Review--Blood in the Dust--5 stars

 William and J. A. Johnstone wrote a book about a Confederate veteran living in an Black Hills’ enclave with many Yankee sympathizers. He was a tracker who saw the depravations of war where brothers fought brothers.  The book is called Blood in the Dust and is about Hunter Buchanon.  Hunter is a young man who has seen the depravations of war and really just wants to be left alone.  He is a man of many talents including gold mining, although his gold dust was found and stolen by another, leaving him and his father pretty destitute. He has a quick temper and a quicker and faster fist to handle most issues.

He has a pet coyote, named Bobby Lee, who exhibits many of traditional traits of a coyote.  Bobby Lee is very protective of both Hunter and his friends including the nice girl turned saloon drinks girl, Anabelle.  Hunter and Anabelle were to be married when Hunter had his gold stolen.  He refuses to expect a woman to marry him when he has nothing in a material sense to offer.

With this as a background, there are family issues to nag hunter—his own as well as Anabelle’s.  There are ne’er-do-wells who get involved and one who loses his life.  This creates of cascading and interlocking stories leading to Hunter becoming the town marshal. Of course, a series of bandits and bad guys appear, and Hunter is determined to solve the crimes they are directly and indirectly responsible for causing.

A beautiful woman from Denver who is hired as the local schoolteacher complicates the story, as does a supposed husband that she shot in a very sensitive place.  As you might guess, there are all sorts of interconnections including family issues that must be solved.

Since in most Westerns, the good guys always win, you might expect this to happen here but there are some unexpected twists that must be handled before any wedding can take place.

This was an enjoyable read and went very rapidly.  It is one of those novels that is just hard to put down and page after page gets turned when the reader wants to know what’s next.

Review -- Preacher's Carnage - 5 stars

 In William and J. A. Johnstone’s’ book, Preacher’s Carnage, there is another installment of the mountain man book series.  This one is number 25 in the ongoing series about the individuals who helped forge the western landscape of a new and developing country. It is a delightful read.

This edition is full of the typical twists and turns that one might expect in a Johnstone written novel. Getting the Preacher riled up enough to follow through is pretty easy but goes well beyond the brutal attack on a wagon train moving along the Santa Fe Trail.  All that carnage is not enough but the intervention of a potential fiancé of one of the missing members of the train, who just happens to be a beautiful Spanish senorita, is the tipping point. Preacher is not normally a vengeful man ---but in this case he may be pushed too far.

There is a reward but that is far secondary to just doing the right thing  Sometimes doing the right things call for partnering with some marginal characters.  There are banditos, as well as Indios, who get involved as Preacher works to find out the truth about the missing gold on the train which was attacked as well as the disappearing bridegroom. Some erstwhile allies may be more two-faced than can be imagined.  Preacher must always be on alert for a double-cross to happen.

Danger seems to lurk around every bush and to be more prevalent that the spines on the local plants—just waiting to poke and cause pain.  In true Western spirit, the truth is discovered and those needing to be punished are caught. 

A novel that is fun to read and one that the pages seem to turn themselves and the next part of this fun Western adventure reveals itself.  A definite must read in the series of books from the Johnstone dynamo.

Review - Texas Kill of the Mountain Man - 5 star

Texas Kill of the Mountain Man, by William and J. A. Johnstone is another in the series of the Smoke Jensen stories.  For those who may not have read about Smoke, he was a gunfighter extraordinaire.  In his older years, he has left any of his wild ways behind and is now a respectable horse rancher, raising the best in Colorado.  He is happily married and running his ranch.

One of his oldest friends, a rancher down in Texas, wants to buy some of Smoke’s fine quarter horses –100 to be exact.  These do not come cheap, normally selling for well over $100 each when “normal” horses are only bringing $30-$40 dollars.  Smoke is giving his friend a break at $90.  Regardless a lot of money.

There are several backstories in this novel – including a rape and murder, a nefarious quickdraw gunfighter who used to be a college professor and took that sobriquet, Professor, and some plain old bad ne’er-do-wells!! These add to the suspense of the novel.

As you might  expect the Professor is drawn to the older Smoke to test his speed with the draw.  Of course, this showdown happens and although Professor and his gang were hellbent on criminal adventure, there is more to the aging Smoke and his hands than is immediately clear.

The story is like most of the ones involving Smoke, his wife and ranch – the end is ultimately good for the good guys.  In this way this is a typical western, but the parts of getting too the expected conclusion bring all the excitement that a reader would want.  Another enjoyable Smoke Jensen novel and well worth the reader’s time to read.

