Fairchild's Passage

Murder and revenge in the old West provide the action and heartpounding suspense in the new novel from the duo who produced the well-received Manhunt. When Ethan Fairchild and his friend David Stuart stray from their wagon train plodding along the Oregon Trail in 1859 to settle a fight over Jessica Thorne, the woman they both love, they are attacked by a bandit gang led by white-haired albino cutthroat Thoman Silverhorn. Ethan tumbles, unconscious, into a ravine and is presumed dead. David barely escapes, but when he returns to the wagon train alone, the travelers don't believe his story and he must endure his guilt for abandoning his friend and the knowledge that the distraught Jessica, who is pregnant with Ethan's child, clearly loved Ethan more. When Ethan regains consciousness, he sets out on foot across the prairie, all the while believing that David has been killed by Silverhorn's bandits. After Silverhorn murders the woman he loves and the family that succored him, Ethan takes on a bloodthirsty code of his own. The book ends in a fateful rendezvous of ambush and blood. This is fine high plains action with pungent dialogue and convincing color and authenticity. (June)