Originally published in 1951, Clifton Adams’ A Noose for the Desperado is decidedly darker than its predecessor, 1950’s The Desperado. In the first book, Talbert “Tall” Cameron was a 19-year-old Texan forced into the life of an outlaw after he exacted vengeance on a Yankee officer that unjustly murdered his father. Now, Tall has made it to Arizona, and to earn some money he takes up with an outfit of criminals who hijack smugglers bringing over silver across the Mexican border. But when Tall is double-crossed, he is faced once again with the dilemma of running away from his problems, or standing up for himself and heading deeper into a life of crime.
Clifton Adams’ The Desperado was one of the earliest Westerns in the Gold Medal roster. Published in 1950. The novel is set immediately after the end of the Civil War, when carpetbaggers and the Yankee army are overrunning Texas. Talbert Cameron, also known as “Tall,” is only nineteen, but already he is on the run. After taking a few swings at a Yankee, he and his friend Ray Novak find themselves hitting the trails to avoid the work gang. But when Tall hears word that the Yankees are roughing up his family and friends, he must decide whether to keep running, or to risk being captured or killed in the name of vengeance.