Review - The Shotgun Wedding - 5 stars

The Shotgun Wedding by William and J. A. Johnstone is an enjoyable book. It is set in an old western town, Silverhill, NM, that is making the sometime painful transition to more modern ways.  Two grizzled old friends, Bo Creel and Scratch Morton have come to be here in a roundabout way.

They were hired by another old friend to provide safe passage to a group of five mail order brides who were traveling there looking for their future husbands. But as often happened in real life the expected husbands did not readily materialize.

These young women were not the expected hapless females, as the town and both Bo and Scratch were to discover.  However, the two old friends felt an obligation to the ladies than transcended just getting them to their destination.

Positions of town marshal and deputy were available and seemed perfect to wile away some time waiting on the right man to marry the female charges.  As you might guess there are a lot of adventures awaiting everyone concerned.

Following the adventures from well-off rancher, miners, cowhands, Mexican bandits, a murderous doctor, stagecoach jehu, and more, they are on their way to one of the young women having a real shotgun wedding.  But the story is different in a number of ways including a kidnapping, a pregnancy; but in true Western novel fashion the good guys win in the end. These women are breaking the norm of the times and while it might seem a little scandalous it makes the book hard to put down.

Definitely encourage this read as it paints a different picture of the west in New Mexico during this late 1800s time.  Another well done story using the ideas of the late William Johnstone.

Review - Stand Up and Die --4 stars

 

William and J.A. Johnstone’s book Stand Up and Die is about as quintessential a western as you can find. There are all sorts of actions that one would expect to find in a novel set in the rough and tumble old west including a shootout at a whorehouse, an escaping prisoner while a marshal gets killed, a hanging, an Indian fight, and many more.

This is a fast-paced book that sort of gets started slowly as each of the three main characters, loving called jackals, makes their place in the story known.  They come together to transport two prisoners, one of which is a lovely woman but who has a penchant for poisoning people who cause her trouble.

During the transport a young Comanche who was helped by one of the jackals and affectionately called Wooden Arm along with the rest take it on themselves to dispatch a few bad guys who have been trailing one of the jackals to kill him and then they get caught in supporting a wagon train set upon by some scoundrels pretending to be Indians.  They are actually in Navajo territory and this leads to some interesting consequences along with the fact that Wooden Arm is being trailed by other Comanche. Fake Indians and real tribesmen lead to interesting interactions.

Lots of adventure and a fast-moving storyline makes this an easy read after all the players get introduced, which happened pretty slowly and in a sort of disjointed fashion in the beginning of the book. It was a little different from other Johnstone books that I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Stand Up and Die by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone. #StandUpandDie #NetGalley

Review - Knockdown - 2 stars

Knockdown by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is a most unusual story for those used to reading westerns by the Johnstone duo.  This is a modern day setting of two rogue, erstwhile agents of the US.  The uncle Barry and nephew Jake are seemingly good men who are hell bent on making sure a terrorist attack does not take place. Obviously this is a good thing.

This would be fine but politics of the current day seep into the story on almost every page.  The story is exciting and if you can see through the intrigue is not terrible.  Many readers will probably have an issue of believing the spew of invective against those individuals  but those who more conservative will likely adore.

There are some nice side stories of friendship and patriotism as well as budding love that occur in the story of the uncle and nephew as they go vigilante.  This story spreads across the country form El Paso to New York City to Denver.  A very wealthy manipulator is involved as are a drug cartel, and the “alphabet agencies” of the federal government (CIA, FBI, HHS, etc.).  The conspiracy theories will certainly appeal to a certain group of readers.  For others, they are too farfetched to be taken seriously.

This book was provided in electronic format to me for an honest review by #NetGalley.

Review - Bury the Hatchet - 5 star

Bury the Hatchet by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is a continuation of the story started in North of Laramie of Buck Trammel and Adam Hagen.  Trammel has continued his job as sheriff and continues to have issues with Hagen’s father.  The real issue in this novel is the Pinkerton Agency has been hired to bring these two men in “dead or alive” and when a Pinkerton is after you there is much danger as Trammel knows being a former Pink himself.

There is the normal intrigue of   This book like the first is a gripping story of what might have happened in the small Western frontier town of Blackstone drug dealing, prostitution, and other political shenanigans to keep the reader entertained.

The friendship of Hagen and Trammel, which began in the first novel continues into this story although it gets strained on occasion as Hagen is a bit of ne’er-do-well.  But solving the dangerous situation not only of the Pinkertons but also a bounty a disgruntled man has also put on their heads is exciting.

