THE HELLION

 

ABILENE

Book 11 of 16

THE HELLION

By Justin Ladd

Cover art by Gordon Crabb

Pocket Books, December 1989

Two miles west of Abilene, Nord Madden’s gang guns down Donald Rutledge in cold blood. Two thousand miles away in New York City, an aspiring actress named Beth Rutledge finds out that her father is dead – and starts back to Abilene.

In Abilene Marshal Luke Travis is going after the killers, but the county sheriff is getting in his way. Someone is cutting down members of the gang, and Nord Madden is preparing for war. Travis and his deputy are looking for a slender gunman with a lightning fast .38. Beth Rutledge avows her notorious brother is behind the gun – and he won’t stop until he’s won his revenge!

This book’s plot isn’t as straightforward as the back cover blurb makes it sound. The author has a number of surprises in store, some that long-time followers of the series will not want to miss out on. Affairs of the heart will play their part too for more than one Abilene townsperson. Travis will also butt heads with the county sheriff which could prove very dangerous to his position in Abilene. Someone else on the town council wants to bring the future that is already happening back east to Abilene and that means there’s no place for an outdated lawman and marshal’s office, so political confrontations are set in motion. All this, and more, are secondary plotlines that may play a part in bringing the main storyline to a close, but it’s the race to find the Madden gang and the gunman who is killing them off that takes up the majority of the book.

Pacing is excellent and even though the reader will have some idea as to who is gunning down members of the Madden gang the author has a surprise or two waiting to add a new twist to the tale. The characterization of the new visitors to Abilene is first-rate and you’ll soon be caring about what happens to them. Development of long-time characters continues and these storylines left me looking forward to the next book in the series to see how their lives play out. The many action scenes are top-notch too.

Justin Ladd is a pseudonym for James Reasoner who is one of the best western authors writing today and I’ve yet to read anything by him that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed. This book, in fact the whole series, is highly recommended by me.

NEW WORK ON A. LESLIE SCOTT

 

NEW WORK ON A. LESLIE SCOTT

by Anders N. Nilsson and James Reasoner

Towards a Bibliography of Alexander Leslie Scott, Focusing on Jim Hatfield, Walt Slade, and the Reprint of Pulp Stories as Books distributed as free PDF for reading online at, or downloading from:

https://archive.org/details/lesliescott_bibliography_nilssonreasoner_2024/mode/1up

Alexander Leslie Scott (1893-1974) was a very productive American western writer best known for his stories about the Texas Ranger known as Jim Hatfield or Walt Slade. The 206 novel-length Jim Hatfield stories were published in the Texas Rangers pulp magazine 1936-1958 under the house name Jackson Cole. 69 of Scott's Walt Slade novellas were published in the Thrilling Western pulp magazine 1940-1951.

Many of the Hatfield stories were reprinted as Popular Library paperbacks, whereas a large number of Walt Slade stories were published as Pyramid paperbacks. Many of Scott's pulp stories were also reprinted as hardcover remakes. Other authors studied here are Tom Curry, Peter Germano, Roe Richmond, Claude Rister, Lin Searles, and the two pseudonyms Buck Billings and Tex Holt.

THE GENERAL

ABILENE

Book 10 of 16

THE GENERAL

By Justin Ladd

Cover art by Gordon Crabb

Pocket Books, October 1989

When former Confederate prison camp commander General Brainard Forsythe arrives in town, marshal Luke Travis and deputy Cody Fisher have their hands full trying to keep the peace. Plenty of folks in Abilene are ready to welcome the “Butcher of Copperhead Mountain” with a noose and a tall gallows. But vicious hardcase McKimson and his gang are after the gold that the general is rumoured to have taken – and no one’s getting in their way. It’s open war on Abilene’s rough streets, and a marshal and his deputy are riding into the thick of it!

The author easily hooked me from the very beginning when it became obvious that the general, his daughter, Marelda, and their friend Varden, were desperate to keep their identities hidden by using false names. Why? It seems that it’s the general’s past that they want to keep concealed, but there’s the extra mystery of whether he really did what he’s rumoured to have done, and if there really is any gold.

Arriving in Abilene their attempts to keep their true identities concealed seems to be working, but one or two people, including marshal Travis, have suspicions about the newcomers. It will take an ex-union army officer, Nicholas Allard, who lost an arm in the Civil War and now runs a stable in Abilene, to unmask them. Hatred drives Allard’s actions and he acts without thinking of the consequences for others, and ruins his chance for romance with Marelda. It’s the growing affection between these two that plays a major part in the storyline and the heartache that the revelation of who the general really is grabbed my attention and made me want to keep turning the pages to see how this shattering news would play out for these likeable characters. 

It’s the discovery of the general’s real name that sees McKimson and his men hatch a plan to steal the gold that Forsythe supposedly has secreted away. Allard has already had a couple of run ins with McKimson when he saved Marelda from him. McKimson would like nothing better than to kill Allard for this and it looks like he’s about to get his chance as he makes his play for the gold. 

The final showdown, played out on the streets of Abilene, is both frantic, desperate and brutal. This bloody gunfight involves all the book’s main characters. Throughout most of the story, Travis and Fisher have remained in the background, but they’ll be needed to bring a close to this latest chapter of Abilene’s history. 

Justin Ladd is a pseudonym used by one of the best western authors still writing today, that author being James Reasoner. As I expected, the book is fast moving, full of terrific characters that will have you wanting to know what happens to them, and has many exciting action scenes. The question of whether the gold exists or is just a fable adds a neat touch of mystery to the tale. 

