The Spoilers (19 page)
Authors: Matt Braun
The Spoilers
is for the most part a true story. In 1882, San Francisco was the wildest, the wickedest, and certainly the most dangerous city in the West. The cowtowns and mining camps, by comparison, were tame stufff. Host to the Barbary Coast and Chinatown, not to mention a waterfront steeped in infamy, the city by the bay was a cosmopolitan hellhole. In that day and time, it was considered the roughest, and by far the most depraved, metropolis on the North American Continent.
is for the most part a true story. In 1882, San Francisco was the wildest, the wickedest, and certainly the most dangerous city in the West. The cowtowns and mining camps, by comparison, were tame stufff. Host to the Barbary Coast and Chinatown, not to mention a waterfront steeped in infamy, the city by the bay was a cosmopolitan hellhole. In that day and time, it was considered the roughest, and by far the most depraved, metropolis on the North American Continent.
Yet, during this same era, San Francisco was the premier city of the Old West. A financial center, a place of sophistication and culture, it was already a mythical wonder famed for its natural beauty and idyllic setting. Beneath the surface, however, there was an unholy marriage between underworld vice lords and corrupt politicians. Their alliance, bolstered by savage methods and a callous disregard for human life, was to rule San Francisco for nearly a
quarter-century. Their downfall, when it came, happened very much as described in the story that follows.
quarter-century. Their downfall, when it came, happened very much as described in the story that follows.
The characters who people
The Spoilers
are real. Their names are unchanged, and the diabolic manner in which they pillaged San Francisco required no invention. Some license has been taken with events and dates, but the spoilers themselves are, if anything, less formidable than they were in real life. Luke Starbuck represents a breed apart. A detective and manhunter, he relied on wits and guts, and when necessary, a fast gun. His assignment in
The Spoilers
borders more on fact than fiction.
The Spoilers
are real. Their names are unchanged, and the diabolic manner in which they pillaged San Francisco required no invention. Some license has been taken with events and dates, but the spoilers themselves are, if anything, less formidable than they were in real life. Luke Starbuck represents a breed apart. A detective and manhunter, he relied on wits and guts, and when necessary, a fast gun. His assignment in
The Spoilers
borders more on fact than fiction.
WYATT EARP
BLACK FOX
OUTLAW KINGDOM
LORDS OF THE LAND
CIMARRON JORDAN
BLOODY HAND
NOBLE OUTLAW
TEXAS EMPIRE
THE SAVAGE LAND
RIO HONDO
THE GAMBLERS
DOC HOLLIDAY
YOU KNOW MY NAME
THE BRANNOCKS
THE LAST STAND
RIO GRANDE
GENTLEMAN ROGUE
THE KINCAIDS
EL PASO
INDIAN TERRITORY
BLOODSPORT
SHADOW KILLERS
BUCK COLTER
KINCH RILEY
DEATHWALK
HICKOK & CODY
THE WILD ONES
HANGMAN'S CREEK
JURY OF SIX
BLACK FOX
OUTLAW KINGDOM
LORDS OF THE LAND
CIMARRON JORDAN
BLOODY HAND
NOBLE OUTLAW
TEXAS EMPIRE
THE SAVAGE LAND
RIO HONDO
THE GAMBLERS
DOC HOLLIDAY
YOU KNOW MY NAME
THE BRANNOCKS
THE LAST STAND
RIO GRANDE
GENTLEMAN ROGUE
THE KINCAIDS
EL PASO
INDIAN TERRITORY
BLOODSPORT
SHADOW KILLERS
BUCK COLTER
KINCH RILEY
DEATHWALK
HICKOK & CODY
THE WILD ONES
HANGMAN'S CREEK
JURY OF SIX
“Matt Braun is one of the best!”
âDon Coldsmith, author of the SPANISH BIT series
Â
“He tells it straightâand he tells it well.”
âJory Sherman, author of GRASS KINGDOM
Â
“Matt Braun has a genius for taking real characters out of the Old West and giving them flesh-and-blood immediacy.”
âDee Brown, author of
BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE
BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE
Â
“Braun blends historical fact and ingenious fiction ⦠A topdrawer Western novelist!”
âRobert L. Gale, Western biographer
“No problem,” Starbuck said equably. “I'm loaded and willing to pay plenty.”
O'Brien eyed him craftily. “What about me? Here in Frisco, a go-between don't come cheap either.”
Starbuck ventured a smile. “How does five percent strike you?”
There was a moment of weighing and deliberation. O'Brien hadn't the vaguest idea of the asking price for a hundred slave-girl virgins. Whatever the amount, it would be steep â¦too tempting to resist.
“You're on.”
Starbuck flashed his gold tooth in a nutcracker grin. Today was only a first step, but his instinct hadn't played him false.
Denny O'Brien had swallowed the bait whole.
This novel is a work of historical fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents relating to non-historical figures are either the produce of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance of such non-historical figures, places or incidents to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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THE SPOILERS
Copyright © 1981 by Matt Braun.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
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Previously published by Pinnacle Books
St. Martin's Paperbacks are published by St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
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eISBN 9781429902182
First eBook Edition : June 2011
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Pocket Books edition / April 1985
Pinnacle edition / August 1985
St. Martin's Paperbacks edition / November 2002
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