Harry takes justice to the hills-
where marijuana and murder
go hand in hand!

Massacre at Russian River
(Jul 1982)

"You don't have to worry.
"I wasn't planning on trusting anybody in this town."

"Dirty Harry" Callahan-He fights for the law of the land, he lives by the rule of the gun!   A lot of grass-the illegal kind-grows in the hills of Northern California.   Where there's marijuana, there's money.  Where there's money, there's murder.   And where there's murder, there's Dirty Harry.  In a wilderness where even the local cops are criminal, Harry must live-and kill-by a law higher than the law of the land:  his own.

6 Shots, Or Only 5?
****

As one of the longest books in the series, Massacre unfolds at a slower pace opting for a more atmospheric story over the straightforward action of some of the others.  The premise is intriguing, with Harry on loan to the small town of Russian River, as part of a team of investigators that have been imported for a case.  Harry doesn't do much socializing with the other cops, but spends a lot of time interacting with the locals.  He also gets the most unusual love interest of the series, when he gets involved with a rumored junkie that is living in the town's slums.

The main action sequence involves the local sheriff's large-scale attempt to eliminate the local farms that are behind the town's problems.  This involves a night invasion by convoy that can't help but fail.

Cover Story
Adding to the strangeness of this outing is the cover illustration, which for some reason includes a dragon that has nothing to do with the story!