ABILENE series

1. The Peacemaker

2. The Sharpshooter

3. The Pursuers

4. The Night Riders

5. The Half-Breed

6. The Hangman

7. The Prizefighter

8. The Whiskey Runners

9. The Tracker

10. The General

11. The Hellion

12. The Cattle Baron

13. The Pistoleer

14. The Lawman

15. The Barlow Brides

16. The Deputy

THE TRACKER

ABILENE

Book 9 of 16

THE TRACKER

By Justin Ladd

Cover art by Gordon Crabb

Pocket Books, August 1989

Hard-fighting, hard drinking Nestor Gilworth once hunted buffalo on the open plain – and now has an open invitation to Marshal Luke Travis’s Abilene jail. While Gilworth is raising hell, a ruthless Sioux warrior party attacks a hideaway ranch of a bank-robbing clan, leaving behind a scene of smoke and carnage. Now the two bands of renegades are locked in a war of hatred and revenge, about to spill innocent blood. When Marshal Travis leads a band of armed citizens to the scene, a cleaned-up, reformed Nestor Gilworth gets there first. On the snow-covered prairie the old buffalo hunter is out to prove himself as a man – or die in a cross fire of rage.

This excellent entry into the Abilene series features a number of characters that have appeared in previous books, including the first, so a new reader may prefer to read those earlier stories first to discover the backgrounds of the various people that this story revolves around. Having said that, The Tracker is a self-contained novel and can be enjoyed on its own as the author, James Reasoner writing as Justin Ladd, includes enough background to explain the relationships the characters have formed with each other before the events of this book.

Cover artist Gordon Crabb also does a terrific job at illustrating some of the people who will end up battling to survive from each other and a deadly blizzard. It’s this Blue Norther that brings the story threads together as the different groups of characters become disorientated and lost in the swirling snow storm. 

The book switches regularly between the main storylines, and when it does the author often leaves some of the characters facing a deadly situation, which urges you to keep reading to find out what happens next. There is plenty of bloody action that includes the slaughter of the people at the bank-robbers ranch and the kidnapping of one of the women, Lucinda Broderick. Her husband, Owen, and his brothers are away robbing a bank when this happens and, on their return, they set out to rescue her and take their revenge on the Sioux. The leader of the war party, Claw, is a memorable character and you’ll soon be hoping he gets gunned down sooner rather than later, but will he?

There are lighter moments within the story too, mainly coming from the two young boys, Wesley and Michael as they compete to be top-dog within Abilene’s orphanage. The newly orphaned Wesley soon heads off for California, and it’s him that Michael and Nestor set out to track down independently of each other. It isn’t long before they all become lost in the deadly winter storm and that’s what brings them into contact with the other groups of characters in a welter of blood and bullets that will add to the already high death toll.

James Reasoner brings everything to a satisfying conclusion and I was left looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The General, as soon as I can.

LONGARM AND THE GOLDEN DEATH

LONGARM AND THE GOLDEN DEATH

Number 178 of 436 plus 29 Giant Editions

By Tabor Evans

Cover art by Joe Lombardero

Jove Books, October 1993

Longarm has swept his share of hardcases off the face of the earth. But the quest for four missing archaeologists puts him in the way of cold-blooded murder in a pit at the very bottom of the world…

In a bottomless chamber somewhere below New Mexico territory lies a fortune in Spanish gold. Bushwhacked shortly after he jumps off the train, Longarm follows a trail of corpses to a glittering cache – only to find it’s a lot easier to fall into a treasure trap than to make his way out…

This was the first book in the Longarm series to be written by James Reasoner under the pseudonym of Tabor Evans and it was based on an outline given to James by series creator Lou Cameron. James turned this plot into a gripping read full of terrific characters, tense scenes, plenty of action, and some excellent twists and turns – especially as to where the gold is hidden. It was also great to see that James had included Longarm’s regular sayings, such as eating an apple one bite at a time, and his habit of using a matchstick to determine if someone had entered a room without permission. Sadly, these traits slowly disappeared as the series progressed and were only mentioned now and again.

Longarm is an adult western series so it contains explicit sex but these parts can be skipped if this kind of action isn’t to your taste. I suggest doing this as this Longarm story is a superb entry in the series that will keep you on the edge of your seat as Longarm struggles to piece together just what is going on and who is behind the disappearance of the archaeologists.

As this was James Reasoner’s first Longarm book it was also interesting to note that he’d either done his research on the series, or was a reader of the series before being commissioned to write for it, as he includes mention of previous Longarm assignments. For instance, there’s mention of when Longarm found himself involved with other archaeologists. He also portrays Longarm’s relationship with his boss, Billy Vail perfectly.

It's been a while since I read a Longarm book and this one really makes me want to read more, although they will have to be those written by other authors as I’ve now read all those penned by James Reasoner.

DEVIL'S DEN

THE TRAILSMAN

Number 269 of 398 plus seven giant editions

By Jon Sharpe

Signet, March 2004

When Dave Donaldson heads into Indian Territory and never comes back, Skye Fargo agrees to track him down and—if at all possible—bring him back to safety. Finding the young man near the lawless land of Devil’s Den, Fargo learns that Dave isn’t just in trouble—he’s part of it, tangled up with a gang of killer smugglers. It’s up to the Trailsman to keep Donaldson alive—and let the others fall where they may…

After being ambushed for reasons unknown Fargo meets up with a friend and agrees to find the man’s son. Dave Donaldson had headed into Indian Territory to start a freight line only to be never seen again.

Fargo’s hunt soon has him riding into the lawless Indian Territory in time to save an Indian girl from outlaws who are set to destroy her wagonload of honey. And here lies the mystery element of the story, why are outlaws out to kill the girl and her father and bring an end to their honey selling business?

