Saturday 30 April 2011

Rogue Lawman #6


GALLOWS EXPRESS
By Peter Brandvold
Berkley, May 2011

Brazos got off lucky this time. His pa, Blue Tierney, saved him from receiving due justice at the hands of a hangman in Trinity Ridge. Which means the Tierney’s and their gang are continuing to roam free, spreading their terror…

What this town needs is a temporary lawman who exhibits little diplomacy when it comes to doling out justice – and Gideon Hawk is that man. Not everyone is sure of him though, especially a hard-nosed yet fetching schoolteacher and some shady businessmen…

Like most hardened outlaws, the Tierney’s don’t take kindly to getting pushed out of their territory, and they put up a damned good fight. But Hawk won’t back down until he has them strung up from the gallows they once escaped…

Once more Peter Brandvold comes up with the goods. This is a tough, violent, and very fast moving story that throws up a couple of surprises for fans of this series. The first being Hawk’s promise to a dead lawman to see the Tierney’s hang, rather than dish out his usual form of justice – killing them on sight. The other surprise comes at the end where we see Hawk considering settling down and getting married! That’s sure left me wanting to see another Rogue Lawman book come out as soon as possible so I can find out if this happens.

The book is filled with hard-hitting action, that builds in savagery towards an exciting and brutal final gunfight that Hawk is luck to walk away from. There’s plenty of cracking dialogue too, often laced with touches of humour. The story also sees the return of Saradee, the girl who kills as easily and proficiently as Hawk.

For fans of the Rogue Lawman series, and Peter Brandvold’s work – this is a book not to be missed.

Gallows Express should hit the shelves any day now if it hasn’t already. Definitely a book all westerns fans should enjoy. 

3 comments:

Tom Roberts said...

That is without question the best cover of the series. Very strong design, overlap of elements, nice contrast and consistent sense of lighting.

I have not yet seen the book in my local store; but, having plowed through all the previous Gideon Hawk adventures like a snow-clearing locomotive in the Rockies, I am looking forward to going along on the ride for this latest adventure as well.

Congrats to Pete on the new novel.

Tom Roberts
Black Dog Books

Glyn Robertson said...

Brandvold's books are excellent.

larry gebert said...

This review prompted me to get the 1st book in the series which i enjoyed very much.And that also led me to the Lou Prophet series which i am also enjoying.