has a brother named Dalton McCord (the three were childhood friends) who kidnapped Strode's wife and has the stolen money. Alejandro tells Cole and Hitch that if they will help him with the trouble he's in (because he says he is innocent, of course), he will lead them to the "especial" place in Mexico where the brothers probably have retreated to. To complicate matters, Wainwright posts, in the Mexican newspapers and on flyers, that he will give a reward to anyone who brings his daughter home safely. In Mexico the duo meet some Federales who are more than willing to help them capture the bank robbers, but they are really only interested in what they can gain to line their own pockets. Our duo soon discover that this saga is a tale of revenge.
Alejandro provides the comic relief in the story as well as the key to the investigation. Allie, Cole's girlfriend, has totally disappeared from this book with hardly a mention. Hitch always finds a "special girl" to spend the night with - this time it's Mary May, a Harvey Girl at the San Cristobal hotel. While out investigating, there are descriptions of dusty towns, banks, hotels, whorehouses, and dilapidated haciendas. There are a couple of twists and turns with two great ones at the end. If you are inclined to watch old TV westerns with larger-than-life lawmen, bank robbers, dust-bowl towns, whores, Mexican bandits, bringing criminals to justice, shootouts, and horse rides, this book will give you enjoyment. The series is recommended.
The book opens with our dynamic duo, Marshall Virgil Cole and deputy Everett Hitch, capturing bandito Captain Alejandro Vasquez (who is well known for his fancy Mexican attire) in the dusty village of El Encanto. They transport him to San Cristobal where he is wanted for killing two men. Upon arriving in San Cristobal, Cole and Hitch hear the Comstock National Bank has been robbed of two hundred thousand dollars, and it was robbed by the bank president, Henry Strode. Sheriff Webster Hawkins asks for help from Cole and Hitch. Later, Strode is dumped off at a high-class brothel named Cottonwood Springs near the edge of town. He is badly beaten and unconscious. Before our duo can interrogate him, he escapes. Cole and Hitch soon discover that Strode is not who he says he is and that he is out to get his wife back. Meanwhile Strode's pretty wife, who has disappeared, happens to be the daughter of the wealthiest man in town, Jantz Wainwright. He will pay to get his daughter back.
It turns out that Captain Alejandro knows who Strode really is and that Strode has a brother named Dalton McCord (the three were childhood friends) who kidnapped Strode's wife and has the stolen money. Alejandro tells Cole and Hitch that if they will help him with the trouble he's in (because he says he is innocent, of course), he will lead them to the "especial" place in Mexico where the brothers probably have retreated to. To complicate matters, Wainwright posts, in the Mexican newspapers and on flyers, that he will give a reward to anyone who brings his daughter home safely. In Mexico the duo meet some Federales who are more than willing to help them capture the bank robbers, but they are really only interested in what they can gain to line their own pockets. Our duo soon discover that this saga is a tale of revenge.
Alejandro provides the comic relief in the story as well as the key to the investigation. Allie, Cole's girlfriend, has totally disappeared from this book with hardly a mention. Hitch always finds a "special girl" to spend the night with - this time it's Mary May, a Harvey Girl at the San Cristobal hotel. While out investigating, there are descriptions of dusty towns, banks, hotels, whorehouses, and dilapidated haciendas. There are a couple of twists and turns with two great ones at the end. If you are inclined to watch old TV westerns with larger-than-life lawmen, bank robbers, dust-bowl towns, whores, Mexican bandits, bringing criminals to justice, shootouts, and horse rides, this book will give you enjoyment. The series is recommended.
December 3, 2019
I was tempted to give it a 5 but I'm very stingy with my five stars. I have read virtually every book that Robert Parker has written with the exception of the Sunny Randall series. Since Robert Parker passed away I haven't enjoy the books written by the new Authors. Until now. I didn't even understand why they were called Robert B Parkers. They didn't really sound like him for the most part. Lots of swearing which was rare in his books, in particular with his protagonists. The last Spenser novel I read barely had Susan or Hawk in it. Robert Parker's name should have been removed from the title. Parker fans want books that sound like Parker wrote them. If these authors don't want to do that, then they should go write their own books.
