The Long Hitch

There's no high-spirited horsemanship or fancy quick-draw gunplay in Zimmer's cracking latest (after Wild Side of the River); instead, the good guys ride mules and snap bullwhips in a clever story that packs some nice twists. Best, however, is Zimmer's carefully drawn, historically accurate portrayal of the lives of crusty mule skinners and the perils of the western freight wagon business. In 1874 Utah territory, young teamster Buck McCready becomes wagon boss for the Kavanaugh freight outfit after his mentor, old Mason Campbell, is murdered. With the Kavanaugh outfit engaged in a wagon train race that will decide whether Kavanaugh or a competitor lands a lucrative freight-hauling contract, Buck vows to find Campbell's killer. But first he must win the race, a difficult task considering there's a saboteur among his crew and a hired gun out to take him down, plus the possibility that Campbell's killer is after Buck, too. Add brawls, a wicked good bullwhip fight, harsh terrain, shifting alliances, mutiny, kidnapping, and Buck's distressing realization about Campbell, and Zimmer has put together a believable, gritty, and action-packed tale of the real Old West. (July)