Fargo’s questions seem to point to the man he’s looking for being a member of outlaw gang. Throw in a gambler, a man hungry woman or two and the Cherokee Lighthorse and you have an explosive mix set to detonate when they all come together at Devil’s Den.

Jon Sharpe is a pseudonym and the author behind the penname for this book is James Reasoner and he provides us with a first class Trailsman story that grips from the opening scenes. Filled with great characters the tale unfolds at an ever-increasing pace that includes plenty of action.

For Trailsman fans this book is a must read. If you’ve never read a book from this series, Devil's Den would be an excellent entry point.

Just a note of warning, if you do decide to search for this book, do so by its number, 269, as there are three books in the series that share the title of Devil’s Den. The other two are numbers 77 and 390, both of these being written by different authors.

THE WHISKEY RUNNERS

ABILENE

Number 8 of 16

By Justin Ladd

Cover art by Gordon Crabb

Pocket Books, June 1989

When beautiful Bethany Hale comes to Abilene she turns heads – and stirs up trouble when she starts preaching her anti-alcohol message. Before Deputy Cody Fisher can join the crusade, three of Abilene’s citizens die of poisoned liquor, and Marshal Luke Travis knows he’s got a murderer on his hands. But when he traces the spiked whiskey to a family of moonshiners outside of town the hunt has only begun. Someone is trying to drive the moonshiners out of business – and the greed-fueled struggle is about to explode. A band of gunmen is thundering towards Abilene – and Luke Travis is fighting fire with fire!

Bethany Hale is a great character, that may or may not be who she says. Her one-woman mission to banish liquor from Abilene makes for some exciting, and sometimes humorous reading. Her beauty sees jealous rivalry torment Deputy Cody Fisher, who can’t believe Bethany seems to favour his brother Reverend Judah Fisher over him. There is similar competition as two of the moonshiners fight for the attention of a waitress, which could turn violent at any moment. 

Bethany recruits help to her cause from some of the local woman, who are very keen to help someone sent to Abilene by the Christian Ladies Temperance group. Their first act is to put on a morality play to drive home the evils of alcohol which doesn’t work out as intended. Bethany also tries to shut down saloons singlehandedly which results in a well-written barroom brawl featuring a catfight of epic proportions. 

Mixed in with all this are the three murders. Could Bethany be involved? Someone else? Even as suspicions seem to point to the truth, Travis has a major problem – a complete lack of evidence. Double-cross leads to more deaths and a frantic final showdown in the streets of Abilene. 

Justin Ladd is a pseudonym used by James Reasoner and, for me and many other western readers, his name guarantees a well-crafted tale that will hold your attention from the opening scenes. Characters and storyline and the twists and turns to the plot kept me guessing as to just how the book would finish and left me wanting to read the next entry in the series as soon as I can.

TALES FROM DEADWOOD

TALES FROM DEADWOOD

Book 1 of 4

By Mike Jameson

Berkley, November 2005

It’s 1876, Dan Ryan, formerly of Custer’s 7th Cavalry, is leading a party of prospectors to the Black Hills – Sioux territory – where gold was discovered two years before. Although off-limits to whites, the region is overrun by so many fortune-seekers that the U.S. Army is powerless to stop them. Besides, what’s a paper treaty worth next to gold-rich land?

In nearby Deadwood, men raise hell all night after prospecting all day. An outlaw town with no right to exist on Indian land, Deadwood is a lawless cesspool where those who strike it rich can lose everything – including their lives. Possibly the meanest man in the Dakotas, Al Swearengen sells liquor that can poison a man when gold is involved. And now, even Calamity Jane and the legendary Wild Bill Hickok – losing his eyesight but still finding trouble – are coming to stake their claim.

Dan Ryan is going to have to fend off roaming gunmen, angry Sioux, ruthless gamblers, whores and thieving prospectors in order to protect his claim, because in the Badlands of Deadwood, trouble always comes at you from behind… 

The author introduces a whole lot of characters, both real and fictional, that will form new relationships and destroy others and this was one of the elements of the story that kept me glued to the pages. There are many incidents that befall these people such as drinking some of Swearengen’s potent whiskey and suffering from doing so. There’s falling in love and losing one’s virginity to deal with too. Calamity Jane’s pursuit of Hickok and his attempts to avoid her add some humour to the tale. There’s plenty of gunplay and fistfights, twisting schemes, suspense and a mysterious relationship that’ll hook you into the story along with seeing how the characters deal with the news of the massacre of Custer and the 7th Cavalry.

If you like the television series Deadwood, starring Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane you’ll want to read this book. Even though the books aren’t tied into the TV series in any way, they both share a number of characters, as many of the people were real. The author also includes others than those mentioned above, such as Charley Utter and Buffalo Bill Cody. Characters such as Swearengen only make brief appearances, thus distancing the book from the TV series and in my opinion doing this was an excellent decision by the author. Like the television show, the book does have its fair share of bad language, but nowhere near as much as the TV series, and it also contains some fairly explicit sex scenes.

The pacing of the book is superb and the author, James Reasoner writing as Mike Jameson, certainly knows how to create characters you’ll want to read more about. As you get deeper into the story it soon becomes clear that the author has introduced a number of plotlines that will continue further into the series and I, for one, am eager to find out what happens with these so I will be picking up book two very soon because if it’s anywhere near as good as this book I know I’ll be in for an exciting read.

