Wyoming Winterkill

THE TRAILSMAN #378

By Jon Sharpe

Signet, April 2013

At a remote trading post, Fargo almost falls victim to a lethal trap that has already claimed too many. The only survivor is little Jessie Cavanaugh – and she herself was promised a fate worse than death at the hands of savage Blackjack Tar. The Trailsman knows what he has to do: Track down the killers responsible…and give them a hot-lead farewell.

With its cliff-hanger chapter endings, cracking dialogue, superbly drawn characters of both sexes and story pace that’ll take your breath away, this book proves to be impossible to put down before the end is reached.

The story is filled with twists and turns, in both the trail it takes and to the identity of a couple of the characters, and it’s at the hands of one of these that Fargo nearly meets his death.

Fight scenes are very visual and fairly graphic, one of the descriptions of what had happened to one of the characters making me cringe.

As well as trying to keep himself alive, Fargo also has to deal with Jessie Cavanaugh who sees him as a replacement parent.

The Trailsman books have always been action packed and this one is no different, so how does Jon Sharpe – in this case David Robbins writing behind the pseudonym –  top the frequent exchanges of gunfire? Why, finish it with one hell of a gun battle that sees Fargo taking on far superior odds in a brutal showdown that is full of tension and excitement – the face-off between Fargo and Tar that starts this final fight is some of the most gripping reading I’ve read for a long time.

Another great entry in this long running series that perfectly illustrates why I keep coming back for more.