Brolin

By B.S. Dunn

The Crowood Press, December 2016

The Gunfighter known as Brolin was thought to have been dead for the past ten years. That was until Red Mike Stall and his outlaws hijacked the westbound train and attempted to murder everyone on board. Stall recognized Brolin from the old days and left him to burn in the abandoned church with the other passengers.

He should have shot Brolin then and there because the gunfighter managed to escape and now is dogging the bloody trail Stall has left in his wake.

With the help of Emmett King, a greenhorn store owner who lost his son to a stray bullet from the outlaws, the pair eventually catch up to Stall in the town of Miller’s Crossing. In a final bloody showdown, can a dead man win the day? Or will a killer continue his murderous rampage across the high country?

And what is the secret Brolin is hiding?

B.S. Dunn has created a great set of characters and his storytelling will make you want to know happens to them, particularly Brolin and King. The story starts with a prologue that explains the history between Brolin and Stall and then we move forward to the train robbery and the horrific fate that awaits the unlucky passengers. The scenes in the burning church make for suspenseful and compelling reading.

The writer then ups the pace as the book becomes a chase tale fuelled by revenge. There is plenty of action which includes an exciting encounter with some Blackfeet. Brolin also tries to keep King away from deadly gunfights but you just know that isn’t going to happen, even knocking the greenhorn out isn’t enough to stop the storekeeper riding into a situation he isn’t experienced enough to handle efficiently.

The end  shootout is dramatic and brutal, which in turn leads to a solution to past events that made me grin, as did the future for Brolin.

B.S. Dunn is a pseudonym used by Brent Towns, and he is already building up a fast growing posse of fans. If you’ve not read anything by him, then this book is a perfect introduction to his work and I’m sure, like me, you’ll then be eager to read more from him.