The Angry Land and Angry Avengers! [Rated 5 stars]

Following Smoke Jensen and his exploits is always fun.  In this particular episode called The Angry Land by the Johnstone syndicate, Smoke convinces his fellow ranchers to band together and ship their cattle rather than driving them to Abilene.  This will be less expensive, faster, and safer. Plus it will earn the ranchers more per head of cattle.

What the ranchers do not count on is a
bunch of train robbers who decide to waylay the train and steal the cattle and then drive them to the Dakota Black Hills where there is a very high demand for beeves...plus the wherewithal to pay for it! As it turns out this is not the first time this has occurred and some of the Cattlemen's Association in Texas are on the case.

The men that Smoke and the other ranchers sent to be their spokesmen/negotiators come under fire as the train rustlers take over the combined  herds. Two of the men are killed and the third is badly wounded.  Smoke is not about to allow this to go unanswered.

So off he goes to Abilene and here begins the adventures of him, railroad superintendent Red Winters, and the Cattlemen's Association detectives versus the outlaws and maybe an inside person supplying the information for the rustlers!  High adventures happen and not everything goes according to plan.

Questions abound: Will Smoke and crew prevail without further loss of life or cattle?  Will they be able to avenge the dead men?  How will they deal with the large band of rustlers and how will they uncover the inside agent?  All of these are good questions and if you are interested you will have to read this very entertaining and fast-paced story.  I definitely recommend it.