Book Review: The Hills of Homicide: Stories

When I was a kid, I got hooked reading westerns primarily written by Louis L’Amour. My dad introduced me to them. While in high school and my early Air Force years, I read every one I could get my hands on. That is quite a lot of books because he has over 120 in print. While on a trip to Montana, I stopped in a used bookstore and found a volume that I had not read. I was thrilled to get my hands on The Hills of Homicide. What added to my excitement was that it was a book of short detective stories. I had an opportunity to see another side of L’Amour.

The Hills of Homicide is a collection of eight detective stories that spanned 246 pages. The stories focus on two men: Kip Morgan and Joe Ragan. Both are quick to jump into the fray when needed. L’Amour provided each story with context by adding a page of background information.

I immediately recognized L’Amour’s writing. It was like bumping into an old friend even though a lot of time had passed by.

These stories have a 1940s detective feeling to them. The descriptions of scenes, characters, and dialogue fit the period. L’Amour has always kept the pace of the book moving steadily forward. I never wanted to set the book down because I wanted to see what was going to happen next. My breaks came when the stories ended. But it did not take me long to finish the book.

I have come to expect certain things when I read Louis L’Amour’s books. The hero of the story is typically a strong decisive man who knows how to handle himself. The man will not back down from a challenge. In the end, he always wins the girl. While this may be stereotypical writing in this genre, L’Amour does it quite well. I was entertained from page one to the last page.

In The Hills of Homicide, there was a lot of bare-knuckle fighting going on. L’Amour drew from his background as a boxer to craft these scenes. He also tapped into his vast knowledge of many things to write the different scenarios.

If you like rough and tumble detective stories, I am confident you will enjoy The Hills of Homicide.

Additional Reading

• Book Review: The Big Sleep & Farewell, My Lovely

Photo by Michelle Ding on Unsplash

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