BORN TO HANG

JEREMIAH HALSTEAD

BORN TO HANG

By Terrence McCauley

Pinnacle Books, October 2023

Warrants have been issued for the arrest of Jeremiah Halstead and he’s forced into hiding in the harsh Montana wilderness. Alone, desperate and hunted like an animal, Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeremiah Halstead is about to face his day of judgment. But he won’t do it alone. His deputy will side him and they will greet that fateful day with blood and agony.

Terrence McCauley sure piles the odds against Halstead in this book. Short of supplies the outlawed lawman has to fight off bounty hunting trappers before heading into the only town in the region and take his chances against being recognized. Of course, that doesn’t happen and it isn’t long before everyone in Barren Pines knows who he is. Some townsfolk befriend him, but can he trust them? Halsted takes some serious punishment. How can he take on superior odds and survive when he can hardly stand or see straight?

Elsewhere, Aaron Mackey, Halstead’s boss, is attempting to get the warrant rescinded, but that seems to be a difficult political battle. If he’s successful, will it be in time? Joshua Sandborne, Halstead’s deputy, is searching for Halstead in the hope of being able to help him. Emil Riker is also tracking town Halstead, but not to help him, but to kill him in the name of vengeance, and he’s got a pack of killers to back him.

The story switches regularly between the various characters as the author builds the tensions and brings the book towards its inevitable bloody conclusion. There’s plenty of gunplay as the tale moves forward in ever increasing pace. McCauley will soon have you wondering if Halstead is going to survive, especially when you take into account that the publisher Pinnacle seems to end series after only four books these days, and this is the fourth Jeremiah Halstead novel.

For me, Terrence McCauley has written another hard to put down tale. From the gripping opening scenes, he captured my imagination easily, had me eagerly turning the pages to find out what happened next. The excellent ending finished the story in a very satisfactory way and confirmed my belief that Terrence McCauley is right up there with the best western writers being published today. I can only hope that it isn’t too long before we see his name on the front of another western very soon.

American readers can get a copy here
British readers can get a copy here

THE REVENGERS

JEREMIAH HALSTEAD 3

THE REVENGERS

By Terrence McCauley

Pinnacle Books, April 2023

Thanks to Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeremiah Halstead, Ed Zimmerman has failed to take over the mining town of Silver Cloud, Montana. But now the ruthless, hard-hearted outlaw has his eyes on a bigger prize.

No sooner has Montana become a state than Zimmerman launches a diabolical campaign to turn a remote swath of land into an outlaw kingdom. Some of the richest mines in the West are in Zimmerman’s sights, and he’s rallied allies on both sides of the law to stake his claim.

The corpses are piled high in Halstead’s war with the vicious outlaw, but now Zimmerman proves himself as cunning with a pen as he is deadly with a six-gun. When news of his plot reaches the state capital of Helena, U.S. Marshal Aaron Mackey and Deputy Billy Sunday step into the fray.

Halstead is taking no prisoners to prevent Zimmerman from getting filthy rich off land bought with dollars…and soaked in blood…

Jeremiah Halstead first appeared in Terrence McCauley’s Sheriff Aaron Mackey series and now fights for law and order in his own books. Mackey, and his Deputy Billy Sunday, have had small parts to play in the previous two Halstead novels, but in this one they take on much larger roles and are featured as much as Halstead. 

After Zimmerman escaped justice at the end of book two, Halstead has allowed rage to consume him. He’s a changed man, he only lives to fulfil his need for revenge against Zimmerman. This hate driven desire alienates him to the townsfolk of Battle Brook, the town he is trying to protect from Zimmerman. Soon there’s cries for him to get out of town, especially as a new sheriff has been hired, and Mackey wants Halstead out of Battle Brook too as he hopes this will halt Halstead’s path to self-destruction.

There’s a lot more to the plot than I’ve just outlined in the above paragraph. The new sheriff, Riker, has history with Halstead and both want to see each other dead. Riker has been hired to help Zimmerman take control and to get rid of Halstead. Unknown to Zimmerman, others are plotting against him, including Riker. This all adds plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing as to how the story will end.

McCauley has written another gripping tale that takes place over a couple of days. There’s a high body count – something the undertaker is happy about, although he doesn’t have anywhere to store all the corpses. There’s some hard talking to be done too to bring Halstead back to his senses, but this may fall apart again at any moment. Mackey finally gets something on Zimmerman that seems enough to see him face the hangman’s rope, but due to all the double-cross Halstead will soon find himself alone facing heavy odds that leads to a terrific showdown. 

As the book comes to a close it would seem that Halstead has achieved his aim of bringing down Zimmerman, but the author has another hard-hitting surprise waiting for Halstead that left me extremely eager to read the next book, Born to Hang, as soon as it comes out in September. 

For me, Terrence McCauley is one of the best, if not the best, new western authors to have emerged in the last few years.

