WESTERN NOVELS—FARGO: PHANTOM GUNMAN

WESTERN NOVELS

FARGO 

PHANTOM GUNMAN

JOHN BENTEEN

REVIEWED BY

TIM DEFOREST

In this one, Fargo is hired to kill Billy the Kid. But the book is set in 1910, meaning Billy had supposedly been dead for nearly thirty years...A rich Texan with a grudge against Billy from decades ago has reason to believe the famous outlaw is still alive. Fargo travels to Lincoln County to find Billy and soon finds a tense situation. 

Memories of the Lincoln County War are still sharp among the residents there even after three decades and that war seems likely to begin again. If Fargo finds and kills Billy, that might be the spark that starts the bloodshed all over again. 

The novel is an interesting one, with the mystery of whether Billy is still alive being resolves in a fascinating way. Fargo ends up siding with the underdogs when fighting breaks out again, leading to a pitched battle in the streets of Lincoln. Soon after, Fargo is locked in a deadly knife fight with a the leader of the opposition. 

As is typical of the Fargo novels, this one is fast-paced, well-written and filled with exciting action set pieces.