While this book is the continuation of the Trammel story, it can be read as a stand alone but having read the first builds a much better vision of the characters involved in this story.  It is a book worth reading and because of the fast-paced action is a quick read.

This book was provided to me in an electronic format  for an honest review by #NetGalley.

Review: A Knife n the Heart - 4 star

The novel by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone entitled A Knife in the Heart is somewhat different from the other Johnstone books that I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed. Certainly, it is not bad but this one focuses on  Hank Fallon who has done a lot of things n his life including being an incarcerated prisoner. All of his experiences make him the man he is today.

In this book, he gives up being a U.S. Marshal in Wyoming to become the warden of Leavenworth prison… where a new facility is still under construction. The older facility is still there and has plenty of bad people. Because of his experiences in being an inmate, he seems to know all the tricks of the prisoners but is a compassionate man as well.  He sees the goodness in people and if they are willing to meet him half-way he is on their side.

Escapes, kidnappings, attempted murder and other not so pleasant activities including murder are part of the story as Fallon tries to bring a more modern approach to prisons.  Not everyone is liking this “new normal” there and do their best to thwart his actions.

On occasion, he is known to revert to his former lives including a stint as a Deputy Marshal in the Indian Territory and as a prisoner himself.  The key is not to make him mad, although he is slow to anger.

While different from other Johnstone books, it is still enjoyable and shows off a different writing genre.  I’d recommend it for those looking for something different from the good guys always wearing white hats.  This one may be more realistic that some others.  I enjoyed it.  In fairness, I need to say that I was given a pre-publication copy in return for an honest review by #NetGalley. As in any prepublication, there are a number of errors that proofing will catch before the actual publication and they are not too distracting.

Review- The Darkest Evening -- 3 star

The Darkest Evening, a Vera Stanhope novel takes the dedicated Ann Cleeves reader on another adventure set in the wilds of Northumberland in the UK. DCI Stanhope is an interesting character, as those previous readers know.  This was my first read not only of a Stanhope character novel but the first of any of Cleeves’ books.  I found the British version of our shared tongue to be interesting sometimes challenging, and found myself at times having to revert to the internet to determine what a word meant.

The language issue aside, I found the character development interesting and the interactions of the various characters entertaining.  This is true whether the characters were in the village, manor house, or in Vera’s own office. There seemed to me to be too much discussion of Vera’s body type although there was little disparaging discussion of her ability to solve cases.  Bad weather, distant relations, family issues from long ago as well as the more normal thing often found in murder mysteries—love spurned and parenthood denied.  The countryside itself plays a role in the story and if one has ever visited this part of the United Kingdom it becomes a visceral part of the story. The cold winter weather near Christmas was almost a character itself.  The reader could feel the cold both inside and outside.

I know lots of readers really like the novels by Cleeves but I found myself occasionally struggling to continue reading. It wasn’t that it was bad or overly boring; hard to put an exact name to my feeling.  As they might say just “not my cup of tea.”  I am glad I finished the book, both to find out who was the murder culprit but also so I can have something to offer when discussing these books with avid fans. For me it is a three star read, but I can see how others who enjoy the whodunit type of book to be very entertained.

Review - The Rocking R Ranch-- 5 stars

Tim Washburn has a hit in his new book The Rocking R Ranch. The story follows the Ridgeway family dynasty along the Texas and Indian Territory border (aka Oklahoma). The ranch of nearly 50 thousand acres was on a border that was frequented by marauding Indians as well as various cattle rustling, horse-stealing, murdering and assorted other criminals. The patriarch, Cyrus, had four living children who were on the family place living in a near communal lifestyle.  The children, two boys and two girls, all had their own lives and they did not always get along very well.

The basic storyline is about the lives of the family and their run-ins with criminals and ne'er-do-wells and the interactions with not only the children but the next generation as well.  A large part of the story concerns trying to rescue a 13 year old granddaughter, Emma, who was abducted by a war party of Comanche braves.  The story bounces along the northern part of Texas into the panhandle and into Palo Duro Canyon.  As one might expect there are war parties and death around every corner in the attempt to get her back.  Grandfather, father, and uncles, as well as hired-hands all get involved in her rescue attempt.  The Army working out of Ft. Sill becomes involved as the settlers from the east would like some of the good land in Oklahoma and the Indians have to be contained.

