Master crime writer Elmore Leonard began writing classic westerns, such as 3:10 to Yuma and Hombre, which are some of the best I have read. Valdez is a portrait of a man going to any length for honour and justice.
This was where everyone was, gathered outside the country shack in small groups on the hill. The shooters who stood around at the front line, they'd fire when Mr. Tanner passed the word, they'd all fire at once. Tanner had a place in the foothills of the Santa Ritas; Americans and Mexicans riding for him, trading to the Mexican revolutionary forces.
Town Constable Roberto Valdez can be in on the discussion, but Tanner will decide what to do. Inside the shack is a negro named Orlando Rincon and his pregnant Lipan Apache woman. Tanner asserts he is actually a cavalry deserter who killed James Erin at Fort Huachuca six months ago. When the men attack, guns blazing, the woman is left with nothing.
Valdez brings the Lipan woman to Lanoria, finding a safe room at the local brothel. Surely she could use some reparation, and Valdez rides out to tell Tanner he should pay. You don't cross a powerful man like Tanner, many men won't make a move lest he says. Tanner will do nothing, and Valdez is tied to a mesquite cross and sent on foot into the baking sun. What a bastard.
Undaunted, Valdez steals Tanner's prize, the young blonde wife of James Erin, abused yet with nowhere to go. Valdez begins a calculated and well-armed lure into the twin hills, killing off Tanner's men one by one. Valdez didn't wish them dead; it would happen, that is all. Each dead man a clear warning: Valdez is coming.
This is imbued with honour and the stoic assurance of Valdez that he is morally right. What starts out as a bravado by Tanner turns into a small war. Although I found the ending abrupt, no one does western justice better than Leonard. These are classic tales - and paired with terrific gunfights, ambushes and revenge this is a very satisfying read.
Burt Lancaster starred in the 1971 film Valdez Is Coming.
My other Elmore Leonard reviews:
1970 / Tradeback / 236 pages
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