has only this morning arrived on the outskirts of the rough-and-tumble cowtown of Fort Worth, Texas-but before he completes his diary entry for the nineteenth of July, 1876, he finds himself taking an unexpected ride, landing smack in the middle of a barroom brawl, and sharing digs with a stranger of quite peculiar habits. Yet the allure of tagging along with self-proclaimed consulting detective Capt. Derrick Miles appeals to both his sense of adventure and the urgent need to apply his own military medical skills. A grisly murder in a blood-stained Hell's Half Acre crib swiftly tests Miles's mettle as new city marshal "Longhair Jim" Courtright reluctantly enlists his assistance. Inept lawmen, wily malefactors, and enigmatic clues yield to Derrick Miles's superior intellect in familiar fashion, made fresh in this twist on the venerable tradition of Sherlock Holmes pastiche. At the same time, the backstory of multigenerational revenge draws on one of the most gripping chapters of true 19th-century Texas history. Fast-paced and laced with authentic local detail, this second book in the award-winning Derrick Miles series will satisfy Western enthusiasts everywhere, as well as devotees of the Great Detective.