THE PRIZEFIGHTER

ABILENE

Number 7 of 16

By Justin Ladd

Cover art by Gordon Crabb

Pocket Books, April 1989

Everyone’s spoiling for Seamus O’Quinn, even though the prizefighter claims he’s only in Abilene to train for his next match. But when a big-city triggerman arrives to give O’Quinn the business, Marshal Luke Travis knows this fight is for keeps. A Chicago mobster has put a price on O’Quinn’s head that’s as good as lead in his back – and there’s a hardcase in Abilene itching to do the job.

O’Quinn’s lawman bodyguard thinks he can handle it alone – until the prizefighter rides into a trap. Marshal Travis and Deputy Cody Fisher are up against the lawman and the gunmen as they try to uncover the truth – and nail two killers before they strike again!

The author opens this book with a couple of brutal killings that introduces the readers to the main characters of the story. Shorty after O’Quinn and his police guard, Jack McTeague who is posing as the prizefighters trainer, arrive in Abilene. For those who’ve read the previous books in this series, a number of people from those earlier tales now find their lives intertwined with that of O’Quinn and McTeague. 

McTeague’s frustrations with O’Quinn, as the prizefighter seems incapable of lying low, are portrayed extremely well by the author. One of O’Quinn’s old boxing acquaintances is now a school teacher in Abilene and it isn’t long before they set up a sparring display for the school children, which comes to an unfortunate, yet humorous, end before it’s really begun.

As the story progresses the Chicago mobster discovers where O’Quinn is hiding and sends his hitman to dispose of the prizefighter. The plot is further complicated by O’Quinn falling in love and it’s the girl of O’Quinn’s affections who the killer uses to bait a trap. This all leads to an exciting final showdown involving some of Abilene’s townsfolk too, not least Marshal Travis and Deputy Cody Fisher.

Like the earlier books, this one proved to be an enthralling read. I was hooked from those vicious opening scenes and found it difficult to put down until I discovered how O’Quinn was going to escape with his life and see if his testimony to what he’d witnessed would put the Chicago mobster away. 

I would imagine that most fans of western fiction would find this book, in fact the whole series, an enjoyable and entertaining read. I know that I’m eagerly looking forward to reading the next book in the series, something I’m planning on doing very soon.

Justin Ladd is a pseudonym used by James Reasoner. 

STARK'S JUSTICE

By James Reasoner

Pocket Books, January 1994

For years Big Earl Stark rode shotgun on the Concord stagecoach, sentencing any man fool enough to test him to an early grave. But now, for the love of spritely Laura Delaney, he’s secretly studying his law books at night, determined to settle down and put up his own shingle. Fate, however, deals him a cruel and tragic hand. Laura’s stagecoach into Buffalo Flat – a coach Earl would have been guarding if he hadn’t left that life behind – is set upon by outlaws, and Laura is savagely killed.

No doubt destined for greatness in the courtroom, Earl is presently out only for revenge, and he makes some shocking and dangerous discoveries – not only about the identity of Laura’s killers, but about his own nature as well. For when you act as judge, jury and executioner, the pursuit of frontier justice can lead straight to hell….

The first of three books published by Pocket Books featuring Judge Earl Stark covers the early days of Big Earl’s career as he sets up his law office. The story explains his switch from stagecoach guard to lawyer and with the death of Laura the story becomes a revenge tale. Stark has to battle with his emotions, those he feels for the loss of Laura and then those that see him struggling with his need to kill the stagecoach robbers or see justice served by the letter of the law.

The story starts as a typical western tale of revenge, with a little mystery thrown in as Stark has no idea who Laura’s killers are or where their hideout is. But the book is by James Reasoner and as anyone who has read his work knows, his tales don’t remain straightforward for long. The storyline soon becomes full of twists and surprising revelations about some of the characters, giving Stark new problems to face, often over the barrel of his LeMat.  

If you have the copy of the book shown above, I’d urge you not to read the character list at the front of the book as it gives away too much about some of them and will spoil some of the surprises the author has in store for you. I’ve always wondered why publishers do this and have long stopped reading this kind of listing due to the spoilers they often contain.

There is plenty of action before Stark satisfies his need for revenge and his new career is set to go off in another direction and it’s one I’m eager to follow in the next books. In fact, there are more than the two put out by Pocket Books as James Reasoner has written a few more stories about Judge Earl Stark. 

One last note, is that the tough looking hombre staring at you from the book’s cover, is in fact, Mr. Reasoner himself.

RENEGADE TRAIL

CODY’S LAW

Number 6 of 12

By Matthew S. Hart

Cover art by Steve Assel

Bantam, August 1992

Many a time Cody has eaten the alkali dust of West Texas while riding on the trail of a hardcase killer…but never in pursuit of a sworn comrade. Barry Whittingham used to be a Ranger. Now he’s a lawless gun. Spreading hot lead with a heavy hand, the onetime Ranger heads a gang of desperadoes preying on the army supply train running through the burgeoning territory. 

Cody’s the manhunter with the guts for the job, but his former friend-turned-outlaw might recognize him – so Cody has to team up with a straight-shooting young firebrand who will handle the undercover work. But when the inexperienced Ranger becomes involved in a holdup and Whittingham gang abducts a lovely young innocent, Cody must step in…to prevent a wide-open bloodbath and a war on the open range.

So far, Cody’s Law has proved to be a very entertaining series, and this book more than matches those that have gone before it in terms of quality and enjoyment. The storyline is gripping and has plenty of plot twists. The book is filled with excellent dialogue and frantic action scenes. 

The inexperienced Ranger, Seth Williams, soon finds himself in all kinds of trouble and you do have to wonder if he’ll survive. There are also two young women who have major roles to play and their involvement adds to some of the mystery elements of the tale and will have a big impact on how things end. Whittingham proves to be a terrific adversary who is hoping to leaving his outlaw life behind him, but unknown to him, some of his men are plotting against him. 

