Jordon's Showdown: A Berkley Jordon Mystery

Strunk's second Berkley Jordon novel (after Jordon's Wager ) returns to Kentucky in 1934, to pit the sometime deputy and full-time gambler against a psychotic killer. Jordon has tried to remain neutral as coal operators scheme to keep the miners from organizing, but he steps into the fray when his best friend is ambushed along with a union man. Out for revenge, Jordon aligns himself with union supporters in and around the town of Buxton and with the powerful H. R . Buxton himself, who does not want his community destroyed. But Jordon remains wary of Buxton--could he be the man calling the assassin's shots? The tension, however, slackens quickly. The killer is so purely evil that his ultimate failure can be easily foreseen; the mystery surrounding him is cleared up too early; and the fates of his possible targets--well-known historical figures--will be known to most readers. Female characters are few, and of them only the murderer's companion is substantial. Nevertheless, the strong atmosphere will sustain the reader, while the ending offers puzzles enough to linger in the memory. (May)