For years, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch have ridden roughshod over rabble-rousers and gun hands in troubled towns like Appaloosa, Resolution, and Brimstone. Now, newly appointed as Territorial Marshalls, they find themselves traveling by train through the Indian Territories. Their first marshaling duty starts out as a simple mission to escort Mexican prisoners to the border, but when the Governor of Texas, his wife and daughters climb aboard with their bodyguards and $500,000 in tow, their journey suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.
The problem is Bloody Bob Brandice. He and Virgil have had it out before, an encounter that left Brandice face-down in the street with two .44 slugs lodged in him. Now, twelve years later on a night train struggling uphill in a thunderstorm, Brandice is back – and he’s not alone. Cole and Hitch find themselves in the midst of a heist with a horde of very bad men, two beautiful young hostages, and a man with a vendetta he’s determined to carry out.
Review
"Robert B. Parker's legion of fans will be thrilled with Ironhorse. Robert Knott, co-writer of the screenplay for Appaloosa - Bob's remarkable western- has penned the next great saga featuring itinerant lawmen Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole. Knott's new novel reads just like vintage Parker and the storyline crackles with all the excitement and humor of what is a perfect continuation of the Hitch/Cole series. Parker fans are going to love it!"
—Ed Harris, Academy Award-nominated actor
Praise for the Cole-Hitch Series
“Parker’s rightly known best for his mysteries. That’ll happen when you create one of mystery fiction’s most indelible characters – the Boston private detective Spenser….You read Parker because he could tell a story and make you care about his characters. Blue-Eyed Devil only hones Parker’s legacy as an ace storyteller, in any genre, to the end.”
— The Chicago Sun Times
“Add Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch to all the great characters that Robert B. Parker created over the decades to give us enjoyment and entertainment.”
—BookReporter.com
“Blue-Eyed Devil shines.…a page-turner of the first order, and updated western that feels as fresh as anything out there….Virgil Cole never misses, not when it matters. Parker didn’t either.”
— The Boston Globe
“More shifting allegiances, moral dilemmas and characters capable of change than Virgil and Everett’s fans may be used to.”
— Kirkus
“Hitch and Cole, reminiscent of the steely eyed, soft-spoken lawmen Randolph Scott played in the movies, speak volumes to one another with a few words and a nod of the head.”
— Associated Press
“Excellent.” — Kirkus
“Classic Parker—exciting, suspenseful, fast-moving and entertaining.” — Publishers Weekly
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About the Author
_Robert B. Parker was the author of seventy books, including the legendary Spenser detective series, the novels featuring Police Chief Jesse Stone, and the acclaimed Virgil Cole–Everett Hitch westerns, as well as the Sunny Randall novels. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and long considered the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, he died in January 2010.
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Robert Knott is an actor, writer, and producer. His extensive list of stage, television, and film credits include the feature film Appaloosa based on the Robert B. Parker novel, which he adapted and produced with actor and producer Ed Harris. This is his first novel.