Matthew S. Hart is a pseudonym, and like all the books before, this one was written by James Reasoner, and as is expected from this author Renegade Trail proved to be a terrific read that was difficult to put down as I just had to find out what happened next. 

COVER GALLERY: McMASTERS

McMASTERS

by Lee Morgan

Armed with a custom-built .70 caliber rifle, he is the law. To his friends, he is many things – a fighter, a lover, a legend. To his enemies, he is only one thing – the most dangerous man they have ever known…

Lee Morgan is a pseudonym behind which a variety of well-known western authors wrote this adult series. The first book being written by Giles Tippette, the second by James Reasoner, the third by Robert Vaughan, the fourth and sixth by David Jacobs. The fifth book by either Robert Vaughan or Charlie McDade. The first book appeared in June 1995 and the last in April 1996.

Once upon a time, Boyd McMasters had everything a man could want: a pretty young wife, a profitable working ranch, and a sheriff’s badge in West Texas. But that man died when a band of ruthless outlaws slaughtered his wife. The new McMasters is an angry man, and no amount of whiskey or women can change that fact. He stumbles into Oklahoma City, a filthy, ragged shadow of his old self. In desperation, Boyd’s older brother enlists him in the Cattleman’s Protective Association – giving him authority over local lawmen and, if necessary, a license to kill. And as Captain Boyd McMasters sets out to deal the West his own brand of justice, a legend is born…

When the Cattleman Protective Association’s Captain Boyd McMasters finds out that his next job is a case of cattle rustling in the little town of Silver Creek, Texas, he figures he’s in for a vacation. He couldn’t have been more wrong. The town’s biggest ranch, the JF Connected, is missing four head, wouldn’t be a big deal if they weren’t four prize bulls, worth about twenty thousand dollars. That’s a mighty big chunk of change – enough to kill for, it seems, because someone keeps drawing a bead on McMasters every time he goes into town. But when McMasters figures out who’s behind it all, he’s gonna send them on a vacation…a permanent one.

The Cattleman’s Protective Association’s Captain Boyd McMasters is through taking prisoners. He already put Curly and Frank Dobbs behind bars in New Mexico for murder and rape. But they broke out of jail and killed a deputy. Then they robbed an Arizona bank of over fifty thousand dollars and kidnapped a young lady and her five-year-old daughter. Luckily, the bank is one of the Association’s clients, and that gives McMasters the authority to hunt them down. And when “Bullet Boyd” catches up with the Dobbs boys, he’s gonna put them somewhere they’ll never escape from – their graves…

Smoke Tree, Arizona, is a dusty little town where people live in fear. A cutthroat gang of cattle rustlers called the Rock House Boys runs roughshod over the local ranchers. They steal at will, and anyone who fights back ends up full of lead. The U.S. marshal and the town sheriff are either too yellow or too busy fighting each other to do anything about it. That’s why ranchers have the Cattleman’s Protective Association to help them. And that’s why the Association hires men like Captain Boyd McMasters to solve its problems. McMasters has decided that the Rock House Boys are through, and that cattle rustling is finished in Smoke Tree. He’s made his decision – now he’s gonna enforce it. And anyone who disagrees can take it up with his rifle, Big .70…

The Nueces Strip, down near the Rio Grande, is home to a bunch of cutthroats who put fear into the Rangers, the marshals, and even their own mamas. It’s also home to a hardworking rancher named Ben Allison who losing thousands of beeves to moonlight rustlers. Sent in by the Cattleman’s Protective Association, Captain Boyd McMasters gets a tip from two beautiful señoritas. Word is it ain’t the usual Strip debris that’s robbing Allison…it’s a powerful honcho across the border. This midnight cowboy has big pesos and mean hombres in his employ, but McMasters has the mighty .70 working for him…

Amid the beauty of Montana’s Blue Pine Hills is a horrifying display of human nature’s ugly side. A twisted bunch called the Hell Killers has turned the locals yellower than a mountain man’s teeth, and for good reason. Not entertained by rustling cattle, the gang kills and mutilates them before moving on to the ranchers, their families, and anyone else they come across. The Cattleman’s Protective Association is fighting back – they’ve put cash bounties on the Hell Killers’ heads, and have sent McMasters to collect. And he and his Big .70 are gonna see to it that they visit Hell real soon…

Cover art by Morgan Kane, who signed his name as M. Kane. This series artwork borrows heavily from the style fronting romance books at the same time these were published. The man not wearing a shirt was a requirement. Whether these covers shout western is for you to decide. Interesting to note that the books carry a banner stating McMasters comes from the creators of Longarm and that Morgan Kane painted the first covers for that series too.

COVER GALLERY: FARADAY

FARADAY

By William Grant

A series of books following undercover detectives working for the Faraday Security Service as they attempt to keep the railroads safe. Six were published before Lynx Books went out of business. Two more announced books never saw the light of day. The series ran from July 1988 to May 1989.

William Grant is a pseudonym shared by five authors. James Reasoner wrote the first one, Paul Block the second, Robert Vaughan wrote books three, five and six and Bill Crider wrote the fourth. The two none-published books were number seven, Avalanche Run, by Crider and number eight, The Owlhoot Express, written by Chet Cunningham.

Matthew Faraday is as much a mystery as those he solves. But, as head of the Faraday Security Service, he’d already earned a reputation: tough, smart, fiercely loyal to his friends, dangerous to his enemies, and as much at home on the back of a horse as in a Kansas City boardroom.

And it is from such a place that his latest case comes. The Kansas Pacific Railroad is in trouble. Indian raids, sabotage, and murder have halted the laying of track that would tie the west – and the list of suspects rangers from Kansas City to the Nebraska railhead.

