Desert Stake-Out by Harry Whittington

 

No Sample Quote Offered.

This is my second Whittington novel, Charro being the first.

He wrote many a crime novel in the Fawcet Gold Medal vein of construction; I have read none of these—these are perhaps where he excels.

It might be luck of the draw with the two Westerns I have read.

I emphasize, they are not bad.

But…they feel so by-the-numbers constructed with screenplay stage direction scenarios and pat characters being shoved into clockwork set-ups that I never feel truly drawn in.

The formulaic feel does a disservice to the not-bad level of writing.

When one reads one of the Edge series by George Gilman there is a feeling of, “Hey, this is kinda sorta better than it has any right to be,” considering its assembly line origins.

With Whittington, I get the feeling that the level of plotting and writing is more along the lines of assembly line without the commitment to the grand guignol excesses of Gilman.

He hints at toughness without actually getting there.

He describes the land in detail, but it is a postcard description, not a bone-dry feeling, or cold ache in your bones as one gets with Haycox or MacLean.

Whittington is a puzzle to me.

There is something there, but I have not found it yet.

Others who have, might better direct me.