I absolutely have loved the Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch books. While reading Bull River, I truly felt like I was reading a book written by Robert Parker. The only time I would be jolted back to the reality that Parker is gone is when I would read a sentence spoken by Virgil, like for example, "Let's not f*** around here." That simply is not something Virgil would say. There were a few other times as well and I really don't like that Robert Knott has felt the need to throw that in there. It's not just the language. It was rampant in All Our Yesterdays, but that was a stand-alone book. I have come to know the characters in The Spenser novels, Jesse Stone and the Cole/Hitch novels. I had hoped there would be a consistency carried on by the new Authors. Other than the times that this occurred in this book, everything else felt like Robert Parker.
I was quite caught up in the story as well. I read until almost 1 a.m. because I couldn't put the book down. I loved the good guys. I hated the bad guys. As it should be! I have so missed Robert Parker's writing. By sticking to Parker's formula of rapid-fire, witty conversations, a great storyline with good character development and short chapters, Mr. Knott, has made this serious Parker fan very happy! Highly recommended for Parker fans.
I absolutely have loved the Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch books. While reading Bull River, I truly felt like I was reading a book written by Robert Parker. The only time I would be jolted back to the reality that Parker is gone is when I would read a sentence spoken by Virgil, like for example, "Let's not f*** around here." That simply is not something Virgil would say. There were a few other times as well and I really don't like that Robert Knott has felt the need to throw that in there. It's not just the language. It was rampant in All Our Yesterdays, but that was a stand-alone book. I have come to know the characters in The Spenser novels, Jesse Stone and the Cole/Hitch novels. I had hoped there would be a consistency carried on by the new Authors. Other than the times that this occurred in this book, everything else felt like Robert Parker.
I was quite caught up in the story as well. I read until almost 1 a.m. because I couldn't put the book down. I loved the good guys. I hated the bad guys. As it should be! I have so missed Robert Parker's writing. By sticking to Parker's formula of rapid-fire, witty conversations, a great storyline with good character development and short chapters, Mr. Knott, has made this serious Parker fan very happy! Highly recommended for Parker fans.
February 3, 2022
Knott decided that he does not need any of the secondary characters and moved the novel outside of Appaloosa and sends Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch to chase a man who had been accused of murder. That should have been the end of the story but the day when that happened, the president of the local bank robbed the bank. And who has information about the whole mess? The same guy they just brought to jail.
So Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, together with their prisoner, are off to Mexico chasing the money and the story behind that bizarre robbery. Long train rides, Mexican police which is anything but honest, old secrets and a slow revealing of what really happened fill the rest of the novel.
I did not hate the story. But it felt almost like a pastiche of a Cole and Hitch novel. I don't expect Knott to be the same as Parker and changing the style is almost normal but if he had changed the names of the two main character, it would have been an average western with lawmen who you had never read about. But on top of that there is an attempt to connect them to the known Cole and Hitch - and it really became a pastiche.
I hate dropping series and I may decide to continue with this one - the stories are not that bad since Knott took over but they are drifting more and more from why I liked the initial books in the series.
So Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, together with their prisoner, are off to Mexico chasing the money and the story behind that bizarre robbery. Long train rides, Mexican police which is anything but honest, old secrets and a slow revealing of what really happened fill the rest of the novel.
I did not hate the story. But it felt almost like a pastiche of a Cole and Hitch novel. I don't expect Knott to be the same as Parker and changing the style is almost normal but if he had changed the names of the two main character, it would have been an average western with lawmen who you had never read about. But on top of that there is an attempt to connect them to the known Cole and Hitch - and it really became a pastiche.
I hate dropping series and I may decide to continue with this one - the stories are not that bad since Knott took over but they are drifting more and more from why I liked the initial books in the series.