Tragedy is a regular occurrence, whether it is weather, death, abduction, or adultery. One of the interesting and unexpected things a reader discovers is the way that the family deals with these happenings.  It is not exactly the way that one might expect from a rough western family living where the mantra is being tougher than the other person. The Indians have a name for the family men of Heap Big Guns and Little Heap Big Guns.  To find out what this means, read the book.  If you like Westerns you’ll enjoy this one with a slightly different twist.

Review - Montana Territory - 5 stars

Following Army Scout, John Hawk on his adventure described in the book Montana Territory by Charles West, is an interesting adventure.  The story looks at a man who is tough and determined to see that right prevails sometimes at great risk.  This quest for good is accomplished in a stepwise fashion even with risk to himself.  He is a white man who had spent time with the Native Americans in the area and learned much about honor from them as well as how to track and survive in the wilderness.  He often scouts for the US Army not to help kill the native peoples but to help them survive and not be killed without trying to make peaceful contact and learning to live in the current world environment. He seems to understand the hardships that all those living in Montana face.  He also knows that there are the criminals who try to take the easy way and steal from others often killing indiscriminately.

This story is primarily about Hawk leading others by example and tracking down scoundrels who have killed just to take money from other settlers.  The adventures takes him across the plains and into the mountains where there are close calls and some tender moments as well. Montana forms a great backdrop for the expansive story.  Hawk and his well-trained horse become the central focus of the story with supporting parts played by good guys from Army troops to shopkeepers.  Of course the robbers have their adherents and those willing to look the other way to get money.  This is a classic good versus evil.  Hawk is one of the good guys but he also has temptations to take the easy way but remembers his teachings. The story comes to a climax in Helena, the new territorial capital.

The book is a quick read and is hard to put down.  If you like a traditional western story, then this is a definite must read.  The Hawk character is the epitome of the US Western spirit of self-determination and honesty.

Review Bullet for a Stranger - 5 star

In Bullet for a Stranger, what do you get when you combine a stagecoach, a Texas Ranger, two criminals, an adventuress, an alleged coward, and numerous other colorful characters?  A rip snorting story that is played out across the Texas plains on the way to New Orleans.  The requisite, typical bad guys are in evidence as well as British “gentlemen” wanting revenge.  Stir this up add a dash of electrical story, a woodburning steam engine car and you add more intrigue to this story as it unfolds.  Did I forget to mention that there are some paleontologists and a love story playing in the background?  If you are looking for a rapidly changing cast of characters who do some rather unusual things then this is a book for you.  You can also throw in a little voodoo in New Orleans and perhaps a British naval ship firing off its guns to scare the locals.

If that first paragraph didn’t grab you in a positive way, you can rest assured that the book itself by William Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone will pull you in.  It is well written and is fast moving.  Each chapter beings an almost unbelievable set of situations.  Some Westerns move along in rather traditional ways.  About the only thing that is traditional about this is that there are good guys and bad guys but not always are they as clearly delineated as you might hope. They are human with their attendant foibles.

Good characters like the adventuress, Hannah; Buttons, the stage driver; Red, the shotgun guard;  John, the coward; and many others play out across the 700 mile journey that takes many twists and turns on the way to New Orleans.  A definite must read if you like westerns and in particular if you like the stories that the Johnstone franchise turns out.

Review - Ungentlemanly Warfare- 5 star

Ungentlemanly War by Howard Linskey was a delightful book and one that struck me as a precursor to some of the James Bond books.  The main character, Harry Walsh, is a British “spy” turned into a jack-of-all-trades concerning infiltration behind German lines in France.  He has a daring-do that leads people to follow him.  It also creates some problems with those who are in the “right” circles of English gentlemen; Harry is definitely not. As such he is considered expendable and is often sent on what might be termed suicide missions. So far he has survived and proven himself up to the challenge.

The man storyline of this book is one that is way beyond all others and leads to lots of adventures, scrapes, loss of lives, and using others to accomplish his tasks.  The book reveals a great deal about the German occupation of France and how the collaborators and the partisans see this and each other.  Lots of clandestine work on all sides. The task of Harry and his team is to take out the scientist working on the German rocket plane before it actually flies and creates havoc among the Allied airplanes.  It is necessary to do this before the Invasion.

Ups and down and ins and outs, double agents and death follow the story as it probably did in real lie.  The book’s ending does tell some of the “facts” behind this fictional story. All in all it was an easy read that kept the reader’s attention.  Throw in a bit of a love story, dedication, and danger on every corner and this adventure plays out in a very enjoyable read.  Definitely is recommended  read.

