“Brimstone” takes up the tale started by Parker in “Resolution” and then “Appaloosa”. Parker gives us two riveting characters in Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole. They are two very talented gunmen for hire. They are rugged and honest and when they make promises they keep their promises.
Virgil has been searching all over the old west to find his girlfriend, Allie. She has a kind of materialistic personality and is willing to do whatever she must do to get men to give her the things she wants. Virgil is disgusted with her readiness to sleep with other men to get her “things”. He doesn’t know why but his heart belongs to Allie and he needs to find her and get her back.
Everett and Virgil finally locate Allie. She has fallen about as low as a woman can get, working “making her living on her back” as the saying goes. Allie is filthy and emaciated and really needs Virgil to save her. Virgil removes her from the saloon and the town having to kill her fat “owner” and a couple of others in the process. They go to another town, Brimstone.
In Brimstone, Everett and Virgil take on the job of deputies to the travelling Sheriff. Brimstone is a rough and tumble old west town with more saloons than any other kind of store and the three business activities in the town are gambling, the sale of whiskey and the sale of women. The arrival in town of a fire eating preacher who starts up a church and announces the mission to close all the saloons in town creates a bit of tension.
The recipe for trouble quickly bakes into a full bodied meal of disaster. Virgil and his sidekick, Everett take on both sides and clean up the town. In the end it looks like Virgil and Allie are going to be good together finally. But I wouldn’t bet on it. There is bound to be a sequel that will once again show that Allie is difficult for Vergil and again tests his willingness to forgive. At least we can hope there will be another Parker “Western”. The three he has given us so far are refreshing and fun to read.
