Comfort to the Enemy and Other Carl Webster Stories

October 1, 2010

Two linked short stories that provide a much-needed introduction to the title novella expand the legend of U.S. Marshall Carl Webster (The Hot Kid; Up in Honey's Room). The year is 1944, and Carl is back in his marshal uniform after recovering from an injury incurred while serving in the U.S. Navy. His assignment: to investigate the death of a German prisoner of war at Camp Deep Fork near his home in Oklahoma. Carl approaches the job patiently and methodically, displaying a maturity not readily apparent in his earlier "Hot Kid" years, yet he deals swiftly with a couple of paid gunmen when the time is right. A German POW who escapes and returns to camp at will, a beautiful prostitute who provides his motivation, a Jewish gangster who wants access to the POW camp, and a wannabe Hot Kid who is assigned to assist in the investigation test Carl's patience and his skills, providing both challenge and humor. VERDICT This volume is the logical next episode in the charmed life of one of Leonard's most famous characters, and Carl Webster fans will certainly clamor for this latest installment. [Oct. 11 marks Leonard's 85th birthday, and his 44th novel, Djibouti, also publishes this month.--Ed.]--Thomas L. Kilpatrick, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.