DISTURBING THE PEACE

JEREMIAH HALSTEAD 2

By Terrence McCauley

Pinnacle Books, August 2022

Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeremiah Halstead keeps the peace in the mining town of Silver Cloud, Montana. But an old enemy has declared war against him.

Ruthless and clever, Ed Zimmerman would have become the leader of one of the west’s deadliest and hell-bent outlaw gangs. Zimmerman has offered a generous bounty to every desperado willing to put a bullet through the U.S. Marshal’s heart.

A death sentence won’t stop Halstead from enforcing the law. The sheriff of Battle Brook needs a hand dealing with some hell-raising badmen in the surrounding hills, threatening to take over the frontier town. Joined by Deputy Sandborne, Halstead rides hard for Battle Brook only to discover manhunters, aware of the price on his head, are in town, guns cocked and ready to collect the reward.

And Zimmerman has joined the outlaws in the hills, waiting to catch Halstead in his sights . . . 

Jeremiah Halstead first appeared in Terrence McCauley’s previous Pinnacle series about Sheriff Aaron Mackey, and now he has his own series. Mackey has a small part to play in this one as it is he who sends Halstead and Sandborne to Battle Brook. Events from the first Halstead book and from the Mackey series are referenced throughout this story but the author uses enough detail in these parts of the tale so that new readers will understand what has gone before.

Zimmerman is an excellent adversary for Halstead, and the outlaw’s plan for empire begins with a series of mine robberies. There’s also a bank heist that leads to a neat twist. As Halstead tries to figure out just what is going on in Battle Brook and its neighbouring town, Hard Scrabble, he has to deal with numerous attempts on his life as those eager to claim Zimmerman’s bounty try to kill the lawman. 

There is never a dull moment as the story builds in pace and tension. There are several plot twists that made me wonder how Halstead could ever defeat Zimmerman and his gang as the outlaw leader seemed to be one step ahead of the lawman at all times. During all the action, Halstead meets a woman, Abigail Newman, who may or may not have a part to play in his future.

Once again, Terrence McCauley has written a gripping tale that should be on all western fans books to read list. The story is filled with fascinating characters, plenty of gunplay, and has a gripping plot. The book has an excellent ending that left me very much looking forward to the next book, The Revengers, which will be released in March 2023. 

BLOOD ON THE TRAIL

JEREMIAH HALSTEAD 1

By Terrence McCauley

Pinnacle, April 2022

Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeremiah Halstead is escorting notorious outlaw John Hudson across the territory for trial pursued by a pack of Hudson’s men, anxious to rescue their partner from custody. Halstead puts the blast on them, but outnumbered and outgunned, he has little choice but to hole up in an old mining town known as Silver Cloud, Montana. It’s a place where he can keep a lock on his prisoner while figuring out how to get past Hudson’s gang alive.

But the folks in Silver Cloud are none to happy playing host to the lawman or his kill-crazy prisoner. Unable to trust the sheriff to back his play, Halstead finds himself standing alone against Hudson’s gang as they slip into town, recruiting gunmen to help free their leader.

Except for Ed Zimmerman. He’s spent his whole criminal life in John Hudson’s shadow. He wants Hudson dead and buried so he can become the leader of the gang. And if he has to, he’ll put everyone in Silver Cloud six feet under – including Deputy U.S. Marshal Halstead . . .

This book is a terrific start to Terrence McCauley’s new western series. The plot moves forwards at a tremendous pace and is full of twists and turns as different characters are introduced and make their own impact on the situation in Silver Cloud. There is plenty of gunplay and tension mounts as the author builds towards the final deadly shoot-out that sees the death toll rise considerably.

If you’ve read Terrence McCauley’s Sheriff Aaron Mackey series, particularly the last two books, you’ll have met Jeremiah Halstead before and Blood on the Trail does reference events in those books. In fact, some of the characters from the Mackey series, including the sheriff, have small parts to play in this story too. There is also a link to the first Mackey book in that Zimmerman rode with the outlaws Mackey had to deal with in that tale. Having said all that, you do not need to read the Mackey books before reading this spin-off series, as McCauley includes enough information for readers to understand what has gone before and the relationships the various characters have with each other.

Terrence McCauley includes lots of gripping story elements that demand you keep reading. There’s Halstead’s face-off with Silver Cloud’s sheriff Boddington and his two deputies that results in simmering hatred from Silver Cloud’s lawman towards Halstead. Can the U.S. Marshal count on them in his time of need? Then there’s the murder of a whore – who killed her and why? And why does she have books about manipulating others and gaining political power under her bed? Then there’s the question of why Mackey orders Halstead to stay in Silver Cloud? All this and more further complicate things for Halstead as he desperately tries to hang onto his prisoner.

Blood on the Trail proved to be an excellent start to a new series from Terrence McCauley and if it isn’t already on your want-to-read list then it should be. Mr. McCauley is definitely a rising star in western fiction.