Review - The Vanishing Sky - 3 star

The story described in The Vanishing Sky was one that I was originally very excited to see.  Not being German, I was not sure what would be the story of these two young German men who were fighting and living near the end of WW II.  The two brothers and their trials and tribulations were heart-wrenching at times as I tried to imagine what I would have done and felt if either of these had been me.  Their nuclear family was a bit of a enigma; mother was about like any mother would be considering that both her sons were in a position to lose their lives.  The father was living out his own remembrances from WW I and projecting his experiences onto his children.

The oldest son had just returned from the eastern front but his injury was not really physical but more deep rooted. He was not able to eat and wandered in the community.  In a war-torn country this was looked at askance by neighbors.  The younger son was at a school/camp run by the Hitler Youth.  Here they learned the essence of adoration of the Fuhrer  as well as how to follow orders – it was an indoctrination camp basically.  There was tension among some of the boys.  But when the time came for them to be called to fight the Allies as all the adult able-bodies were already committed or dead/injured.

The story seems to skip back a bit and forth and is a psychological/sociological view.  Some readers might not prefer this jumping back and forth and even decide to put the book down half-way through it.  The story depicted was probably reflective of the times in Germany near the end of the war, which would have been confusing and unsettled.  The book is written this way, I assume on purpose.

Review: They Came to Kill - 5 star

In the book, They Came to Kill by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone, there is an intriguing story of a band of mountain men and adventurers.  They are the last of a breed who are very self-reliant and tough.  They have been through much together and alone.  Why did they join up?  Well there is a story there.  Jamie MacCallister was asked by an old friend who is an Army officer to go into the Apache stronghold and clean them out so that one of the transcontinental railroads might come through on the southern route.  But the determinant for MacCallister is that the old friend’s son was commanding a troop that was massacred by the Apache but his son’s body was not found.

Jamie has an old friend called Preacher with whom he has ridden with before and he is going to ask him if he will accompany him and round up some more of the old frontiersmen who just like the adventure of it.  All fine except Preacher has already promised a young married couple from Tennessee to see them to California.  There was trouble with the wife’s brothers who consider her to be kidnapped although they are very legally married; they were going to kidnap her and either badly injure or kill the new husband.

As letters are written and sent and the wait is on for the other of the band to roll in, the young newlyweds figure out a way to accompany the band for their own safety from the brothers but also they prove their mettle with guns.  Naturals was the way Preacher describe it.  Finally the whole expedition is joined together n Santa Fe and they are ready to head south, maybe into Mexico.  The brothers make another attempt to get their sister and they end up in jail in Santa Fe.

The Mountain men band along with Fletch and his wife head south looking for the Apache.  The Apache will be found and as many folks know, this band is rather bloodthirsty.  Lots of fighting, kidnapping, deaths, killings, and other exciting western lore play out on the stage of the southwest US and Mexico.  Some of the band will die and many of the Indians will die.  Will Preacher overcome adversity and the young couple get to California?  Will the brothers give up their Appalachian Mountain ethos? The reader of this book will be entertained as they find out these answers and more.

Like other Johnstone books, this one was very enjoyable and a very easy read.  If you like Western novels, you’ll like this one.

I received a copy of the book to review from www.netgalley.com

Review: Pray for Death - 5 stars

In the book Pray for Death by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, the reader is introduced to a young Deputy US Marshal, Will Tanner.  Tanner is about as upstanding a man as you might find anywhere in the west.  Once he sets his sights on a wrong doer in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, he will pursue and pursue.  He makes friends easily and treats his targets with respect as long as they are not truly evil people. 

As a young man, his head has been turned by a lovely young lady in Ft. Smith, Arkansas where the Marshal Service for the Indian Territory is headquartered.  Like many a man, he begins to have second thoughts as his intended and her mother planned this major wedding.  He’d prefer to just go stand-up in front of a preacher and get it done without all the hullabaloo.  

He is very dedicated to the marshalling job and this has created a few moments of anxiety on the part of his future wife as her father was also a lawman and was lost during fulfilling his duties.  She is rightfully worried about Tanner’s safety. He seems to be oblivious to the dangers or have a very high opinion of his prowess, which is great.

During a supposedly easy pickup of some prisoners in the Territory, he and another Deputy meet up with an old friend of Will’s – a Choctaw lawman, Jim Little Eagle.  They have helped each other in the past and Little Eagle may get drawn in again as the easy pick-up develops into something more.  This is where the story gets interesting as he discovers there is a cabal of bad men who want to set up a hidey-place for outlaws coming up from Texas where there is very little law; generally only the US Marshals enforce the law in the Territory and they are days away in Ft. Smith.  Native lawmen cannot legally arrest a white man. 

