Henry Parker, a journalist for the New York Gazette, must investigate a series of celebrity killings and find out who's behind them, before everyone he loves become victims as well. Intrepid reporter Henry Parker is called by his editor to the scene of a celebrity shooting outside of a nightclub, which turns out to be the first in a series involving well known public figures, and is charged with finding an angle no other paper has and in the process, keep himself and those he cares about, from becoming victims as well.
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When Henry gets to the first shooting, a female about to release her first album shot by a high powered rifle from over 150 yards, he gets a tip from a NYPD friend about where the shot came from and a message left by the shooter, a quote by Henry, taken from an article he wrote. The next day, at the press conference about the shooting, an NYPD officer is shot with the same weapon, same way, though it is determined the mayor was the intended target. Henry's contacts again help him, but this time with the unusual caliber of the bullet. The third shooting, a prominent magazine publisher, becomes the key for Henry. The dead man's assistant saw the shooter and the gun, and it was the Gun that won the West. Henry is off on the angle no one has.
Amanda, his girlfriend, offers a former teacher who knows everything about weapons. and they go to see her. She explains that there are very few in working order and most are with collectors or museums. So Henry begins his investigation and finds himself delving into the outlaws of the old West, the myths and legends and finally the local politics of each, as the towns with associations are alive, simply because of tourists, and without the links to the outlaws, they would shrivel up and die. Henry finds that this fact makes his job that much harder, yet he perseveres.
The he is confronted by the shooter, and is threatened and told to stay off the story. But he doesn't, and gets police protection for himself and his girlfriend. But then, the rival paper, the Dispatch, prints a story about Henry and his former girlfriend, Mya, on the same day that her father becomes the next victim of the celebrity shooter - her father is a wealthy man running for political office.
Henry intensifies his investigation and begins to follow the myths that have never been proven, and then Mya becomes the next victim. Henry, beside himself with guilt, pushes Amanda away in hopes of protecting her, then pursues his leads, with help from the NYPD, until he finds the man, but not before the shooter find Amanda.
Best part of story, including ending:
The history was interesting and the way Henry took each tiny piece of evidence and extracted volumes from it was instructive for anyone who may want to be an investigative reporter. It's a fast-paced read.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene was when the rival paper's star reporter writes a story related to the shootings that generates so much negative mail, because she attacks the heroes of the West, that she finally is temporarily suspended from the paper. She's used to getting hate mail, because she's a sensationalist, but she's not used to getting un-American mail.
Opinion about the main character:
Henry perseveres no matter what. He's smart, he makes good use of his sources and he isn't arrogant, despite being so good at what he does.
