Todd R. Berger

Huey Palmer is a divorced, free-lance helicopter pilot in Las Vegas. He’s been an absentee father at the times when his daughter needed him the most. His daughter is now preparing for college but he doesn’t have the money to send her to the one she’s aiming for. Why? Because he’s compulsive gambler who is always on the edge of winning big, which also means he owes money to the wrong people. In short, Huey needs to find himself a windfall, and fast.

The answer to his problems may lie in his next job. When a new customer comes along in the form of billionaire, Ernie Swords, Huey just can’t say no. Ernie is a collector of guns and he’s finally located the long-lost and highly sought-after antique gun of his dreams. This very rare gun was last known to be in the possession of 19th century French anarchist, Etienne Roux. When Roux disappeared, so did the gun and now that Swords has finally located this valuable antique, he won’t be letting it get away. The only problem… it’s located on government-secured land in the Nevada desert, land that he can’t gain access to. So he hires Huey to fly him in covertly. It’s a high paying job, but also very risky and if they are caught, they could face jail time. But hey, it will be a quick in-and-out operation and Huey just might be able to pull himself out of the financial hole he has dug for himself…right?

As they reach their destination, their helicopter is shot down and they find themselves stranded in a small western town called New Roux City. New Roux City is not on any maps. It’s a long-forgotten place founded by Etienne Roux when he fled from the government. Etienne fulfilled his dream of founding a community where laws don’t exist didn’t turn out so well. Roux’s descendent; Miller Roux and his henchmen have a hold over the town, and in this town “without laws” each citizen is required to carry a gun because all disputes are handled by challenging your offender to a showdown.

Showdown City is a fantastic surprise of a book giving us an edgy twist on the western genre! It’s refreshing, original, adventurous, funny and utterly enjoyable! Need I say more? I very much look forward to reading more of Todd Berger!

I want to thank the publisher (Diversion Books) for providing me with the ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.… (mais)