Sin Killer is a novel by Larry McMurtry

Larry McMurtry

Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...

. It is the first, both in chronological and publishing order, of The Berrybender Narratives

The Berrybender Narratives

The Berrybender Narratives is a series of novels written by Larry McMurtry. It tells the story of an ill-fated hunting expedition lasting several years and covering much of the early American West...

. Set in the year 1832, it follows the adventures of a clan of eccentric British aristocrats and their retainers as they begin a hunting expedition up the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

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The title refers to the nickname given to frontiersman Jim Snow, a Berrybender ally who violently hates sin of all kinds.

The movie, "Duel in the Sun," King Vidor's 1946 epic of 1880s Texas, featured actor Walter Huston in the role of Jubal Crabbe, a traveling preacher nicknamed "Sinkiller." The character, a hellfire-and-brimstone charlatan had designs on the leading character, Pearl, whom he was summoned to "save."