Killers five

by William Hopson

"We are the law in Texas." The impossible happened in a matter of seconds - but they were seconds this town would never forget. One moment the tall, back-coated man walked deliberately toward five others on the bank porch. An instant later he held a pair of spouting Colt .45's in his hands and his body seemed to dissolve in a wisp of bluish smoke that rose and swirled about his hips. Within five heartbeats, five men lay wallowing out their lives in bloody pools . shot to death by a somber...

251 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

William Lee Hopson (1907 - 1975) was primarily a Western author. He was sometimes published under the name William L. Hopson and used a pseudonym, John Sims, for at least four Western novels.

After joining the U.S. Marines, Hopson served as a weapons instructor during World War II. Afterwards, he had various jobs as a coyote hunter and trick flyer. At the same time, he wrote crime novels and Western stories for pulp magazines between 1938 and 1958, as well as several novels, some of which were reworkings of previous short stories.

At a presentation in a newspaper in 1954, Hopson said he began by determining the background and reading in on time and place, and then sketching out his main character to give him a problem to solve. When this was done, he believed that the book was basically writing itself. Hopson's publishers wanted nine books a year, but Hopson got it down to six and was happy if it was four or five annually.

After living family life in Arizona for eight years in the 1950s, Hopson moved to California, where he lived until his death in 1975.

Reviews

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid western by an author I've haven't tried before but he writes well. In this one, a convicted killer escapes prison with only revenge on his mind. Since Kent was actually innocent, being railroaded by five men who wanted his gold, that he and his brother mined, he has good reason. Those five are all well respected citizens using their new money to buy jobs and ranches for themselves in a new town. Now Kent is there to take it back and to kill the five.

Highly recommended, was typical for the genre in a way but there were a couple of twists and subplots that really added to the story.

[Allegoricaloeuvre · Rating 4 out of 5]

The following was taken directly off the cover:
"They were judge, jury... and hangman! Five respectable, prominent citizens- a banker, a judge, a lawman, and two powerful ranchers-shared a deadly past. Still, they owned the law, the newspaper, the saloons, and just about every head of cattle in the territory. What they didn't and wanted theygot by hiring horse thieves, cattle rustlers, and killers.
Then, a stranger with a thundering Colt .45 showed up, and they immediatley hired him as their "gun". But they didn't know that this stranger, once an innocent mountain boy, had become a machine, a killer of men, a man who lived only to destroy without mercy. No, they didn't know that this man had tracked them down and in his gunbelt was a bullet of revenge for each of them."
It's a shame that this book is not well-known, because it's actually quite good. It has a sturdy (if slightly predictable) plot with well shaped characters, both main and secondary. The writing was swell, which was beneficial to my reading experience. And I ended up feeling sorry for the "bad guy", which is an aspect I look for. Its a quick, very easy read, but its one of those books you read over and over. At least for me.
There was a tad of romance mixed in, but mostly, it was "good ol' shoot-'em-up".
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good plot line and "westerns".
Have fun!