Western

The Ox-Bow Incident

by Walter Van Tilburg Clark

In an isolated Nevada town in 1885, news that a rancher has been murdered and his cattle stolen sends an improvised posse after three strangers accused of the crime. Drifter Art Croft and his companion Gil join the group partly to avoid appearing suspicious, then watch rumor and wounded pride harden into a demand for immediate hanging. Evidence and objections from a principled minority prove too fragile against men eager to call collective violence justice. Bleak and morally rigorous, this western suits readers prepared for lynching themes who appreciate claustrophobic group psychology, frontier settings, ethical dilemmas, and novels exposing how ordinary people surrender conscience when a mob offers certainty and belonging.