California Killing

Edge #7

by George G. Gilman

It seems the perfect, quiet little town just outside of L.A. But the pleasantry is fake--people die there. Blood is running cold in the hot California sun, and Edge must find the reason before the village is turned into a ghost town.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

A pseudonym used by Terry Harknett.

Edge (61 books as George G. Gilman)
Adam Steele (49 books as George G. Gilman)
Edge Meets Adam Steele (3 books as George G. Gilman)
The Undertaker (6 books as George G. Gilman)

Reviews

[Mikepottz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stage bolting along a trail, the guards has his nose shot off, six bandits ready to steal and pillage what's aboard. A man wearing all black, his clothes old and ill cared for except his 45 colt nicely cleaned by his side. Edge gets his money stolen AGAIN. They survive find a wagon that has been pillaged, the lady raped, the man beaten nearly to death. Edge will take them both to a town with no name. A man decides to intimidate Edge in a saloon and will get his arm completely blown off, blood and white bone showing, the arm discarded on the floor. Another man will have his Achilles slashed completely through by Edge. Edge can rest with a six sense for danger and has the ability to spring from sleep to fully awake in an instant. Edge will get his money back as usual.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gang of ruthless gunslingers attack a coach and viciously rape and kill a woman and leave her husband for dead. The same gang hold up a stage coach heading for California. Unlucky for them, Edge is on that coach. They kill one man and make off with ten thousand dollars. Edge won't let them get away with it. The man who's money was stolen hires him to get it back.

This was as violent as ever for this series. A good story as well. What dragged it down to mediocre was all the references to Hollywood studios and movie cowboys. It was funny to start off with, but gets old real fast. Take all that out and it would of been a nice book.

[Holger Haase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had heard that the EDGE series of Westerns was one of the most brutal ever written. Maybe I am getting jaded but didn't really think this was *that* brutal. Was, however, seriously amused about the amount of references to Hollywood and Western stars. We e.g. have a Graumann's Chinese Restaurant, a pair of Warner Brothers running a Paramount Hotel, an R.K.O. Ranch etc.

[Chris Haynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the author was trying to be too clever with his puns in this book and it distracted from the story overall.

[James Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve gone this far into the series, you know to what to edge as our brutal antihero makes his way west toward California. When Edge’s stagecoach is robbed by the notorious Hood gang, it only becomes a question as to when Edge will get the draw on Hood and his villainous brethren, not if. All the usual tough-guy dialogue, violence, and unexpected doses of dark home, as Edge deals in quips as easily as he does lead.

These books were legendary for their over the top brutality back in the day, and it’s easy to see why. But Gilman still manages to create a gripping tale of Western vengeance. And did I mention the troupe of dwarves? Keep an eye on those little guys.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, have enjoyed all the Edge novels to this point. Edge is vicious but he is smart so when a gang robs him and the stagecoach he is on, he bids his time til he finds a way to kill them and get his money back. Like all of these it can get pretty gruesome however there is a lot more humor in the form of corny jokes and bad puns than in the others.

Highly recommended, its a fast read that's never boring.

[Peter Barrass · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool cold blooed Edge the anti hero good one

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fast read but only mildly entertaining. This is 7th in the series and most of the earlier ones had stronger plots.

[Ronald]

read some time in 1980