The Slavers

Mexico in 1877, on the verge of Civil War, is the setting of Parker's latest western. The caudillos , large landowners with private armies, are poised to overthrow the government of President Porfirio Diaz. When Ken Larrway, a young American studying under a famed dueling master in Mexico City, kills the two sons of Ramos Zaldivar, leader of the caudillos , Zaldivar vows revenge. Larrway flees for his life, trying to traverse the dangerous 1100 miles to the U.S. border. Evading his pursuers, members of Zaldivar's private army, he finally takes refuge in the community of Janos, settled by Mormons who left Utah after the U.S. banned polygamy in 1862. Here he realizes that he must return to confront the caudillo . A rather sleazy subplot deals with white women who are kidnapped and sold into slavery and prostitution. Parker ( The Shadow Man ) shows little subtlety in character depiction, but he does manage to convey the atmosphere of those violent, revolutionary times. ( May )