Reviews for Hanging Judge

The average rating for Hanging Judge based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-04-27 00:00:00 Daniel Goguen This is the first book by Elmer Kelton that I have ever read/listened to and I have to say I am very sorry that I haven't picked any of his books before to read. But after reading/listening to this one I'll definitely put Kelton on my list of favorite Western authors. If you like Old West Westerns you would like this one. Recommended.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-12-02 00:00:00 Louise Belknap Judge Isaac Parker (also featured in the 1968 novel True Grit by Charles Portis, published just one year earlier) was known as the “Hanging Judge” for a perception of sentencing a large number of convicts to death during his time as a US District judge in Ft. Smith Arkansas. Considering Judge Parker, over the course of his 21-year career on the bench, tried 13,490 cases, but only sentenced 160 people to death and only 79 were ever actually executed leads me to believe that perhaps his reputation was over-hyped. However, this novel is not really about him, although he does cast a long shadow over the events depicted. Instead, the main character in the novel is 22-year-old Justin Mofitt, a newly sworn-in deputy marshal to Judge Parker. He’s assigned to veteran Marshal Sam Dark for training, a hard man with an intriguing past who quickly becomes Justin’s mentor. Life as a deputy marshal is not one for the faint of heart; history tells us that Judge Parker lost one law officer for almost every criminal he hanged. When Sam Dark brings in wanted fugitive Barney Tankard, killer of a friend in a drunken brawl, Justin finds himself questioning the law and his new-found role in it. The Tankard family believes the real culprit is none other than Harvey Oates, who runs a large illegal bootlegging operation into the Oklahoma Territory. When the rest of the Tankards get in Oates’ way, the resulting bloody violence prompts Justin’s friend, Mathew to go after Oates for revenge. Justin must decide if he will fulfill his marshal duties or help his friend in a righteous cause. Elmer Kelton is one of the most-loved Western authors of all time. And with this novel it’s easy to see why. Not only does he bring lots of realistic gun action to this story, he combines it with engaging characters and an authentic frontier justice system, warts and all. His characters, even the good guys, are often flawed. The ending, while satisfying, does not tie up all loose ends, leaving the reader to come to his or her own conclusions about Justin’s future. Well-written prose combined with an authentic, engaging plot leads me to start looking for my next Elmer Kelton novel.