What do you think?
Trouble Man
Despite having put his past as a gunfighter far behind him, Ray Coyle, now a sharpshooter in a traveling Wild West show, resolves to smoke out a killer, when word reaches him that his son has been shot. Original.
- GenresWesterns
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
About the author
Ed Gorman
463 books124 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 8, 2010
My first western novel of Ed Gorman and one of few newer westerns i have read. Gorman is a very natural storyteller,has very believable characters.
April 2, 2019
The following quotation doesn't give anything about the story away but it tells you quite a bit about the sly wit of the author and how well he understands the white settlers of the Old West:
"In small towns like this, you didn't see a whole lot of white girls becoming prostitutes. White girls meant trouble. It was fine if you wanted to a run a whorehouse with Indians, blacks, Chinese, or other ethnic minorities, but put a lot of white girls in your house, and you had problems with local authorities. As everybody knew, Indians, blacks, and Chinese didn't have any morals to begin with, so you weren't corrupting anybody when you used them as prostitutes. But white girls had been born to be virtuous, and so when you corrupted them you were defiling the community ethic. And were likely to get your ass thrown in jail."
Perfection(so long as you get the joke).
Once again, Ed Gorman delivers a crime story in the shape of a western and once again, it's utterly brilliant. If he'd set his westerns in modern times, he probably would have been a bigger name than Elmore Leonard. Gorman could do everything Leonard could AND he knew how to plot.
"In small towns like this, you didn't see a whole lot of white girls becoming prostitutes. White girls meant trouble. It was fine if you wanted to a run a whorehouse with Indians, blacks, Chinese, or other ethnic minorities, but put a lot of white girls in your house, and you had problems with local authorities. As everybody knew, Indians, blacks, and Chinese didn't have any morals to begin with, so you weren't corrupting anybody when you used them as prostitutes. But white girls had been born to be virtuous, and so when you corrupted them you were defiling the community ethic. And were likely to get your ass thrown in jail."
Perfection(so long as you get the joke).
Once again, Ed Gorman delivers a crime story in the shape of a western and once again, it's utterly brilliant. If he'd set his westerns in modern times, he probably would have been a bigger name than Elmore Leonard. Gorman could do everything Leonard could AND he knew how to plot.
July 19, 2008
I have the paperback version, from Leisure. Although I've given most of Gorman's westerns five stars, this is one of my favorites by him.
September 22, 2024
A retired gunfighter named Ray Coyle is informed that his son was killed in a shootout by a rich rancher's no-good son Bob Trevor. Coyle knows his son was a skilled gunfighter himself so he doubts the circumstances of his death and investigates it.
Verdict: A pretty standard modern western revenge tale, maybe more of interest to readers who like Larry Sweazy or Robert B. Parker novels, "Trouble Man" (1998) has good pacing and character beats, some eyeroll-inspiring twists (I lost count of the number of times someone got the drop on someone and then that person escaped because they were monologuing) and a relatable protagonist.
Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
Verdict: A pretty standard modern western revenge tale, maybe more of interest to readers who like Larry Sweazy or Robert B. Parker novels, "Trouble Man" (1998) has good pacing and character beats, some eyeroll-inspiring twists (I lost count of the number of times someone got the drop on someone and then that person escaped because they were monologuing) and a relatable protagonist.
Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
August 9, 2026
excellent story
August 9, 2026
There’s only a handful of plots in Western fiction but Gorman makes this revenge story seem original.
October 12, 2012
Good western as ex-gunfighter comes west to bury his son and find who has called him. Good plot, exciting gunplay. Recommended to fans of westerns.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews