Phil Bowie Guns

Guns

Phil Bowie

Medallion, Aug 2006, $6.99

ISBN 1932815597

Off the North Carolina coast, Coast Guard Mate Ruben Dixon calls Sam Bass to ask him to search for the Osprey caught at sea by a storm. Though the weather is horrendous Sam flies into the storm and spots the ship giving the Coast Guard the coordinates. Ralph and Adele Stilley are rescued just before their vessel sinks. Raleigh Sentinel reporter Ira Cohn and TV news anchor Samantha Blackstone were sharing a tryst on the barrier island when they heard the story. They interview Sam, who becomes a national hero.

However, instead of enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame, Sam finds his past has returned with a vengeance. Thugs arrive to kill "The Cowboy", but instead murder his beloved Valerie, a Cherokee widow and mother of a young boy. Vowing revenge, Sam travels to see Valerie's Cherokee grandfather to tell him what happened, but soon becomes a willing student to his mentor learning the old fashion Indian way of meting out justice.

GUNS comes out of the gate on all cylinders as the mysterious Bass saves the lives of the Stilleys and keeps the fast pace going until the final avenging confrontation occurs even with sidebars involving aircraft, gun running and the Cherokee Nation. The cast is solid especially Sam, but when Phil Bowie dwells on his past, the story line loses some momentum though it also explains why he is a target. Still this is an interesting thriller starring a fascinating laconic protagonist who's obsessed with a bloodthirsty mission.

Harriet Klausner