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Aces & Eights: The Legend of Wild Bill Hickok
Dead Man's Hand
No one paid any mind to Jack McCall as he unloaded a .44 caliber slug into Wild Bill Hickok's brain at point-blank range. Deadwood's legendary gunslinging marshal was dead, holding a poker hand of aces and eights, a dead man's hand.
The question the law wanted to know: was McCall a hired killer or did he kill Hickok to avenge his brother's death?
No one paid any mind to Jack McCall as he unloaded a .44 caliber slug into Wild Bill Hickok's brain at point-blank range. Deadwood's legendary gunslinging marshal was dead, holding a poker hand of aces and eights, a dead man's hand.
The question the law wanted to know: was McCall a hired killer or did he kill Hickok to avenge his brother's death?
214 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1981
3 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Loren D. Estleman
315 books280 followersLoren D. Estleman is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He writes with a manual typewriter.
Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery
Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 10, 2025
This was an entertaining small pocket book published in 1981.
The legend of James Butler Hickok know to most as "Wild Bill" is one of my favorites.
He is recorded as born in 1837 in Troy Grove I'll. He was murdered in 1876 which would put him at 39 years old.
The book concentrates on mainly the last decade of his life.
Wild Bill Hickok was in the Civil War for about four years. From late 1861 until he was discharged in September 1862. Then again as a scout from late 1863 until he was mustered out in June 1865.
He served the Union Army as a scout, spy, and sharpshooter.
Wild Bill Hickok is famous for carrying a pair of ivory-handled Colt 1851 Navy revolvers in .36 caliber, which he wore cross-draw in a sash or belt .
This position, along with his ambidextrous ability, allowed for a faster underhand or cross-body draw compared to the conventional fast-draw style where the gun is worn butt-back.
Later in life, he reportedly also used a Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 revolver, particularly during his time in Deadwood South Dakota.
A second pistol Hickok had at his death was a Sharps Model 1859 .32-caliber four-barreled rim-fire derringer. This hidden derringer reportedly saved his life on occasion.While serving as a sheriff and lawman.
While serving as Sheriff in Abeline Texas there was a late-night uproar of drunken Cowboys shooting up the streets.
When threatening the mob, his deputy came up behind him. Bill turned and fired. The accidental death of his friend and deputy haunted Hickok for the rest of his life.
Hickok was dismissed from his post as marshal less than two months after the shooting. He never wore a badge again.
Hickok experienced failing eyesight, became sensitive to light, and was potentially going blind from the mid-1870s until his death in 1876. It is debated that he may have had Glaucoma or possibly Trachoma.
For the remaining years of his life, he lived off his reputation as a gambler and briefly performed in a Wild West show, but he did not engage in any more gunfights.
Jack McCall was 24 years old when he killed Wild Bill Hickok. Hickok was at a poker table known at The Saloon #10. in Deadwood. They were playing 5 card draw poker.
The day before the murder, McCall lost all his money to Hickok in a poker game.
Hickok gave him money for food and advised him not to play again until he could afford it. This public humiliation angered McCall, who sought revenge.
Jack McCall came up behind him and shot Wild Bill Hickok at close range with a Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army .45-caliber revolver.
A weapon of weight and incredible power. McCall aimed for the back of Bill's head.
Wild Bill Hickok was holding a hand of cards that became known as the "dead man's hand"—two black aces and two black eights—when he was shot and killed. The fifth card to this day can only be speculation.
McCall was tried and later hanged. Despised as a coward by all..
This was a time in the areas west of the of Mississippi of little law and order to be considered.
Few men had the skill and courage to wear a badge within these small town domains.
Many women, learned to handle weapons and shoot with skill while alone on their farms if men were in fields or rounding up livestock.
Not a safe time.
The legend of James Butler Hickok know to most as "Wild Bill" is one of my favorites.
He is recorded as born in 1837 in Troy Grove I'll. He was murdered in 1876 which would put him at 39 years old.
The book concentrates on mainly the last decade of his life.
Wild Bill Hickok was in the Civil War for about four years. From late 1861 until he was discharged in September 1862. Then again as a scout from late 1863 until he was mustered out in June 1865.
He served the Union Army as a scout, spy, and sharpshooter.
Wild Bill Hickok is famous for carrying a pair of ivory-handled Colt 1851 Navy revolvers in .36 caliber, which he wore cross-draw in a sash or belt .
This position, along with his ambidextrous ability, allowed for a faster underhand or cross-body draw compared to the conventional fast-draw style where the gun is worn butt-back.
Later in life, he reportedly also used a Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 revolver, particularly during his time in Deadwood South Dakota.
A second pistol Hickok had at his death was a Sharps Model 1859 .32-caliber four-barreled rim-fire derringer. This hidden derringer reportedly saved his life on occasion.While serving as a sheriff and lawman.
While serving as Sheriff in Abeline Texas there was a late-night uproar of drunken Cowboys shooting up the streets.
When threatening the mob, his deputy came up behind him. Bill turned and fired. The accidental death of his friend and deputy haunted Hickok for the rest of his life.
Hickok was dismissed from his post as marshal less than two months after the shooting. He never wore a badge again.
