Notorious bandit Santo Valdez is dead, and his merciless successor, El Diablo, brings more trouble for the Western Lands than his name suggests. The reading of Valdez’s will promises a fortune to his gang, but the treasure is buried and concealed in a riddle that will frustrate El Diablo for years to come. In this rugged land, mysteries linger like grudges and neither are easily resolved, so the scofflaws disperse, some leaving El Diablo to follow their own interests. After all, it’s always about the money. In this climate, a ruthless bounty hunter emerges, shaped by the land and the ghosts of his past. Or, he would be if he could remember his past. Yesterday, however, means little to the Vigilante, an enigmatic man with a literal license to kill. When the Vigilante apprehends his latest target, a clever young criminal with some mystical tendencies, the two men strike up an unlikely bargain. Indiego’s smooth-talking ways persuade the Vigilante to spare him and take a more lucrative bounty instead, but it’s difficult to trust anyone out here. And a fortune teller’s final words only add to the pervasive, uneasy dread: “The Devil is loose in Paraiso. Only ill fortune and death will follow.” The dust barely has time to settle on this grim prophecy before its consequences are felt. It remains to be seen how the Vigilante and his new partner fit into the fortune teller’s prediction, while Yma, an assassin from the East, has her own score to settle. Will they find more than bounties and revenge as their fates intersect?
If you crave bloody action and frontier grit, Blood Vendetta delivers! Punches of gun smoke, cheap booze, sand-choked tension, and relentless pursuits across the unforgiving desert are the backdrop for vengeance and redemption story arcs. Calling on a bygone genre of dark, violent, relentless Westerns, this novel features a fragmented narrative style. While it is a challenge to get used to, the staccato writing lends itself to the harsh realities the characters are up against. The Vigilante’s resolve and resourcefulness command attention, especially in the gripping sequence where he sets fire to Jericho and its cultists. Yma’s journey as a blood avenger gains weight as she traverses the Western Lands, stepping into the violent fate her father fought to shield her from. And Indiego brings just enough levity to coax at least half a reluctant grin. In a novel where outlaws stand against darker forces, and justice is carved from the barrel of a gun, Blood Vendetta is a dripping-crimson fable where vengeance is a force as lethal as the frontier itself.
