The Last Ride of Jed Strange

By Frank Leslie

Signet, January 2012

While breaking horses in Arizona Territory, Colter Farrow is forced to kill a soldier in self-defense. With the man’s comrades hungry for vengeance, he hightails it to Mexico. There he runs into Bethel Strange, who was kidnapped by a villainous rurale captain. After Colter saves her, they are forced to flee even deeper into Mexico.

While on the run, Bethel resumes the search for her father, the outlaw Jed Strange. A year ago, her father took up with Mexican gunrunners in order to send money back to the family, but he never returned. Her search places them in the middle of a savage war between gunrunners, bronco Apaches, and a notorious Mexican bandit. And with the soldiers closing in, Colter’s chances of saving his own hide are getting slimmer by the minute.

The 3rd book in Frank Leslie’s Colter Farrow series starts violently with Farrow gunning down six men in a blink-of-an-eye, and from that moment the action never lets up.

The first part of the story deals with the unfortunate incident that leads to Farrow killing a soldier, this in turn sees him becoming a wanted man by the army, never mind that bounty hunters are still after him – the author explains why in this book but the full events leading to this can be found in the first Colter Farrow novel, The Guns of Sapinero.

One of the major appealing factors of this series for me has been seeing Farrow change, accepting his new role in life as a man on the run, accepting his natural ability with a gun and that he’ll have to use it to kill again and again.

Throughout the story Farrow will find himself mixed up with all kinds of fascinating and well-created characters, such as the singing bandit known as the Balladeer, and young Bethel Strange, whose reaction to seeing her fathers distinctive pistol in the hands of another man is both surprising and memorable.

It’s whilst trying to escape the soldiers that Farrow gets a couple of fleeting glimpses of the young girl that he will eventually team up with in the search for her father. A young girl that will become attracted to Farrow, this crush leading to some humorous exchanges as Farrow tries to turn her down. The hunt for Jed Strange turns up a neat twist that has a bittersweet sting in the tail.

Frank Leslie (really author Peter Brandvold) includes some great scenes of high tension, none less so than when Farrow is buried alive in water.

The Colter Farrow books are fast becoming one of my favourite western series, and I just hope it’s not too long before I get to read what happens next.

The Hellrakers

By Owen G. Irons

Hale, January 2012

Meeting the Van Connely gang was like coming face to face with hell. Skyler Lynch had hired them, along with his old friend Randy Staggs, to help him drive a herd of horses southward to the Pocono country, where he and his daughter, Kate, had a little ranch.

Van Connely didn’t take long to steal the herd and murder Lynch, before setting off on a rampage across the Southwest. He wasn’t the kind of man to reflect on the past but perhaps he should have.

After all, he had left Randy Staggs alive, and Randy had vowed to track him down even if he had to follow him to the ends of the earth….

This book follows both Staggs and the Connely gang, switching between them so the reader can follow the paths of both. Most of the action comes from the Connely gang as the reader witnesses their trail of destruction and mayhem.

Not only does Staggs have a vengeance quest to fulfil, but he also has to break the news of Lynch’s death to his daughter. Staggs’ also has problems with a horse, and it’s this that will make this an appealing book to all horse lovers, as this animal is as much a star of the story as any of the human characters.

Like always, Owen G. Irons (really prolific author Paul Lederer), presents the reader with a fast moving, easy to read story that revolves around a well thought-out plot, that will keep the reader hooked.

Although the final showdown between Stagg’s and Connely is as expected the method of the outlaws’ death comes as a complete surprise, and is one I haven’t read of very often in a BHW, or indeed any other western, making for a neat ending, that once again left me looking forward to the next book by this author.

Morgan Kane: The Star and the Gun

By Louis Masterson

WR Films Entertainment Group, Inc.

eBook, January 2012

It started with the mobile brothel…

In New Orleans, Texas Ranger Morgan Kane carried out orders to go after a crook named Tilder. Kane learned about trouble up at Fort Henderson - Tilder ran a bar and brothel on wheels fleecing soldiers. An officer was killed and a corporal blinded. Tilder had been discharged from Fort Henderson for swindling … he wanted revenge.

Kane would take care of Tilder, but who else had a piece of the brothel? How were the girls recruited? A sadistic dandy and his fat, crazy sidekick were somehow involved – and when one of the girls tried to help Kane she was found hacked to death with a barber’s knife. Kane was never squeamish – but this case turned even his stomach.

Louis Masterson really does come up with the goods here, in both developing Kane’s character and in superb storytelling. The reader will find out more about Kane’s weaknesses – women and alcohol – and how determined he can be when fuelled by revenge.

Masterson also creates two of the most memorable villains in the series, Lonnie Kidd and Claus Winter. Deadly, sadistic, with hinted at perversions that Kane finds repulsive, these two men are nearly Kane’s undoing. It’s after a brutal beating by them that Kane’s lust for vengeance rises to drive his being and in turn reveals just how deadly the lawman can be.

Towards the end of the story Masterson really does excel himself with some top class writing that sees Kane racing against time, the sense of urgency, the feeling that for all Kane’s efforts his frantic ride may be all for nothing, really comes across strongly, leaving the reader as breathless as Kane.

Does Kane manage to save the day and kill the badguys or is he destined to fail and wallow in more heartache? They are questions I’m not going to answer here, you’ll just have to read the book and find out for yourselves and in doing so I’m sure you’ll find yourself enjoying this story as much as I did.

The Morgan Kane books can also be bought from itunes, and other Internet bookstores.

Six Ways of Dying

By Cody Wells

Hale, January 2012

In his wildest dreams, Angelo never imagined he would forge such an unusual partnership with an old man, two tough brothers, their hired gunmen…and a treasure map. Though it had started well, in less time than it takes to cock a Colt the whole deal was going bad.

Determined to get even, Angelo sets out to track down the men who double-crossed him. Only this time, he is saddled with an arrogant cavalry officer, some raw recruits and a beautiful girl – with whom he has fallen helplessly in love.

Upon meeting Ulzana, the Apache renegade, they find themselves outnumbered and exhausted. But Angelo doesn’t give a damn about the odds. If he has to go down, he’ll go down fighting.

This is Cody Wells first Black Horse Western, but not the first tale to star Angelo as he has already appeared in the short-story Angelo and the Strongbox, which explains how he met his sidekick Mr. Jinx, a dog that features prominently in this book too.

When Angelo and co discover just where the treasure is put a big grin on my face as it reminded me of the kind of problems the stars of one of my favourite western TV series, Alias Smith and Jones, often found themselves tackling. It was great seeing how Angelo set about recovering the hidden fortune, which, of course, doesn’t go according to plan and Angelo’s troubles really begin.

Unusually for a Black Horse Western these days, this one has plenty of battles between cavalry and Indians. There are lots of other fights too as the race to get hold of the treasure heats up and Angelo sets out to get justice for the wrongs done to him.

Cody Wells has written an easy to read story that flows effortlessly through its plot of twists and turns, that makes for an entertaining way to pass a couple of hours.

Six Ways of Dying is officially published on January 31st, but is available now from the usual Internet bookstores.

Miles to Little Ridge

By Heath Lowrance

Beat to a Pulp, December 2011

U.S. Marshal Gideon Miles finds himself in the sleepy town of Little Ridge, Montana, on the search for a wanted man. But just as Miles enters town, he's spotted by a hard case who recognizes Miles as the lawman that killed his friend. Now Miles must face the wanted man, who claims his innocence and is raising a daughter on his own, while the hard case and a ne'er-do-well partner are gunning for him.

Edward A. Grainger created Gideon Miles and here we have a short story about that character written by Heath Lowrance.

I’ve never read anything by Heath Lowrance before – Edward A. Grainger (real name David Cranmer) must have faith in him to allow him to write about one of his two heroes, the other being Cash Laramie, who gets a brief mention in this story – and I found his writing style to be very readable, and I liked how Miles finds himself fighting for his life against two men he never expected to be trading lead with. In fact the main mission of Miles’ is really just a second plot line to the story.

Like in Grainger’s own stories this one also manages to squeeze in a little bit of racial hatred, and I felt this was handled well, although the seasoned western reader will have read countless such scenes in many books before, whether about black men, red, or half-breeds.

What I liked best about this tale was Miles’ determination to arrest the man he was after, no matter how many told him this man was innocent. How Miles will not deviate from doing his job and says the courts will decide whether the man is convicted or not. Many other fictional western lawmen would tend to take these matters into their own hands and decide to free the man if they felt so moved to do so.

If you want a short, fast read then this western novella ticks all the boxes. If you want an action packed tale, then once again this provides just that. If you want an entertaining read then that’s exactly what this is. If you want value for money then at $0.99 (£0.77) how can you pass this by?

Pay Dirt

By Lee Walker

Hale, January 2012

Jim Payne, Sheriff of Cedar Springs, thinks nothing of it when he is asked by his Ma to deliver a letter to his estranged brother, Michael. However the trail leads him to Golden Gulch, a dangerous Californian boomtown, high on gold fever and in the tight grip of the ruthless conman, Coleridge Craven, and his henchman, Kid Cassidy.

When Jim hands over the letter, he thinks his job is done but it seems Golden Gulch just doesn’t want to let him go. An old family feud, a miner’s revolt and the murderous intentions of Craven and the Kid are just some of the trials he faces if he ever wants to leave Golden Gulch alive….

At last Lee Walker’s second BHW has appeared. After reading his first, Gun Law, I was looking forward to this one.

The book starts with a horrific prologue, which explains the animosity between brothers Jim and Michael Payne. The story then jumps forward a number of years and the reader joins Jim as he arrives in Golden Gulch. It isn’t long before he finds himself confronting Craven and becomes a target for the conman’s hired guns.

Lee Walker has come up with a great bunch of characters that are a pleasure to read about. The story moves forward quickly and is filled with well-written action scenes that paint vivid images within the mind. The final blazing showdown takes up a good portion of the book and provides an exciting conclusion to the story.

Lee Walker is a pseudonym used by Ed Ferguson, and he writes in an easy to read style that defies you to put the book down before the end. 

Once more, like after finishing Gun Law, I’m left looking forward to the third western from Lee Walker.

Pay Dirt is officially released on January 30th but is available now from the usual Internet bookstores.

Death Devil

THE TRAILSMAN #363

By Jon Sharpe

Signet, January 2012

1861, the Ozark Mountains – where hate ran rampant and life was cheap.

Deep in the Ozark Mountains, there’s a killer disease on the loose, and the only one who can stop it is the beautiful Dr. Belinda Jackson. A mad fever is spreading like wildfire, and with the gun-toting galoots, flimflamming snake oil salesmen, and distrustful denizens around her, the doc is at the end of her rope. Luckily, the Trailsman has just the bedside manner to get the job done….

Jon Sharpe fills this story will some terrific characters, all of which are going to provide one kind of a headache or another for Fargo. There’s the on going feud between Dr. Belinda Jackson and the doctor who was in the area before her, Charlie Dogood. Belinda also has to deal with many locals mistrust of a female doctor and their reluctance to let her tend them. Other problems for The Trailsman include the young kid who likes to rob people for fun, there is also the crazy bowman running around in the woods loosing arrows at anyone at anytime. Never mind the locals who just want to see him dead or run out of town.

Once locals begin to believe the fever is rabies the story takes an even darker tone, as a number of horrific killings take place in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease. Fargo and Belinda receive some brutal treatment, which sees the Trailsman’s anger boiling over and this leads to some exciting, and savage, action sequences that provide for gripping reading.

I know there are those who don’t read this series due to its adult content. For a long time now this has been cut right down and this book has even less than expected, so I’d suggest you don’t pass it by just because you don’t like a lot of sex in your westerns.

The story also has an ending of the type that hasn’t cropped up in a Trailsman book for a long time. Powerful and memorable, which allows the author (in this case David Robbins writing as Jon Sharpe) to show how Fargo deals with an emotional battering. Occasionally having this kind of ending to a book is surprising, and adds strength to the series in my opinion and is something I’d welcome more of as it makes it difficult to predict just how each book will end and therefore keeps me coming back for more.

And is the disease rabies? I guess you’ll just have to read the book to find out the answer to that question….

Seems Amazon have made a mistake with the cover image in the links below, the links will take you to the correct book - the cover they are showing is for a latter book.