It is this cabal that leads Will on a merry chase including gunfights, killings, arrests, escapes, rearrests, near hangings, illegally crossing into Texas, and other similar western happenings of the time.  Through it all the integrity of Deputy US Marshal Will Tanner remains unsullied.  There are repented and unrepentant criminals who pop in and out of the story line. Rest assured that U.S. Deputy Marshal Will Tanner will treat each one fairly.

Will’s marriage is to take place on Christmas Day but will Tanner be able to make it back in time from an extended tracking of criminals or will he have to look for a new wife?  While on the trail Will Tanner loses track of the exact date, but his impending scheduled wedding is still on his mind. The race is getting the criminals to justice, protecting the citizens from them, and getting himself back in time to tie the knot. 

Lots of storylines run through the book, making it a delightful read and making it hard to put down as one situation morphs into another. The authors have done a great job of keeping the reader’s interest and the characters feel more than the traditional wooden ones that are sometimes apparent in a western novel.  Definitely I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading about the happenings as Oklahoma was first opened basically as the Indian Territory.

This preview copy was provided by #NetGalley for my review.

Review: Rising Fire - 5 star

Rising Fire  by William and J.A. Johnstone returns the reader to more stories about the Jensen family.  The patriarch, Smoke, as well as other family members have been the focus of other books by the Johnstones.  This particular installment begins with a focus on the Jensen twins, Denise (Denny) and Louis.  The story begins with them in Europe and takes several interesting turns from there.  Louis has a congenital heart issue that leads to him tiring easily and one which could threaten his life.  He is more the scholar in the family while Denny is the typical rough and tumble “tomboy.”   Louis is more the reader and thinker and Denny the active one; although she is also a very bright young woman.

Denny can out ride and out shoot many (most) men, all the while being a beautiful lass with blond curls and a feminine curvature, obvious when she has on a dress but less obvious when dressed as a ranch hand.  Her physical attraction comes to the attention of a Italian Count Malatesta while she and Louis are visiting in Venice. The count tells her that he is of Sicilian nobility and wines and dines her hoping to make a connection.  He is so charming that Denny is tempted by his suave, continental flare. There are many ups and downs in this relationship but eventually the twins must return to their grandparents in England and then Denny back to the western United States. The Count has certainly underestimated the charming Denny.

About as tempestuous as she can be, Denny is not only the apple of her dad’s eye but also the object of desire and longing for many other men in the town, including a deputy US Marshal, Brice. One day while wandering around town and watching the debarkation of train passengers, Denny is caught off guard even though several years have passed since her adventures in Venice when she sees  someone looking familiar looking getting off the train.  Denny, as she is pondering who it is, gets caught up in a confrontation between two train passengers and several ruffians.  The criminals are handled and then Denny realizes just who the object of their attack is—none other than the Count and his factotum,  She responds in a most unladylike way with a tremendous slap delivered with vengeance to the Count, startling everyone.

Many twists and turns take place through the rest of the story placing not only her life in danger but ultimately her Deputy Marshal admirer as well as the Count.  In good old West fashion, the good guys get the upper hand in this suspenseful battle of two men vying for the attention of the lovely Denny.  The Count’s less than upstanding past comes back to haunt the proceedings as well as him and those with whom he is in contact.

The storyline is nicely developed with background being introduced at the most appropriate times to keep the reader involved and in suspense.  It is a novel that is hard to put down once the reader begins because one is always wondering, “what next?” Definitely worthwhile.

Review: Die with the Outlaws - 5 star

One of the best known names in writings in the westerns by William Johnstone is Jensen.  In this case it is Matt who is the star of the book, Die with the Outlaws; he is a drifter who travels to various places where there is a need for someone to act and ends up helping folks live better lives, . The storyline of the book is not exactly the norm,  although there are parts that are found in almost every western novel.  There are certainly good guys and bad ones.  But here we have a person of color being introduced into the western story.  This was not at all unheard of to find a black man in the west but is a bit unusual in books of this genre and time.  This man is named Isaac and to add some intrigue, he was trained as a lawyer but basically prejudice prevents him from practicing.  He will play a pivotal role in setting things right.

