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Rockabye County #5
The Quarter Second Draw
A gang of killers puts Operation Scare-Off into action against the wives of the interfering peace officers. Sheriff Jack Tragg sets up all the scientific aids and modern techniques of radio patrols, white-coated lab crews, and motorized posses with full assault armament. But when Deputy Brad Counter is faced by a member of the gang armed with a sawed-off shotgun, only one thing can save him--his traditional skill and deadly speed on the draw. At that moment either Brad of the outlaw has only a quarter of a second left to live.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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About the author
J.T. Edson
183 books79 followersJohn Thomas Edson is an English writer of Westerns.
He was born in 1928.He was obsessed with Westerns from an early age and often "rewrote" cowboy movies that he had seen at the cinema. One thing that always intrigued him was the minutiae—how did the baddie's gun jam? What were the mechanics of cheating at cards? How did Westerners really dress and speak?
His writing was helped to develop by a schoolteacher who encouraged him. Now lives in Leicester, Leicestershire.[citation needed]
During his 20s and 30s, Edson served in His Majesty's Armed Forces for 12 years as a Dog Trainer. Cooped up in barracks for long periods, he devoured books by the great escapist writers (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert McCraig, Nelson C. Nye and Edgar Wallace). He also sat through hours of movies starring John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Errol Flynn and his all-time favourite, Audie Murphy.
His first appearance in print was "Hints On Self-Preservation when attacked by a War Dog" in the Osnabrück camp magazine Shufti in 1947. Acquiring a typewriter in the early 1950s and putting it to good use while posted to Hong Kong, by the time of his discharge he had written 10 Westerns, an early version of Bunduki and the first of the short detective-type stories starring Waco.
Upon leaving HM forces, JT won second prize (with Trail Boss) in the Western division of a Literary Competition run by Brown & Watson Ltd, which led to the publication of 46 novels with them, becoming a major earner for the company.
He had the need for supplementary income from time-to-time and also served as a postman, and the proprietor of a fish 'n' chip shop. Furthermore, he branched out as a writer and wrote five series of short stories (Dan Hollick, Dog Handler) for the Victor boys papers, and wrote the "box captions" for comic strips, which instilled discipline and the ability to convey maximum information with minimum words.
His writing career forged ahead when he joined Corgi Books in the late '60s, which gave JT exposure through a major publishing house, as well as the opportunity to branch out from the core Westerns into the Rockabye County, the science-fiction hero Bunduki and other series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Edson
He was born in 1928.He was obsessed with Westerns from an early age and often "rewrote" cowboy movies that he had seen at the cinema. One thing that always intrigued him was the minutiae—how did the baddie's gun jam? What were the mechanics of cheating at cards? How did Westerners really dress and speak?
His writing was helped to develop by a schoolteacher who encouraged him. Now lives in Leicester, Leicestershire.[citation needed]
During his 20s and 30s, Edson served in His Majesty's Armed Forces for 12 years as a Dog Trainer. Cooped up in barracks for long periods, he devoured books by the great escapist writers (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert McCraig, Nelson C. Nye and Edgar Wallace). He also sat through hours of movies starring John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Errol Flynn and his all-time favourite, Audie Murphy.
His first appearance in print was "Hints On Self-Preservation when attacked by a War Dog" in the Osnabrück camp magazine Shufti in 1947. Acquiring a typewriter in the early 1950s and putting it to good use while posted to Hong Kong, by the time of his discharge he had written 10 Westerns, an early version of Bunduki and the first of the short detective-type stories starring Waco.
Upon leaving HM forces, JT won second prize (with Trail Boss) in the Western division of a Literary Competition run by Brown & Watson Ltd, which led to the publication of 46 novels with them, becoming a major earner for the company.
He had the need for supplementary income from time-to-time and also served as a postman, and the proprietor of a fish 'n' chip shop. Furthermore, he branched out as a writer and wrote five series of short stories (Dan Hollick, Dog Handler) for the Victor boys papers, and wrote the "box captions" for comic strips, which instilled discipline and the ability to convey maximum information with minimum words.
His writing career forged ahead when he joined Corgi Books in the late '60s, which gave JT exposure through a major publishing house, as well as the opportunity to branch out from the core Westerns into the Rockabye County, the science-fiction hero Bunduki and other series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Edson
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 29, 2018
When a Sheriff’s Deputy and his partner spotted a person who they suspected was a wanted felon, it was the beginning of a spate of vicious and deadly episodes which spread across the state. Woman Deputy Alice Fayde and her partner, Deputy Brad Counter knew that lives depended on them stopping the criminals from escaping across the border – but would they succeed? Brad’s training at the range had made him the fastest draw of all the police in their division – but when faced with a desperate criminal, would it let him down?
The Quarter Second Draw by J.T. Edson is an old-style western set in a modern-day Texas, where the car has taken place of the horse! This is the 5th in the Rockabye County series (but the first I’ve read) and I enjoyed the pace and banter between the sheriffs and their men as well as the action and plot which kept me intrigued. Recommended.
The Quarter Second Draw by J.T. Edson is an old-style western set in a modern-day Texas, where the car has taken place of the horse! This is the 5th in the Rockabye County series (but the first I’ve read) and I enjoyed the pace and banter between the sheriffs and their men as well as the action and plot which kept me intrigued. Recommended.
December 13, 2017
Not as good as the other Brad Counter books. It seemed to contain too much filler that slowed the story
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews