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.
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