Strong Convictions

EMMETT STRONG #1

By GP Hutchinson

The Hutchinson Group LLC, February 2015

In 1876 the seemingly impossible happened--Emmett Strong, a prodigy of a pistolero, accidentally shot his own young wife in a showdown gone awry.

Now, five years later, death visits Emmett's family again, and want to or not, he's going to have to overcome his reluctance to draw his six-gun if he's to catch and bring to justice the crazed gunman who murdered his brother. The pursuit of his brother's killer takes him all the way to Nevada's Comstock country where the assassin has taken refuge with rich and powerful kin.

Among the many unexpected situations Emmett encounters in Nevada is forbidden love when he falls for Li Xu, the fascinating daughter of Chinese immigrants. But before the relationship has time to bloom, Li Xu disappears--kidnapped along with five other young women.

Can Emmett afford to leave off the chase of his brother's murderer to search for and rescue the women? Can he afford not to? With success hanging on quick thinking and quick shooting, can he take one last shot at both love and retribution?

This is the first book I’ve read by GP Hutchinson so did it grab my interest enough to make me eager to read more of his work?

The opening tragic scene of Strong shooting and killing his wife is extremely well written (as is the rest of the book) and will have you wanting to read more to see how Strong copes with the emotional trauma this triggers within him.

Hutchinson fills his story with great characters, both good and bad, male and female, of which you can never be sure if any will live or die. The pacing of the story is excellent as the plot moves through a series of twists and turns putting more and more obstacles in Strong’s path that need to be overcome if he wants to get justice for his brothers’ murder.

Including a Chinese girl for the love interest adds more complications and you’ll want to see if love can win out over the prejudices of the times, providing Strong can save her from her kidnappers.

If it is action you want, then you’ll find plenty of that too as Strong and his companions battle a vicious adversary.

The book concludes satisfactory but does leave a couple of story threads hanging to ensure you and I will be reading the next book in the series. In fact two more are announced for release in the near future, Strong Suspicions and Strong Ambitions, although no publication dates are mentioned.

Available as both paperback and ebook