Hickok experienced failing eyesight, became sensitive to light, and was potentially going blind from the mid-1870s until his death in 1876. It is debated that he may have had Glaucoma or possibly Trachoma.
For the remaining years of his life, he lived off his reputation as a gambler and briefly performed in a Wild West show, but he did not engage in any more gunfights.
Jack McCall was 24 years old when he killed Wild Bill Hickok. Hickok was at a poker table known at The Saloon #10. in Deadwood. They were playing 5 card draw poker.
The day before the murder, McCall lost all his money to Hickok in a poker game.
Hickok gave him money for food and advised him not to play again until he could afford it. This public humiliation angered McCall, who sought revenge.
Jack McCall came up behind him and shot Wild Bill Hickok at close range with a Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army .45-caliber revolver.
A weapon of weight and incredible power. McCall aimed for the back of Bill's head.
Wild Bill Hickok was holding a hand of cards that became known as the "dead man's hand"—two black aces and two black eights—when he was shot and killed. The fifth card to this day can only be speculation.
McCall was tried and later hanged. Despised as a coward by all..
This was a time in the areas west of the of Mississippi of little law and order to be considered.
Few men had the skill and courage to wear a badge within these small town domains.
Many women, learned to handle weapons and shoot with skill while alone on their farms if men were in fields or rounding up livestock.
Not a safe time.
December 9, 2021
While listening to this audiobook I wasn't overly attached to the story and didn't think it would get over 3 stars for me. But after I've finished it I been thinking about it quite a few time and my memory of the story seems to be more fondly then my actual reading experience. So I bumped it up to 4 stars. The story must have made a more of an impact than i thought
March 17, 2018
Rarely do I read Westerns or court procedural books, and yet, here I am with a Western court procedural novel, the fictionalized story of the trial of one, Jack McCall, killer of the famed Wild Bill Hickok. I don't really know the true story of this Western trial, but most of the characters are real and the trial and main events did occur in real life. Estleman, one of my favorite crime writers, did a fantastic job of keeping the pace flowing, the suspense riveting and the plot interesting. Shoot-outs, poker playing, and scarlet women are all included in this quick reading story and it was a very enjoyable read.
March 14, 2018
Very well written fictionalized account of the murder trial following Wild Bill Hickok's death. Not the type of book I'm accustomed to reading, but I loved it!
September 30, 2018
Entertaining courtroom drama with a Western skirt. Emotional and logic warfare on the loose in every chapter, and that's okay with me.
I can't claim to know its historical accuracy, only that McCall is dressed as a slimy coward mighty quick, without much repose. It's relentless on pinning him as the undoubtedly guilty one, but I suppose that is the joy of hindsight and the fiction label. Well written story for anyone who wants a simmered-down outlook for the crimes committed in Westerns.
I can't claim to know its historical accuracy, only that McCall is dressed as a slimy coward mighty quick, without much repose. It's relentless on pinning him as the undoubtedly guilty one, but I suppose that is the joy of hindsight and the fiction label. Well written story for anyone who wants a simmered-down outlook for the crimes committed in Westerns.
May 30, 2024
read several times years ago. I visited Deadwood, South Dakota, on my return from visiting a good friend, Ron Srb, on his farm in Mott, ND.
There was actually a saloon called 'Aces and Eights'. This was 1976 so not sure what the place is like now that socialism wants to destroy but they're not sure what to replace it with.
Good story to a western legend/myth
There was actually a saloon called 'Aces and Eights'. This was 1976 so not sure what the place is like now that socialism wants to destroy but they're not sure what to replace it with.
Good story to a western legend/myth
September 19, 2021
Fictional account of the trial of the man who murdered Wild Bill Hickok. Interesting enough but fascinating to see the difference in level of dramatic action in this novel from what I reckon would be included in a similar novel today. (Much lower.)
August 18, 2025
A western as a courtroom thriller. This reader found this to be a page turner of a story with drama and tension that moved quickly. Character development takes backseat to the courtroom dialogue of this legal thriller. Estleman quickly hooks the reader and doesn’t let go until the end.
Read
July 28, 2008This fictionalized treatment of the trial of Jack McCall, the man hanged for the murder of Wild Bill Hickok, won the Golden Spur Award for best Western historical novel in 1982. Estleman's lucid style never calls attention to itself, but it makes the characters live and breathe. And get shot in the cerebellum and bleed all over the place. Sorry, that was uncalled for: this really is a superior western for those of us readers into the gunslinger genre.
June 27, 2008
This book effectively mixes the feel of a western with some great courtroom scenes. I listened to the audiobooks version of this, and the narration was good too. I can't speak for the accuracy of the book, but it was entertaining.
December 7, 2012
Another great western by Estleman!!
Recreating the trial of the man who murdered Wild Bill Hickok, he creates a fascinating story of the legal maneuvering that brought the murderer to justice.
Recreating the trial of the man who murdered Wild Bill Hickok, he creates a fascinating story of the legal maneuvering that brought the murderer to justice.
Read
December 9, 2014western - not my cuppa tea. I've liked one of Estleman's Amos novels; searching for any of his books on audio, and this is 1 of only a very few.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews