What do you think?
Rate this book
Leo Guild #3
Blood Game
Leo Guild wanted work--riding shotgun on the last stagecoach lines was coming to an end, and he needed money fast. When offered a simple job of finding a missing prizefighter, how could he refuse? Although Guild hates boxing, thinking it nothing more than a blood game, jobs were few and far between. So he took it.
Guild quickly finds the missing fighter holed up in the home of this girlfriend--and finds a lot more trouble than he asks for. Now Guild finds himself taking even a greater dislike of fighters, promoters, and fans of the Blood Game.
Guild quickly finds the missing fighter holed up in the home of this girlfriend--and finds a lot more trouble than he asks for. Now Guild finds himself taking even a greater dislike of fighters, promoters, and fans of the Blood Game.
- GenresWesterns
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
1 person is currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Ed Gorman
469 books121 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 6, 2022
Bounty Hunter Leo Guild is back.
This time he's mixed up in the boxing game.
A promoter hires him to first find a missing boxer, then to protect the money brought in for the big fight.
A good look at the sport, back in the day.
An adult western, for sure....flawed characters with real issues.
This time he's mixed up in the boxing game.
A promoter hires him to first find a missing boxer, then to protect the money brought in for the big fight.
A good look at the sport, back in the day.
An adult western, for sure....flawed characters with real issues.
December 23, 2013
This hard-boiled "midwestern" is set in the summer of 1892 in some unnamed city big enough to turn out over 4,000 fans for a nasty boxing match. The focal character is Leo Guild, a 55-year-old bounty hunter convinced by a boxing promoter to help stage a fight between a white man and a black man. A bloodthirsty crowd is expected, believing they’ll be witness to a killing in the ring—and not the killing of the white fighter.
It’s an ugly set-up, and Guild has seen enough of the world to know it’s not much different from what passes for everyday human behavior anywhere. Stoddard, the promoter, is a tyrannical blowhard, loved only by a loyal son, Stephen, whom he abuses and scorns...
Read my review at my blog.
It’s an ugly set-up, and Guild has seen enough of the world to know it’s not much different from what passes for everyday human behavior anywhere. Stoddard, the promoter, is a tyrannical blowhard, loved only by a loyal son, Stephen, whom he abuses and scorns...
Read my review at my blog.
June 30, 2009
The third Leo Guild novel.
In need of work, Guild gets involved in the boxing game. Hired by a promoter to bring his boxer back into the fold, he gets beat up for his trouble and informed it's all a game. The promoter stiffed him.
Then he, against his own judgment, agrees to guard the box office for the big fight, unaware that the promoter has hired a thief to steal the money to avoid paying the fighter. Oh, and shoot Guild.
In need of work, Guild gets involved in the boxing game. Hired by a promoter to bring his boxer back into the fold, he gets beat up for his trouble and informed it's all a game. The promoter stiffed him.
Then he, against his own judgment, agrees to guard the box office for the big fight, unaware that the promoter has hired a thief to steal the money to avoid paying the fighter. Oh, and shoot Guild.
July 23, 2008
Third in the Leo Guild series.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews