Not much to say about the story. It's pretty generic.
That said, Grimwood himself is the best Western hero I've seen since Joe Warder from South of Rio Grande. He's not as smarmy as Matt Brennan from Silver Canyon, and much better fleshed out than Joe Morgan from Law Rides the Range, and even Ed Lash from The Gringo Bandit.
Grimwood, to say the least, has credible character flaws. He can be and has been fooled by the enemy a couple of times and is bent on getting even with Rankin. He's also torn over his love for Pat Ryan and his revenge on Rankin complicates the situation until, of course, he decided to redeem himself.
Granted, he's still a stereotype but a pretty well done one.
Grimwood's friend Andrew "Timber" Smith reminds me of the kind of roles Bud Spencer usually played, the gentle giant with a lot of strength, warmth and intelligence. He's described as a "gay cat", meaning that he's a drifter with no real home, and who prefers adventure to settling anywhere. The "gay" part does mean "happy" although he does seem to be rather dismayed when Grimwood is more interested in his lover than his friend.
Pat Ryan is not as bland as some of the other main female characters in Western stories I've read in the past, but definitely not as strong or defined as Carmel Alvarado from South of Rio Grande, Kit Kavanaugh from Law Rides the Range, Sally Simmons from The Million-Dollar Bloodhunt, the Deever women from A Coffin Full of Dollars or Belle Buckley from Surrender, Hell! None of those women exactly pass the Bechdel Test but they're much better fleshed out as characters.
Ryan does have a determination to keep her business and some leadership skills but ultimately Grimwood makes most of the decisions, not her. Ultimately she's just a prize to be won.
Though it's predictable and not very adventurous in its plot elements, it's a fun and engaging novel.
By the way, one of Rankin's men is called Blue Peters.
You thought that, too, didn't you?
