Genesis Gunplay

By John Davage

Hale, March 2013

Cody McCade rides into Genesis looking to uncover the truth about the sudden disappearance of the town’s previous sheriff and the mystery of a young man’s homestead, razed to the ground just before his wedding.

But when up against local thugs and the powerful and deadly Shaw family he realizes it will take more than asking around to get any answers. And the townsfolk have another mystery on their hands: just who is Cody McCade and what brings him to Genesis?

Having read, and enjoyed, John Davage’s other Black Horse Westerns I’d been looking forward to this one for some time. After the first couple of short chapters I found myself hooked by the mystery elements, both those mentioned in the blurb above and more. Even as answers to some of those questions came to light, so more mysteries were triggered making this a very difficult book to put down – in fact I read it in one sitting as I was that eager to find out if it ended as I expected. Some story threads did and others didn’t.

Characters are well crafted, each having their own personality that makes you want to side with them, or see them get their comeuppance. As well as tough male roles John Davage also includes a number of strong females too, one of whom does something that sees McCade set to take the fall for it.

As you’ll have already gathered I found this to be an excellent read and once more I am left looking forward to his next book.

Genesis Gunplay has an official release date of March 28th but is available now from the usual Internet bookstores.

Showdown in Jeopardy

By John Davage

Hale, December 2011

In the depths of a winter’s night, a train is sent off its tracks near Cutler’s Pass and raided for the $80,000 gold shipment it’s carrying. Just after midnight, five years later in the town of Jeopardy, ex-Bostonian Clyde Pascoe is puzzling over the anonymous arrival of a newspaper cutting. Minutes later, he is shot and killed by an unknown assassin.

Sheriff Cyrus Yapp and local newspaper editor, Will Bullard, are soon making the connection between Pascoe’s death and the five-year-old train raid and wondering if newcomer to Jeopardy, Luke Frey, is mixed up in the murders that suddenly occur in this once peaceful town. Luke, however, is more interested in discovering the identity of the train’s mysterious fifth raider. But why?

John Davage’s third Black Horse Western is as enjoyable as his first two. Starting with the train robbery, the story quickly moves forward five years and it’s then that the reader becomes hooked by all the puzzles that make this tale so intriguing. Who is Luke Frey? Are the train robbers living in Jeopardy, and if so who are they? Some characters seem to be living under alias, so who are they really? How can a whore know so much? What secrets is the bank manager hiding? Who’s behind the killings? Who sent the newspaper cutting? As each question is answered so more seem to present themselves.

John Davage writes in very readable prose. His chapters are short, and he uses them to follow various characters as they all attempt to work out why the killings are happening and who is responsible for what. If there is a main character then it’s Luke Frey, but is he hero or villain?

There’s plenty of action as guilty parties try to have those they see as a threat assassinated or framed. By the end all the story threads are neatly tied up and I was left with the feeling of having been well entertained, and once more I find myself looking forward to John Davage’s next book.

Showdown in Jeopardy is officially published on December 30th but is available now from the usual Internet sources.

Killer Chase

By John Davage

A Black Horse Western from Hale, March 2011

It was supposed to be a simple bank robbery until a nervous member of Wolf Cotton’s gang shot the bank manager, thereby rousing half the people of Suta Springs.

Wolf and Ab Cooper were killed during the getaway while Curtis Jordan managed to disappear into the back streets. But Drew Hudson, the trigger-happy gang’s newest member, got away clean – and with the loot!

When Drew doesn’t bring the money he owes the others to their pre-arranged meeting-point, an enraged Curtis vows to find and kill him. Meanwhile, Deputy Danny Ridge is more interested in discovering the identity of the person who gave Wolf Cotton the key to the bank’s back door.

Who will get their comeuppance first? One thing’s for sure: the chase is on!

Having read John Davage’s first BHW, Unsigned Avenger, and really enjoying it I was looking forward to this, his second book. Would it be as good as that first one?

John Davage writes in an easy to read style, his chapters being short – only a couple of pages long, as each one follows the trail of a different character. The book starts during the bank raid, giving the story an action packed opening that leads to a number of questions for Suta Springs lawmen. These puzzles being perfect hooks to ensure I kept reading. Also the relationships between various characters provide some great possibilities as to how these friendships might turn out, again keeping me reading to see if I’d guessed right.

The book moves forwards at tremendous pace as the surviving members of the gang escape with deputy Ridge in pursuit. This chase is further complicated by a fourth person joining the hunt. Three of these people are intent on killing the others. Along the way other characters become aware of who the outlaws are and attempt to get the money for themselves anyway they can, such as blackmail. Eventually the four main players come together for an exciting final tense shootout.

So, to answer my question as to whether I’d enjoy this book as much as the first one, I have to say yes, definitely. And once more I find myself eagerly looking forward to John Davage’s next.

Killer Chase is officially released at the end of this month, but is available now from some Internet bookstores.

Unsigned Avenger

by John Davage

A Black Horse Western from Hale, April 2010

When Will Cord is shot dead for the brutal killing of Ali Toombs, Joe Hayes and his two sons know the real killer is still at large…

Could it be Cole Sanderson, only recently arrived in Consolation? Saloon girl, Maggie Brown, knows he is not who he says he is. Or could it be Lew Rosen, long-time editor of the Gazette, who himself is suspicious of the Hayes brothers?

As fear and suspicion spread faster than a prairie fire, is anyone safe from accusation and violence?

This story is set nearly twenty years after the killing of Ali Toombs, and the author expertly leads the reader through a gripping storyline full of mystery. The reader is let in on who killed Ali Toombs early in the tale, but who is leaving notes relating to that long ago killing? John Davage cunningly points the finger at many of his characters, and keeps the reader guessing until he’s ready to reveal all.

John Davage moves his story forward at a swift pace, as people begin to lose their nerve and begin killing one another. You’ll have met many of the characters before: there’s the land hungry rancher, the banker who forecloses on loans, the lawman in the rancher’s pocket (due to marrying into the family), the newspaperman, the whore, and the stranger who hides behind an alias. But it’s how the author has his characters react to each other and the motives behind their actions that give this book a freshness that pulls the reader into the plot, which is all tied up neatly by the end.

As far as I can tell this is the first BHW by John Davage, and, on the strength of this one, I can only hope there will be many more.

Unsigned Avenger is officially released on April 30th but is available now from the usual Internet sources.