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Gunsmoke 2: Dead Man's Witness
When dying rancher Adam Dawson cuts his ruthless outlaw son Nick out of his will, Matt Dillon must race against time to stop Nick, who will do anything to seize his inheritance, including turning Dodge City into a ghost town. Original.
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
11 people want to read
About the author
Gary McCarthy
105 books13 followersGary McCarthy is the author of fourteen American historical novels and thirty-four westerns published by many of New York's major publishing houses. He has over three million books in print and continues to research and write his Canyon Country novels.
Growing up with horses and living in California, Nevada and Arizona, Gary is well suited to writing about the American West. He received his B.S. degree in Animal Science and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics. He has a keen interest in Native American cultures, especially the Hopi, Navajo, Havasupai and Haulapai who live in Northern Arizona.
Gary and his wife Jane live in Arizona and have often ridden horses and hiked in the Kaibab and Coconino National Forests. Gary is always looking for new stories set in the American West and considers the research to be among his most favorite pursuits.
Growing up with horses and living in California, Nevada and Arizona, Gary is well suited to writing about the American West. He received his B.S. degree in Animal Science and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics. He has a keen interest in Native American cultures, especially the Hopi, Navajo, Havasupai and Haulapai who live in Northern Arizona.
Gary and his wife Jane live in Arizona and have often ridden horses and hiked in the Kaibab and Coconino National Forests. Gary is always looking for new stories set in the American West and considers the research to be among his most favorite pursuits.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 5, 2023
Well written. At first I thought the characterization of Matt Dillon was off, but after watching a few of the earliest episodes of the show, I think the characterization is based more on the younger Matt in those early episodes, more like when Chester was his deputy than when Festus was, even though Festus is deputy in this book.
I'm not sure why the book is as long as it is since the storyline is fairly simple--A rancher is about to die and wants to leave his ranch to his children, but an outlaw who was the son of his first wife has just gotten out of prison and is determined to get the ranch for himself. There are some roundabout elements to how the plot gets resolved that could have been streamlined for a shorter book. For example, Matt is beaten up and robbed at one point while trying to solve the case and this felt tacked on to me, as well as diminishing the character of Matt.
One thing I didn't particularly like about the plot was that the story gets resolved largely without much direct action by Matt. He reaps the benefits of other peoples' actions, most of whom were not initially connected to the story in any form.
I'm not sure why the book is as long as it is since the storyline is fairly simple--A rancher is about to die and wants to leave his ranch to his children, but an outlaw who was the son of his first wife has just gotten out of prison and is determined to get the ranch for himself. There are some roundabout elements to how the plot gets resolved that could have been streamlined for a shorter book. For example, Matt is beaten up and robbed at one point while trying to solve the case and this felt tacked on to me, as well as diminishing the character of Matt.
One thing I didn't particularly like about the plot was that the story gets resolved largely without much direct action by Matt. He reaps the benefits of other peoples' actions, most of whom were not initially connected to the story in any form.
Displaying 1 of 1 review