The mystery only deepens when Faraday dispatches his best undercover agent Daniel Britten to Nebraska – into a hornet’s nest. Now Faraday’s shuffling the clues in Kansas City – caught in a conflict between an old friend and an old sweetheart – getting closer to the secret that could cost his life, while Dan dodges bullets, arrows, and the attentions of two beautiful women – either of whom may hold the secret that will stop the railroad, and halt the destiny of The Iron Horse.

Indian raids. Armed bandits. Violent storms. These were nothing…at least not compared to a railroad man’s worst nightmare: Two trains. One track. A head-on collision. The ungodly sound of ripping metal. The terrified screams of the dying. And on the Colorado plains, it finally happened. A terrible accident. 

When two more trains meet the same grim fate, “accident” is not a satisfactory answer – and Matthew Faraday, the tough, smart honcho of Faraday Security Service, is called in to uncover the saboteurs. With the help of Nora Sutherland and Stuart Kennedy, two of his top operatives, and Jim Hart, a clever young newsman, he’s closing in on the murderous truth.

But time is running out – at the speed of a locomotive – as the Faraday agents take to the rails aboard a train headed for a date with disaster – while a cold, vicious mastermind plots their Collision Course.

The train-top murder of one of his female operatives has thrust Matthew Faraday, the wily chief of Faraday Security Service, into the dark and twisting tunnel of another railroad mystery, and a coded message in the dead woman’s pocket is the only clue.

But it’s enough to send Faraday to the War Department looking for answers, and two of his best undercover agents – Leah Saunders and Mike Rindell – into the heart of the Rebel South to save a Yankee gold shipment from the notorious Tyreen’s Raiders.

Now it’s a race for a fortune, by train, on foot, on horseback, and in a silk balloon…a race against time, treachery, and murder, where every turn of the track hides unseen friends, unsuspecting enemies, and death in several guises.

Until personal tragedy hit him, and he spent a year hitting the bottle, Jim Stone was once of Faraday Security’s top operatives – quick with his fists, or his gun.

Now Matt Faraday’s giving him a chance to make his way back. There’s trouble on the Denver & Rio Bravo line – the railroad carrying the Allen Players on a theatre tour to far Colorado. One of the troupe has been found dead on a dark stage. Murdered. And Stone’s been sent – undercover – to replace him and unravel the mystery. But the bodies are piling up faster than the clues, and everyone looks like a perfect suspect.

The stage directions in this case call for a train ambush, a deadly masquerade, screaming bullets, flashing swords, and a poisonous climax before the final curtain falls!

Many people believed that Ironsprings should be called Iron Fist, because that’s how self-serving Marshal Josh Wade and his deputized brothers ran things – letting gambling, boozing, brawling, and prostitution run rampant as long as Wade collected a “business tax” from the profiteers.

But Ironsprings was a railroad town as well, and there were signs that the rash of robberies plaguing the Union Pacific originated somewhere in Josh Wade’s domain.

That’s when Jared Macalester, the trackwalker, came to town. But Macalester was more than he appeared to be; he was Matt Faraday’s good friend and crackerjack agent gone undercover to uncover the truth, stop the crimes, and save the town in the process – but not until first facing ambush, train wrecks, a small civil war, pistolero Tim Quick, whose temper and gun matched his name, and the hottest blood-feud since the Earps and the Clantons reddened the dust of the O.K. Corral!

As our wounded nation heals itself in the aftermath of the Civil War, it is once more plunged into sorrow. In one treasonous moment President Abraham Lincoln is dead, and – though his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, is quickly caught – the treachery is far from over.

A plot is being hatched to kidnap Lincoln’s body from the funeral train that will carry the fallen leader through the countryside of mourners, from Washington to its final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.

Matthew Faraday has gotten wind of the plot – although its perpetrators are still a mystery. With the blessings of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and the aid of his newest and boldest agent, Cole Yeager, Faraday is sworn to protect the great man’s body from desecration – while ambush, runaway locomotives, and death-dealing renegades wait up ahead of the Train of Glory.

Longarm and the Bank Robber's Daughter

By Tabor Evans

number 301 of 436

Jove, December 2003

U.S. Deputy Marshal Custis Long opens his door to a visitor—just in time to see him die in a hail of gunfire. The killers get away…and the victim leaves Longarm with the words “stolen gold” and “Sweetwater Canyon”…

The dead man once shared a cell with Clete Harrigan, a notorious bank robber Longarm put behind bars years ago. The army payroll that Harrigan’s gang stole was never recovered. Now Longarm thinks it just might be hidden in Sweetwater Canyon in New Mexico.

Before he can depart, Harrigan’s daughter Emily arrives, wanting to make amends for her father’s crimes by helping retrieve the money. With outlaws in pursuit, Longarm can use the help. But is she as lovely as she seems—or as lowdown as her daddy?

This time, the author behind the pseudonym of Tabor Evans is James Reasoner and he provides us with a cracking tale. The action comes thick and fast as Longarm searches for the long missing army payroll.

From the word go someone is out to stop Longarm getting to Sweetwater Canyon but he battles through. Once there Longarm finds himself in a range war and the canyon is part of the land being fought for.

There are plenty of suspects in the well-drawn characters that Longarm meets during his hunt for the payroll. Any one of them could be behind the attempts on his life and I didn’t guess who that was as this person’s identity was kept well-hidden until the author was ready to reveal who it was. Once you think the investigation is closed James Reasoner springs a sting in the tale that I didn’t see coming that rounds the book off well.

