Shining A Light On. . .
The Darkest Event
Walsh Ritter. A name
synonymous with death and suffering. You’d think that – just for once – fate
would deal this gunslinger a better hand. In that, you’d be wrong. . .
As the blurb highlights only
too well:
**********
Gun hand and tragic figure Walsh
Ritter is tired. Tired of life, tired of all the killing, tired of being Walsh
Ritter. So when fate lands him in New Orleans, he is content with the fact that
no one knows him, wants to kill or torture him, or wants to bother him. Then
one day he meets a woman who is looked upon by society much the same as he is.
With this woman in his life, Walsh believes he can finally put away his gun for
good and live the life he's always dreamed of living.
He comes home from work to find a
crowd gathered outside his home. There has been what the police are calling
"an unfortunate accident,” and his wife has been taken to the hospital. At
the strenuous request of the local constabulary, Walsh goes to be beside his
wife and allows the law to take care of those who have caused his wife harm.
Walsh's wife passes away, and the Walsh Ritter that he had hoped was gone for
good returns with a vengeance.
Through Louisiana and Texas, Walsh does what he does
better than anyone—he hunts and he survives. Walsh uses all of the skills he
has learned to make the final hours of the culprits of his wife’s demise worse
than they could have ever imagined, but not so bad as they truly deserved. They
learn only too well why you do not take away that which Walsh Ritter cares
about. All that we ever suspected might be bottled up inside of Walsh is
finally released, and we see just what he is capable of.
**********
Yes, there’s only so much a
man can take. And when that man is Walsh Ritter; a man with a broken, tar-black
heart, you can bet that vengeance comes on flaming wings.
I really – really – enjoyed
this book. Jeff Crawford encapsulates Ritter’s descent back into the pit of
death and destruction with a skilled malevolence that is as focused as it is a long
trail of sparking gunpowder winding its way off into the dark toward an
explosive climax. It’s painful; it’s personal; it’s profoundly moving. So much
so that you can empathize with what he’s going through.
But Ritter doesn’t want your
sympathy.
There’s no room for remorse;
for regrets or mercy. It’s retribution, plain and simple. And while Ritter does
distract himself with gentle reminiscent diversions along the way, it’s obvious
that he’s accepted the inevitable. Men are going to die by his hand. And
because of the nature of their crimes, he’ll make their passing as slow and
agonizing as possible. After all, he’s learned a thing or two about endurance
and pain over the past five years. Now it’s time to put those lessons into
practice.
The Darkest Event,
a gloriously satisfying tale that will keep you thinking long after you’ve
turned the last page.
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