Reviewed by Barbara Harper for Readers' Favorite

The Price of Salvation by John Anderson begins with Lady Luck smiling on the train robber Thomas St. Hart as he and his trusted steed Jedediah, affectionately known as Jed, make their getaway with fellow gang members after a botched robbery, and minus one dead outlaw. Thomas had no blood relatives but belonged to a criminal family that lived on the wrong side of the law, known as the ‘The Brothers of Boudiclare.’ They resided in the Arizona territory, and their fearless leader was a man with a slippery black heart named Luscious who considered Thomas his adopted son and second in command. Luscious decides to use the death of one of their members and the botched robbery as an opportunity to put his diabolical plan in place to steer his ‘outlaw family’ in a new direction by making a deal with the devil and with the promise of untold riches and freedom. With progress comes change and with change comes growth and with it an opportunity that will be used by those with the nature of the serpent to annihilate, eradicate and control any opposition, especially the opposition posed by Christians. Unknown to Thomas, he will play a vital role in what is about to unfold; a raging battle between the forces of good and evil.

In The Price of Salvation by John Anderson, the reader is introduced to Western phrases and the author engages and entertains the reader with juicy bits of information about the protagonist, Thomas the outlaw, his trusted steed Jed, and his gang of thieving and murdering family members. The pace is fast and is illustrated in the depiction of Thomas’s nine lives as he and his trusted steed fearlessly gallop along from one escapade to another. The author also makes use of catchy proverbial phrases like, ‘the fear of a thousand devils entered the horse’s mind.’ Thomas is portrayed as a morally ambiguous character in this tale. This evil has many faces and no conscience and tries to justify itself, arguing that it offers freedom, riches, and a means of making a living. As I read this skillful and detailed tale with morbid fascination, I felt cold shivers run down my spine and wondered at the diabolical and twisted nature of the characters portrayed; their gullibility, their lack of a moral compass, and the ease with which they are used as puppets by those in positions of authority with hearts of stone and consciences of ice. This book brings to mind the saying, ‘Evil progresses when good men stand by and do nothing,’ and the convolutions of human nature.