Wyoming Wanton (Gunn #16) by Jory Sherman

William “Gunn” Gunnison Is resting up in Denver after a particularly intense experience (see the previous book in the series, “Drygultched”). He’s asked to meet somebody, a stranger, after dark in an alley. Turns out to be a message from an old friend up in Cheyenne who has been accused of murder, and needs Gunn to come and testify at his trial. But opposing forces are determined to keep that from happening and set about trying to kill Gunn before he can arrive in Wyoming. Worse, they are killing other men and using Gunn’s special mark on them as a way to set him up for the murders.

This is the 16th book in the “Gunn” series, but the first one I’ve ever tried. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much from it based on the cover, suspecting it to be just another 2-bit Slocum-style knock-off. I had picked it up in one of those Friends of the Library sales where you get a full grocery bag of books for $5. 

But…I was pleasantly surprised. No, this type of novel will never win a Spur award from the Western Writers of America, but it was a pretty good, entertaining read. It is of the "adult western" variety with the obligatory 3 sex scenes per book but those can be easily skipped over if the reader isn't interested. Plenty of action occurs, but there is some pretty nice character development as well, and a healthy dose of mystery and intrigue. The end includes a fun courtroom scene which rings true for a circuit-riding judge who is more interested in swift justice than accurate justice.

While I had never heard of author Jory Sherman before, this book intrigued me enough to look him up, only to discover he is, in fact, the author of over 400 books, many of them set in the American West, as well as poetry, articles, and essays. His best-known works may be the Spur Award-winning The Medicine Horn, first in the “Buckskinner” series, and Grass Kingdom, part of the “Barons of Texas” series. He also contributed four books to the Ralph Compton "Trail Drive" series. Sherman won the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature from the Western Writers of America. Pretty impressive.

One interesting side note. The author includes a character in this book, a deputy sheriff named “Bob Randisi”. Of course, Robert J Randisi, under the pseudonym “J.R. Roberts”, is the author of all 477 of “The Gunsmith” novels (and counting), along with numerous other books in the western, crime/mystery genres as well as numerous anthologies. I'm betting they knew each other, and Sherman was just having a little fun here.

Based on this book, I will be looking for more from Jory Sherman, whether in this “Gunn” series or from his other works.