Hall's spirited, if slightly muddled, fifth Ambrose Bierce mystery (after 2004's Ambrose Bierce and the Trey of Pearls
) has more of an Old West flavor than previous entries, as young Tom Redmond and his irascible mentor look into the doings of train-robber Oz Bird. Bird has sworn vengeance on the Southern Pacific Railroad for a botched landgrab that landed him in jail. He also has his sights on Colonel Studely, owner of a Wild West show that employs Bird's ex-wife, Dora Pratt. Pratt, a trick shooter, became Studely's common-law wife while Bird was in prison, so when Studely and an S.P. executive are gunned down, both suspect and motive seem plain. Bierce and Redmond's investigations, however, soon turn up a wealth of other possible motives and suspects. There are, in fact, so many tangents and red herrings that the story stumbles in its own digressions. Still, Hall produces his usual endearing cast of characters and convincing period detail, and Bierce lives again through clever use of the writer's actual prose and invented dialogue. Here's hoping the next in the series is just a little smoother. Agent, Virginia Barber. (Apr. 11)
