His slight stature and cocky good looks secured him his soubriquet, but it was his deadeye aim and proclivity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people that earned Billy the Kid his reputation as a remorseless murderer.
Mrs. McCarty's favorite son spent his short career wreaking havoc on the run while seeking to be exonerated of murder charges for killings he didn't actually commit. But whether or not it was wholly deserved, his legend loomed large and became the one jail he couldn't bust free of. His story has been frequently told, but it would be hard to beat Hansen's well-researched and fast-paced account.
No formulaic Western this- Hansen populates his meticulously researched novel with characters who are three-dimensional and richly realized. Far from being the blood-thirsty sociopath of Wild West lore, Hansen's Billy lives and breathes, at times tender, often conflicted, loyal to his friends, always articulate and frequently very funny.- Helene Woodhams Also selected by Bruce Dinges and Vicki Ann Duraine