This is an excellent entry in the long running series and is certainly worth checking out.

The Hangman

ABILENE #6 of 16

By Justin Ladd

Pocket Books, February 1989

Cover art by Gordon Crabb

Ruth Carson is set to swing from a scaffold – unless Marshal Luke Travis proves that she didn’t kill Cheyenne’s mayor. Leaving Deputy Cody Fisher in Abilene, Travis high-tails it out to the Wyoming Territory to rescue his sister-in-law. On the way he saves the life of a fellow traveller: none other than P.K. Nelson, a hangman enroute to Cheyenne do the job.

Cheyenne’s sheriff wants Travis out of town. The territory’s leading citizen is gunning for blood. Everyone has something to hide – everyone but Travis and Nelson, two adversaries who hold Ruth’s fate in their hands. Now they must discover the truth – before frontier justice prevails!

The town of Abilene takes a backseat as most of this story takes place in Cheyenne or Laramie and their surrounding areas. This means the majority of people who have taken centre stage in the previous books don’t have a part to play in this fast-moving tale that takes place over a few days. The date is set for Ruth’s hanging even before Travis races to save her and time to prove her innocence starts to run out fast.

Even though Travis and Ruth don’t get along the lawman can’t bare to see her hang, especially as he believes she’s innocent. Hangman P.K. Nelson is a superb character, a man who always carries out his duty, but this time is troubled by the fact that he’ll have to hang a woman – guilty of not. 

As many western readers will probably already know, Justin Ladd is a pseudonym, and for all but the first book of the series, which was written by Paul Block, the rest are by James Reasoner, an author who knows how to pace a story, build tension, create memorable characters and write lively action scenes. His stories usually contain a twist or two making if difficult to predict the outcome of his books. This excellent entry in the Abilene series has all that, ensuring that readers will find this book difficult to put down until the last page is reached, and like me eager to pick up the next book in the series as soon as possible.

Six-Gun Law

WIND RIVER #7

By James Reasoner and L.J. Washburn

Five Star Publishing, June 2019

Ransom Valley: The Wyoming Territory town of Wind River has gotten so peaceful that some people think it's downright civilized. But they don't know that a gang of outlaws is planning a raid that will clean out the bank. Anyone who gets in their way will be cut down in a hail of bullets. A beautiful young woman finds herself taken prisoner by the outlaws, and it's up to Marshal Cole Tyler and Texas cowboy Lon Rogers to rescue Brenda Durand . . . if they don't wind up on the receiving end of some outlaw lead first!

Outlaw Blood: Outlaw Blade Kendrick's wife runs away from him, taking their two young sons with her. Knowing that he will come after her, she leaves the boys with different families to raise. Kendrick does catch up to her and she dies accidentally during their confrontation. Kendrick is sent to prison for another crime. When he gets out ten years later, he starts tracking down the boys. The older son is with a family that's moved recently to Wind River to start a new church. When Kendrick arrives with his younger son, whom he has found and recruited into his gang, the older brother tries to turn bad in order to save his adopted family, but he can't do it. Instead he ruins his outlaw father's plans, which leads to a showdown between Marshal Cole Tyler and the dangerous gang.

Way back in June 1994 the first Wind River book was published and five more entries in this series swiftly followed, the last appearing in November 1995. Then, in November 2012 the authors published a new book in the series, Ransom Valley. Now, that story, revised, has been republished in a double book containing a brand-new tale, Outlaw Blood.

For anyone who followed the original series then these two new stories are a must read, as they are for any fans of James Reasoner and Livia Washburn’s work. You don’t need to have read the previous six books to enjoy these two new tales as the authors include enough backstory to explain Marshal Tyler’s background and that of other characters that appeared in those earlier books. 

Both these new tales regularly switch between their various characters as Tyler finds himself dealing with deadly situations once more that will have you wondering how he can possibly achieve his tasks of upholding the law. He also has to deal with town dignitaries that want to scale down the number of lawmen Wind River has as they believe civilization has arrived…boy, are they in for a shock. The first story also sees Cole having to reign in a love-sick cowboy whose rashness could bring about the Marshal’s death.

The second story concentrates more on Kendrick and his sons and is told more from their viewpoint than that of Tyler’s. This tale is quite dark in its themes and it includes some heart-breaking decisions that the older son finds himself forced to make. 

Both tales move forward at a tremendous pace. Descriptions are visual, dialogue believable, tense situations aplenty, superb characterization, hard-hitting decisions, and beautifully choreographed violence, combine to make these stories exciting, gripping reading that will defy the reader to put the book down before the end.

The Half-Breed

ABILENE #5

By Justin Ladd

Pocket Books, December 1988

White Elk, a famous Indian Scout, is searching for his father on the bullet-strewn streets of Abilene. A half-breed, he runs into trouble when a band of Kiowa braves tracks him down, vowing vengeance on the man they call traitor.

The U.S. Cavalry arrives to keep the peace, but it’s up to Marshal Luke Travis and Deputy Cody Fisher to safeguard their hair-trigger town. One cavalry sergeant vows to settle his own score with White Elk – any dirty way he can. Forced to fight for his life, the half-breed becomes a lightning rod for slaughter. As Indians attack the Kansas boomtown, it’s a war to the bloody end!

Although many of the people who have appeared in the previous Abilene books have parts to play in this one too, they become secondary characters to White Elk and those directly involved in his quest to make peace with his father and those who are out to kill the half-breed.