The good guys in this story are ranchers in a valley in Sweetwater, Wyoming that is being harassed by two wealthy and influential men.  Their sole purpose seems to be to take over the entire valley and drive out, through any means the rest of the ranchers and farmers in the area.  This includes murder, even though they would not deign to get their hands dirty with that business.  Through a series of calamities that causes several of the valley inhabitants to leave, the one man and his wife are faced with some difficult decisions as their horses are being rustled.  The sheriff is not a bad man but is cowed by the two powerful men to the extent that he has deputized a gang of ruffians called the Regulators to enforce the peace. These are a bunch of ne’er-do-wells led by a disgraced former policeman from Missouri. 

A letter to a sister leads to a good friend who contacts Matt Jensen for help.  Jensen is a really fast gunman but one who uses his skill and speed for good, unlike some gunfighters of the day.  A series of incidents that are interspersed with in the normal day to day life lead some of the people to decide to pack up and leave and some are guilty and executed by the “legally questionable” Regulators.  This type of going on does not sit well with Matt and he inserts himself into the fray.  This does not earn him any good will from the wealthy ranchers or their hired-hands, the Regulators.  A couple of gunfights establish Jensen’s supremacy and this leads to fear on the wealthy ranchers part and causes them to hire a tough gunslinger nicknamed the Undertaker.  Obviously the story revolves around the upcoming gunfight between these two.

The power of the press comes into play as does former friendships.  The story builds to a climax that sees killings, erstwhile bad people converting, marriages, and in generally folks setting up to live happily ever after.  In this regard the book follows the traditional western genre – bad men, good men, conflict, setbacks for the good guys, evil is overcome, and good triumphs.  But even in triumph, there is loss and pain.

The book is a good read and a quick one.  The character development shows complexity and strength and weakness all rolled together in the storyline.  An enjoyable way to spend a couple of lazy afternoons on the sofa reading and enjoying what is developing. 

Review: North of Laramie- 5 star

An unusual partnership of necessity that develops into a friendship, of sorts, is the underlying storyline.  One partner is a physically big man with little formal education who has often gotten into trouble in former jobs that included being a saloon bouncer, a policeman and a Pinkerton detective is really strong and often does not know the power in his fists.  His buddy, a much smaller man,  is a dandy with a card shark mentality who received strong schooling.

 There are many underlying storylines in this novel, North of Laramie by William and J. A. Johnstone that end up in a little town that is north of Laramie. One might expect the smaller man, Hagen, to be the one on the receiving end of the largesse of the bigger one, Trammel—but one would be wrong.  Each of the “partners” are giving and taking in the partnership. But it is an unusual partnership.

Travels from Wichita and then across the plains into Wyoming are fraught with adventures – horseback rides, saving damsels in distress, being attacked by various criminal bands, train trips.  There is lots of times when the partnership could be strained but it is holding until Hagen gets to where his estranged father controls a huge ranch and owns many of the local townsfolk in Blackstone.  Trammel stands up for his smaller friend with his father and earns the grudging respect of King Charles, as Hagen’s father is called.

  

Trammel parlays his former experience as a lawman into being named the deputy of the small town.  This rapidly morphs into the being the Sherriff and the former sheriff runs out to be found murdered shortly after he left. As in any small town in the old west, there are undercurrents that are going on.  The power in the town is not as it at first seems and the partners need to adjust to the new reality. Power plays are a constant but just because Trammel is a big man and not one with lots of formal education, he is very wise to the way of the criminal enterprise.  He takes his job seriously and this creates some interesting alliances and antagonisms.

  

The book is an easy read and one that is so exciting that once a reader begins, it is hard to stop before the ending.  The character development is stronger than a lot of western novels that just take the tack of good guys versus bad guys then confusion and finally good guys win.  The partnership of Trammel and Hagen, Hagen’s cattle baron father, to previously injured criminals wanting revenge, to an opium-dealing female, etc.  These characters make the story better with some diversions form the western formula and yields a lot of richness for the reader.

Review: Buzzard's Bluff - 5 star

The Texas Ranger’s have been recognized as a well-disciplined police-military force for a number of years.  This book, Buzzard’s Bluff, by William Johnstone helps preserve this fabled goodness.  But this book goes a bit further in which additional issues come into play.  The protagonist, Ben Savage, brings all the best of the Rangers into clear focus.  He is a prime example of the traditional “good guys wearing white hats” ideal.

Savage has been a Ranger for a number of years, but an unexpected inheritance causes him to have to make a decision to continue or to change.  Fortunately, his boss is willing to give him the time to explore the new situation that he finds himself thrust into. He goes to the developing town of Buzzard’s Bluff, which is near Austin to check on his inheritance.

