Review: 'Chance: Deadly Deal' by Clay Tanner

There was a time when the Western novel came roaring back, thanks to a flashy revival that ignited in the late 1970s. Adult Westerns, they called them; your run-of-the-mill tales with a spicy twist of love scenes. Publishers were desperate to breathe life into a fading genre, and for a while, it worked like a charm. Among these was the series Chance, published by Avon Books and penned under the pen name Clay Tanner by the Spur Award-nominated George W. Proctor (1946-2008). Dubbed The Maverick with a Winning Hand, the protagonist, Chance Sharpe, is a slick card shark who owns the riverboat Wild Card. You could easily argue that Proctor borrowed a page or several from the legendary Brett Maverick, but that’s a tale as old as the Wild West itself. Only twelve novels graced this series, published from 1986 to 1988.

Fast forward to my recent thrift store adventure, where I stumbled upon the ninth installment, Chance: Deadly Deal. Maybe it was fate, or perhaps just some cosmic irony, but this book felt oddly familiar. I distinctly remember having owned it in the 1990s, maybe not this exact paperback, but close enough. Back then, I was much too young to be reading Western yarns with sex scenes. I could almost picture my mom snagging it from a garage sale, blissfully unaware of the literary mischief I would engage in. I read everything I could get my hands on, regardless of age appropriateness, thinking I was wise beyond my years. Who knows what ever happened to that first copy? Perhaps it found its way to another garage sale. But I digress. There it sat amid the dust and knickknacks: Deadly Deal. The cover was a siren song, pulling me back into nostalgia, and I couldn't resist the urge to scoop it up.

So, let's cut to the chase and talk about the plot. Chance, fresh from a late-night card game in St. Louis, finds himself in the right place at the right time, or perhaps the wrong place altogether, when he leaps to rescue a young brunette, Anne Walsh, from two unsavory attackers. In a twist of irony, one of the assailants manages to nick Chance with a wooden knife laced with poison. But fret not, our hero isn’t destined for an early exit; he’s whisked away to a doctor just in time, and as luck would have it, he darts back into the land of the living

Anne, considerably grateful (and really, who wouldn’t be?), rewards Chance's gallantry with a steamy encounter aboard the Wild Card. But the gratitude doesn’t stop there; her entire family has coincidentally booked a trip on Chance's riverboat. Ah, the wonderful workings of fiction.

Now, here’s where things get murky. The Walshes believe an Indian medicine man has cursed their family, and the belief escalates into panic when Anne’s mother and two brothers meet their demise under bizarre circumstances. To add a sprinkle of the supernatural to this concoction, a mysterious witch doctor makes an appearance and then vanishes into thin air. Chance, ever the gallant knight, takes it upon himself to unravel the mystery of this curse and unmask the real villain before more Walshes find themselves in the grave.

As I pressed on through the 169 pages, fragments of the plot resurfaced like long-lost memories. Some might argue it's more of a novella than a full-blown novel, and they wouldn't be wrong. But for what it’s worth, the story is engagingly crafted; less of a gunfight on horseback and more of a gripping murder mystery with a flirtation with the supernatural. Just when you think you have it all figured out, the plot goes in unexpected directions, allowing red herrings to dance and play before your eyes.

Reading Chance: Deadly Deal was a delightful trip down memory lane. Sure, it’s brisk and to the point, but it delivers its tale with an entertaining punch. The supernatural elements woven throughout the story kept me guessing and turning pages. Even the supporting characters, while not always fleshed out, managed to hold my interest. Maybe it doesn't truly deserve a five-star rating. However, I’m still giving it one, not just for its storytelling, but because it packs a punch of delightful nostalgia that keeps me thoroughly entertained throughout the entire read. ╌★★★★★

And a quick note for fellow Western bibliophiles: Piccadilly Publishing published the Chance series in eBook formats between 2018 and 2020.  You can find Deadly Deal on NOOK, Kobo, and Smashwords.

〜B.J. Burgess