Justin Ladd builds the suspense as to just when the Kiowa will hit town and also includes a secret that could explode at any time – something White Elks father is hiding from his son. And what of the seemingly growing attraction between the half-breed and his father’s new wife? That is something else that can only end in disaster surely? Sergeant Drake and Rita Nevins further complicate matters, the latter’s jealously perhaps about to lead to more deadly trouble for White Elk. So, as you’ll realize, there is plenty to keep the readers interest and to make you want to discover how it will all turn out.

The violence is hard-hitting and brutal at times, leading to a sad death for one of the characters. The final showdown with the Kiowa is a desperate struggle for White-Elk but as to why this is I can’t reveal here without spoiling that part of the story, so I guess you’ll have to read the book yourself to find out.

If you enjoy series westerns, particularly those that revolve around a town and the people who make up its population then I can’t recommend this book, and the series, enough. Of course the fact that the man behind the pseudonym of Justin Ladd is James Reasoner should also tell you that you’ll be in for an excellent read if you can find a copy of this book.

Outlaw Ranger

By James Reasoner

Rough Edges Press, September 2014

G.W. Braddock was raised to be a Texas Ranger and never wanted anything else. But when he's stripped of his badge through no fault of his own and a corrupt system turns the vicious killer Tull Coleman loose on the people of the Lone Star State, Braddock has to decide if he's going to follow the law—or carry out the job he was born to do, even if it means becoming an outlaw himself!

If you like your westerns jam-packed with action then you need look no further than this book. James Reasoner is a seasoned pro who writes thoroughly entertaining westerns, many published under a variety of pseudonyms.

Outlaw Ranger is the first in a new series. In this Braddock finds himself dismissed from his position as a Texas Ranger due to political pressure. These politics also see his prisoners released as under the new legislations they were arrested illegally. To say both these events frustrate Braddock immensely is a grand understatement, and he hits the trail to bring his freed prisoners to justice once more.

In Braddock’s mind he is still a Ranger. Ever since he can remember he’s wanted to be one and he can’t imagine any purpose to his life unless he is a Texas Ranger. Of course this causes many problems as he is now acting illegally. Some of Braddock’s backstory is told in flashbacks that explain his desire to be a Ranger and tell of his relationship with his father who was also a Ranger.

Teaming up with a young Mexican girl who may have a lead to the whereabouts of the men he hunts Braddock crosses the border and that’s when his troubles really begin.

James Reasoner writes a very fast paced story that has a terrific ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ moment that sees a badly battered Braddock taking on massive odds singlehandedly.

On finishing this book I found myself eager to find out what troubles Braddock will find himself in next. I won’t have to wait long to discover the answer as two further books in the series have already been published and I’ll be adding them to my collection immediately. 

Available as paperback and ebook.

The Lawman

WEST OF THE BIG RIVER #1

By James Reasoner

Western Fictioneers, April 2013

William M. "Bill" Tilghman had one of the most illustrious careers of any Old West lawman, serving as sheriff, town marshal, and deputy United States marshal in some of the toughest places west of the Mississippi. But he faced perhaps his greatest and most dangerous challenge when he rode alone into the wild Oklahoma Territory settlement of Burnt Creek on the trail of a gang of rustlers and outlaws with some unexpected allies . . .

If you want a superbly written tale filled with plenty of twists and turns then you need look no further than this short novel by one of the top western writers working today.

Each of the books in the West of the Big River series uses a real person as the main character(s) and James Reasoner’s portrayal of Tilghman comes across as very believable, capturing his many admirable traits perfectly, as he also does with the lawman’s harder side.

The story is paced perfectly and filled with exciting action, such as the scene involving a fire which will have you wondering how Tilghman can possibly escape with his life.

This story is a fictional tale, but as James Reasoner comments, it is loosely based on true incidents. In the expert words of this author truth and fiction blend smoothly in an entertaining story that should be on the reading list of all western fans.

The West of the Big River series is published monthly, both as an ebook and paper book, and each is written by a different author. To date, the following titles are available:

1. The Lawman (Bill Tilghman) by James Reasoner

2. The Avenging Angel (Orrin Porter Rockwell) by Michael Newton

3. The Artist (Charles M. Russell) by Jackson Lowry

4. The Ranger (J.S. Turnbo) by James J. Griffin

Redemption: Trackdown

By James Reasoner

Berkley, March 2013

Marshal Bill Harvey puts his life at risk every day to protect the people of Redemption, Kansas. But there’s only one resident whose well-being comes before all else, and if you touch her, you’re as good as dead in his books…

Bill Harvey thought he had his hands full with the hot-headed Jesse Overstreet, a Texan like himself, who’d stumbled into town. But Overstreet is the least of his problems when Caleb Tatum and his gang sweep through town, cleaning folks out of every last penny. As a bonus, they make off with a beautiful hostage: Eden Harvey, Bill’s wife…

While Bill and his posse ride hard through Kansas to save Eden and the old buzzard Mordecai is left alone to police the town, a broken marriage turns violent and a suspicious gypsy spooks the townspeople. Mordecai desperately needs Bill to return. And he might just get his wish when the posse finds unexpected help from that fiery Texan, Overstreet. Bill will surely get back his beloved, at any cost…

At last the third book in James Reasoner’s excellent Redemption series is out and, like the previous two, it proves to be a gripping, first class, read.

Switching regularly between the various groups of characters, often leaving them in dangerous situations, James Reasoner urges you to keep reading to find out just what happens next, as it seems both Harvey and Mordecai are out of their depths, particularly the latter as a troubled marriage turns brutal and family members demand violent justice.

This fast-paced book provides excitement, believable characters and tense action scenes. It most definitely falls into the category of books you won’t be able to put down and closes with a neat little mystery about the identity of one of the main characters.

As with the first two books I highly recommend this to all fans of the western and hope that it isn’t too long before a fourth book appears.