The new railroads push their way through America, heading north, east, west and south to California and Mexico. Steele rides into a new town built around one such railroad – hopefully christened ‘New Hope’. New Hope turns sour when there is no money to back a business, and no money to pay the men who have sweated over the railroad. The men can be expected to be not a little unhappy – and Steele unwittingly become the object of their wrath. His expertise with the knife comes in more than useful…
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)
It's closer to a 3.5 but still a solid read. Steele is just a short version of Edge who fought for the Confederacy other than the Union. Steele has ended up in a nowhere town that is meant to be a boom town when the railroad comes through. While there, he is hired to guard a wagonload of gold that is the guarantee for cash to pay the railroad workers. It ends up being a lot harder than at first thought.
Recommended if you are an Edge fan or reading through the series. It's a little weak in a couple of areas, but it's a fast read with plenty of action.
Steele finds himself in a boomtown called New Hope. The railroad is supposed to come through to help it along. The problem is that the workers are not getting paid and want blood. Before the bosses are strung up, a new investor comes forward with a wagon full of gold. He hires Steele to watch the treasure and kill anyone who tries to steal it. The problem is, almost everyone wants it. From the lowly worker to the top of the heap.
Another gritty western from, in my opinion, the king of the violent west, George ( Terry Harknett ) G. Gilman. The Edge and this are the real reason that I even gave western books a try. Glad I did.