Review - The Devil You Know - 4 stars

 

The Devil You Know, by the Johnstone conglomerate of William and J. A. Johnstone, is an intriguing story set in Boar Gulch.  The main protagonist is a retired Pinkerton named Stoneface Finnegan.  He is so named because he is so inscrutable.

Having left the Pinks, he is trying to settle down and live peacefully, opening a bar with several of his buddies.  Life is not to allow the peaceful part.  A former person with whom he came into contact during his law enforcement career is bound that he will die – hopefully by the hands of killers looking to redeem the bounty on his head.

This is novel #2 in this series and several have tried to collect the bounty money but ended up dead in the process. As you might guess there are others in the wings waiting to try for the bounty on Finnegan’s head.

Whether they are successful remains in doubt and the story goes down to the wire on who will win. The interesting thing is that Stoneface does not know who has put out the reward for his death.  Not knowing this means every stranger coming into the boomtown is suspect.  This also creates some issues.

All that can be said is that everything is not what it seems to be. You will have to read to find out who survives.