While in the developing town, he is exposed to a variety of  characters from a ranch owner who thinks he can run the town to a well-prepared and lovely female saloon manager. Along the way there is the normal cast of bad actors who are all trying to have everything their own way. These characters range from the owner of the Double-D ranch to a less than honorable young Ranger.

Ben’s dilemma is based on his basic good nature and deciding how to best deal with the nefarious characters in the area where he went to check on his inheritance.  Go or stay; be involved or ignore; these questions and more are the crux of the story.

This novel is a traditional western story—good guys and bad guys.  The characters that Johnstone has created have more depth than many of the traditional westerns.  The book is a great read if you like reading western novels set in the time of the old west.  A worthwhile read that is so good that you’ll not want to put it down once you start.

Review: Nicky's Fire -- 5 star

Nicky’s Fire is a book written for younger readers but I found it very poignant as a father.  Nicky’s dad is a firefighter who is working a second job to help his family survive and thrive.  What is not so apparent at first is that these two jobs take him away from being there for Nicky, including being his baseball tutor. This situation comes to head when Nicky’s class gets assigned a project to do a project about their parent’s careers.  Different students have their parents come as a “show-and-tell” prop in addition to the written and oral student report. After some trepidation, Nicky asks his dad if he can go to work with him and observe, first-hand, what he does.  After some back and forth, Nicky does get to go to the firehouse and discover a totally different side of his very staid father when he is with his firefighter brothers.  The other firefighters adopt Nicky into the “brotherhood” and that elevates them and also his dad in Nicky’s mind.  A broader definition of family is developing in the reader’s mind as these folks interact for the common good.

The firehouse totally accepts Nicky and helps him broaden his prospective of his dad’s work life. The interactions of father and son are heart-warming and mirror what many a similar interaction has experienced.  A fire training academy, a dangerous fire the engine company fights, and a real-life fire experience with Nicky rounds out some of the interactions.  Similar interactions between other children and their dads are peripheral to the main story, but serve to show that Nicky’s experiences are not unique.

Ultimately the dad has a different kind of father-son talk and each of them develops a new perspective that the reader feels in a visceral way.  Soon money is not the only thing that is important but also relationships, parental love, family responsibility, and other feel-good interactions are explored. 

The book is a great read for kids and parents but maybe particularly for dads and sons.  Would be great to read together and have this discussion between the two parties.  There might be some angst and parts of story will be hard for both parent (dad) and child (son).  While this is focused mainly on male-bonding, it is a broader story that has applicability for various parental/child groupings.  Definitely a thumbs up for reading.

Review Have Brides Will Travel

The Have Brides Will Travel book by William and JA Johnstone, is another of the traditional western novels.  This one has a different twist as Bo and Scratch escort a group of erstwhile “mail order brides” to an out-of-the-way mining town in New Mexico.  It is way more of an adventure than either of the salty old cowboys expected.  Love in many misplaced adventures, robbery, murder, chivalry, and romance among other things happens to the five young Iowa women on their way to meet their “husbands.”  In typical Johnstone fashion the good guys will prevail after much unrest and upheaval.  Not everyone who seems to be a friend is nor everyone who appears to be an enemy either.  In the end all comes together but with enough left unsaid that one can add the ending that is most preferred!  Definitely a good read and one that moves very fast. #NetGalley

Review of The Space Between Worlds--3 stars

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson was a book that I expected to enjoy as it looked at the multiverse and how parallel universes could exist.

There is little to no real science to support the idea but that is the basis of science fiction—possible or alternate futures. I found the writing confusing and the story hard to follow.  It was far more fantasy than science fiction as there seemed little to believe might be true.  Character development was interesting as was the idea that a person could not exist simultaneously in different realities in a multiverse reality.  It seemed that the author had maintained some connections across the multiverses and explored a possibility if they existed how individuals in one might be different in another.  Cara, the protagonist, was different in different worlds or at least somewhat different.  Could an individual from a different Earth (referred to by numbers) than Earth Zero – the “original" one pull off a switch into another Earth?  Would it be like identical twins switching places?  This is one of the ideas explored.

I’m sure some readers would like or even love this book and storyline, but alas, that was not for me.  I was reading a free review copy but if I had actually purchased this book, I would have been very upset at anything over $0.25 that I might have paid. Just not my cup of tea and I do love and voraciously read science fiction. My rating of 3 is based on the fact that it was not bad enough for me to quit reading and also that I feel some might like it.