When Hell Came to Texas

June 1, 2013
Ded Axton and Nate Walker grow up in West Texas as best friends. They serve as irregulars in the Civil War, robbing trains and generally disrupting Union activities. When the war ends, Nate wants to continue as an outlaw, while Ded, who has no more to go home to than Nate, refuses. The gang casts him out, and Ded falls into near dissolution, but he never loses his sense of right and wrong. Before the gang can complete a bank robbery, he turns in Nate and his crew, and they're sent to prison. Later, still, on the mend in life, Ded becomes an Episcopal priest, but Nate gets out of jail and slaughters Ded's wife and child. Ded becomes a legendary bounty hunter, wandering the West, saying a prayer for every man he kills. After a time, his thoughts of revenge become meaningless, and he settles down as a cook in a little caf', making friends almost despite himself. Then his quiet, contemplative life changes once again in this entertaining western from the veteran Vaughan.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)