The High Rocks

Page Murdock, US Deputy Marshal #1

by Loren D. Estleman

U.S. Deputy Marshal Page Murdock attempts to bring in the legendary seven-foot trapper Bear Anderson, who has been conducting a one-man massacre of the Flatheads in an effort to avenge the murder of his family. Reprint. LJ. NYT.

Genres: Westerns, Mystery, Historical

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Loren D. Estleman is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He writes with a manual typewriter.

Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.

Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of action and subtle character development. A great story about the changing West written by a master.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first book in a series is a good one. Deputy Marshal Murdock must bring in a mountain of a man, a man who is so good at killing Indians that he is creating an uprising, threatening the lives of settlers. The action is set in the mountains during a blizzard so there is a lot of snow featured. Recommended to western fans.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first of a series is a good Western read.
The country is described well and the character development is good.
That said this is not the typical shoot-em-up type Western.
Just, real people going about their way in the west.

[Joe Santoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grabbed this thinking it would be Page's 'origin' story, but instead it's just one of his many adventures... written at the end of his career (which I just read about in reading the last book of the series on a lark).

This one was jam-packed with action from beginning to end, as Page's simple run to pick up a captured prisoner puts him in the middle of a war between the Mountain that Walks- Bear Anderson (an old friend with a vendetta against the Flathead Indians) and the tribe in the area. Add in a government bounty hunter looking for Bear to stop the Flatheads from going to war and his prisoner escaping, and it's a crazy 3 way fight through a Montana blizzard with shifting alliances and no shortage of bloodshed.

Estleman isn't shy about killing his characters, which added realism, but was a little sad. While some of the characters were a bit too good at things, and Page himself FAR to resilient even for Captain America, never mind a plain ole Deputy marshall, the book was a great classic western.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, an Estleman western that I really enjoyed. It's a tight story, with a few major characters and told in a small time frame.

It doesn't sprawl over years, it doesn't take place in the really late 1800s or even early 1900s. It gives you a sense of isolation in the western wilderness.

It's a quick read, but has Estleman's usual flair for characterization.

Highly recommend if you like westerns.

[Bonnie Kerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is set in the Rocky Mtns of Montana in the winter. It is more of a plot based book than character based.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my 2nd Estleman western and it was another well researched western with believable characters and a decent plot.

[John Reis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear Anderson is a very large man. After his parents are killed in a Flathead Indian raid when he is a teenager, he begins to take Flathead scalps. Fifteen years later, he is the only stumbling block preventing a peace treaty between the tribe and the Federal government. Page Murdock is picking up a fugitive in Staghorn when a federal bounty hunter named Church arrives. Murdock tries to join Church’s team, pointing out that he grew up with Bear and knows his habits very well. He is refused.
Murdock sets out with his fugitive, Brainard, but is soon waylaid. He decides to pursue Brainard and finds him strung up in a tree after being tortured by Flatheads, who themselves have all been killed.
Murdock is captured by a Flathead party, confronts Church and eventually encounters Bear. The pace picks up until the last chapter when it slows to a near crawl.
The last chapter was exceptional.

[Éric Kasprak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the first person point of view in this novel and the detective vibe of the story in general. I know that the author is well known for good noir/detective novels and you can feel some crossover into his western too. One thing is for sure, is that Estleman is a greatly talented author, the quality of the writing is top-notch, the pacing is perfect and the characters are well-rounded and have depth. The first person POV and the detective elements bring some freshness to the classic bounty hunter/US Marshall "I got to get my man" type story. But really, it all comes down to personal preference and storytelling style of one author, for me to appreciate a book and M. Estleman has firmly checked those boxes for me. Highly recommended.

[M. Sprouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't read westerns, but I'm a Loren D. Estleman fan, so I gave "The High Rocks" a chance.
I actually enjoyed it a great deal. For a book written 40 years ago, it moves at a pace that really keeps your interest. The characters, especially Bear and Murdock really come to life and are very easy to like. I think the bounty hunter's character could have been developed a little more, as he could have been a great villain. I was so impressed I think I'll read the rest of the Page Murdock series, alternating with the Amos Walker series.

[Paula Greenfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book about a US Deputy Marshal Page Murdock. He comes to his hometown to get a criminal, but the man escapes. Murdock goes after the man, but finds that he was killed by the Flathead Indians, who were killed by Bear Anderson. This is the story how the two men meet up and of their adventures together.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sparse, yet compelling, tale. A lot happens in this short novel, but the action rolls out at a pace dictated by the harsh Montana winter. Nobody is getting anyplace fast on horseback. Good guys, not so good guys, guns, knives, wolves, double crosses, and some surprises.

[Calvin Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'M a series can, and this was fine read. A bit sadder tone overall though.

[Suzanne Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn't read a Western in quite awhile and it's true it is all pretty farfetched but I like Mr Estleman and I liked this Western.

[Chris Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed follow Page Murdock's adventures. He seems to get into a lot of trouble. Also enjoyed a window into Montana in the late 1800's.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast read, but clean prose and plot: a Jeremiah Johnson meets Steve McQueen's "Wanted Dead or Alive."

[Ratforce]

As a fan of westerns and investigative novels, you may want to give the Page Murdock series a try. This is the first in the series, and follows an old-West deputy trying to track down a vigilante.

[Lisa]

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