Book Review: Law and Order, Unlimited by William Colt MacDonald
When railroad detective Gregory Quist is asked to look into why rancher Wyatt Kearsage isn’t allowing the Texas Northern & Arizona Southern Railway ro purchase right of way through his land, Quist turns down the assignment. After all, the rancher is probably just holding out for more money. But when Kearsage is subsequently shot to death, Quist takes the case. “Murder is in my line.”
When Quist arrives in Dominio City, he learns that Kearsage was shot on the night of his wedding, and the town is full of possible suspects. Chief among them are Nordwall, the TN&AS lawyer whose negotiations for the land had stalled so long, and Armitage, a saloonkeeper and casino operator who’d been Kearsage’s rival for the hand of the former Deborah Dixon and had quarreled with him that day. But one shouldn’t forget the sweetheart of Kearsage’s long-lost daughter whose suit Kearsage opposed, also known as the local sheriff’s deputy.
As Quist digs deeper into the secrets of Dominio City, new motives come to light, and gunplay becomes necessary.
While not listed as such on the cover of my edition, this is part of a series of Western mysteries starring Gregory Quist. This only become evident in-story when he starts talking about old cases and the footnotes mention which books they were in.
This is a proper mystery where we don’t abruptly cut to the bad guy’s point of view, but it’s not a fair play mystery either. Quist (and the writer) conceals information from the reader until the big explanation at the end. You might have guessed the identity of the killer, but it would have to be based on the reader’s knowledge of murder mysteries rather than on direct clues. (Or by reading the back cover blurb, which gives away one of the plot points!)
The Gregory Quist books were reprinted a few times, but not in recent years–you may have to dig some at garage sales and used book stores. Recommended to readers who enjoy Westerns with mystery plotlines.