March 14, 2019
Robert B. Parker is best known for his mystery/detective novels, yet many of his fans consider his Cole/Hitch westerns to be their favorite works. In this book, Knott does an excellent job of keeping the classic Parker style and dialog as he describes another adventure of the two soft-spoken yet deadly lawmen. Men of few words but swift and decisive deeds, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch also exhibit the same relentless pursuit of their cases that is a trademark of Spenser.
In this story the president of the Comstock bank cleans out the vault at a time when there are massive amounts of cash on hand. This comes shortly after Cole and Hitch have hunted down desperado Alejandro Vasquez and they quickly shift to the new case, only to discover that little is at it seems to be and there is a connection between Alejandro and the bank robbery.
Taking a wild chance, the two federal lawmen take Alejandro to Mexico in search of the bank robbers. It is a wild adventure, as the federal authorities in Mexico are only interested in padding their own pockets. While the ending is a bit predictable, there is a twist that is pure Parker. It is a great western story, there is regular gunplay, but also a great deal of human interest.
In this story the president of the Comstock bank cleans out the vault at a time when there are massive amounts of cash on hand. This comes shortly after Cole and Hitch have hunted down desperado Alejandro Vasquez and they quickly shift to the new case, only to discover that little is at it seems to be and there is a connection between Alejandro and the bank robbery.
Taking a wild chance, the two federal lawmen take Alejandro to Mexico in search of the bank robbers. It is a wild adventure, as the federal authorities in Mexico are only interested in padding their own pockets. While the ending is a bit predictable, there is a twist that is pure Parker. It is a great western story, there is regular gunplay, but also a great deal of human interest.
December 26, 2022
Cole and Hitch are in San Cristobal to take custody of Captain Alejandro Vasquez, who is charged with the murder of two people.
The local bank is robbed of $600,000. C & H join the investigation to help Sheriff Hawkins. They learn the bank president, Henry Strode is accused of the crime. He has fled along with his wife. They find Strode beaten half to death. A man named Dalton took Strode and his wife captive, then ordered Strode to take the money.
Cole and Hitch chase Dalton and his men up the train line. Dalton kills several people and then flees to Mexico. C & H return to San Cristobal to interrogate Vasquez. Vasquez insists he was defending himself. He thinks he knows where Dalton is going. With the approval of Judge Roy Bean, they take Vasquez with them to chase Dalton.
This entire story revolves around a sibling rivalry. It is a Cain and Abel story.
The story is fine. I enjoyed it. I like Vasquez. Knott does not know how to write Cole. The conversations are overlong as is the book, by at least 50 pages.
The local bank is robbed of $600,000. C & H join the investigation to help Sheriff Hawkins. They learn the bank president, Henry Strode is accused of the crime. He has fled along with his wife. They find Strode beaten half to death. A man named Dalton took Strode and his wife captive, then ordered Strode to take the money.
Cole and Hitch chase Dalton and his men up the train line. Dalton kills several people and then flees to Mexico. C & H return to San Cristobal to interrogate Vasquez. Vasquez insists he was defending himself. He thinks he knows where Dalton is going. With the approval of Judge Roy Bean, they take Vasquez with them to chase Dalton.
This entire story revolves around a sibling rivalry. It is a Cain and Abel story.
The story is fine. I enjoyed it. I like Vasquez. Knott does not know how to write Cole. The conversations are overlong as is the book, by at least 50 pages.
November 15, 2019
I haven't read Parker's earlier pieces featuring Cole & Hitch, so it is hard to know how closely Knott did or did not (grins) follow the original style, but overall I wasn't too happy with the result. The story itself was ok, but there was simply too much repetition. For instance, I think he must have mentioned the name of the town they were in dozens of times, even several times within a paragraph. I think possibly the style was because the author was trying to narrate from Hitch's viewpoint and wanted the language to reflect what he would have said, but it was irritating to me. One of those books that had that "knocked it out" feel to it. Still, I did like the characters and read it til the end, so there's that. I have decided I will have to try the original book and see what I think.
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