Saddle Sinners

Whittington's records tell us he sold SINNERS IN THE SADDLE in 5/1964. The Evening Reader paperback original was in print before the year was out, retitled just enough to mute Harry's double entendre title. This story starts like a romance about frustrated dude ranch cowboy Chad & his frigid wife Margie. But halfway into the book (all of these small-format books are 190 pages, the tall format 160 pages), the story takes a sudden left turn when two thugs named Luke & Brud–wanted in three states--arrive at Chad & Margie's place, 30 miles from Reno, & turn their world upside down. Holding Margie hostage, Luke & Brud use Chad to rob the dude ranch. There's a constant threat throughout the story that Whittington plays like a virtuoso. Luke & Brud want to sexually attack Margie, a horrible crime for anybody, but one which may completely destroy the fragile Margie.