Bone Treasure

By Paul Bedford

The Crowood Press, November 2017

In a sheltered basin, high up in Colorado’s remote Rocky Mountains, two field collectors discover an awesome array of dinosaur bones. Knowing that two competing and irreconcilably hostile palaeontologists will pay big money for knowledge of such a find, the men realise that they have struck bone treasure. Unfortunately for all concerned, a supposedly extinct race of Anasazi Indians regard these relics as sacred and are prepared to slaughter anyone who tries to remove them.

Only one of the men makes it back to Denver, his hair turned prematurely white by his horrifying experiences, but what he brings with him touches off an unstoppable chain of events.

Joe eagle, a frontiersman desperately in need of money, agrees to lead a large party into the Rockies to plunder the fossil beds, but word of the find has got around and their ruthless competitors are never far away. And, somewhere up ahead, the terrifying Anasazi await them all…

From the opening scenes of almost palpable tension Paul Bedford had me hooked. His story is filled with superb characters, from the out-of-their-depth scientists to tough hired guns, the hard-as-nails Joe Eagle and the savage Anasazi I was soon wondering how many would be left alive at the end. The author also includes elements of mystery, such as why Joe Eagle needs money and who is supplying information to the rival bone hunters?

Once the searchers begin to home in on their prize the book becomes one long struggle to stay alive and the author paints some horrific scenes, not least what happens to one man caught by the Anasazi. As well as this ancient race of Indians wanting to protect what they see as their property they also set out to kill all those who venture onto the land as they need to keep their presence a secret as well as the location of the bones. You’d have thought the white men would have the advantage with their guns against the Anasazi’s stone tipped weapons but the ferocious Indians prove to be more than a match for the bone seekers.

As Joe Eagle’s party is whittled down you have to wonder how the survivors will get out with any bones assuming they get to them, as there is the second group of fossil hunters waiting to ambush them on their return journey.

So are the bones worth the cost in human life? Does anyone survive? Not for me to reveal the answers to those questions here but I will suggest you grab a copy of this book and find out for yourselves and at the same time you’ll discover why I keep reading Paul Bedford’s books and am looking forward to his next. 

Also available as an ebook

Taggart's Crossing

By Paul Bedford

Crowood Press, February 2017

John Taggart and Jacob Stuckey are Civil War veterans who operate a ferry on the mighty Arkansas River. When two drifters pick on Jacob, Taggart ruthlessly disarms them and sends them on their way vowing revenge. But there is more trouble to come. Russ Decker and his gang steal a fortune in gold ‘Double Eagles’ from a bank in Wichita. Their escape route into the Indian Territories takes them by way of the ferry crossing. With a posse of Pinkerton Agents on their trail, he decides to stop the pursuit by putting John and Jacob out of business…permanently.

Unknown to Decker and his men, a Deputy US Marshal also has his sights on them, but the lawman first has to deliver a particularly unpleasant prisoner to Fort Smith. In addition to all of this, fate decrees that a keelboat full of stolen silver ore will arrive at Taggart’s Crossing just at the right moment to create maximum havoc.

This is Paul Bedford’s eleventh Black Horse Western and what a superb read it is, further strengthening my belief that he is one of the best writers producing books for the BHW line today, perhaps ever.

The story is told at break-neck speed, switching between the many characters regularly as they all converge on the ferry crossing for a showdown between multi-sides none of whom have much of an idea as to the identity of anyone else or why they are shooting at each other.

One thing that quickly becomes apparent is that there is no guarantee as to who will be left alive at the end, if anyone. 

Packed with how are they going to get out of that situations, vivid descriptions of both scenes and action – the latter of which is quite brutal at times and should satisfy the most bloodthirsty of readers – this book should be on every western fans to read list.

After finishing this book I’m already eagerly looking forward to Paul Bedford’s next book, A Hell of a Place to Die which is due out in May.

Terror in Tombstone

By Paul Bedford

Crowood Press, May 2016

Former lawman Rance Toller and his lover Angie Sutter foil a stagecoach robbery just outside the frontier settlement of Tombstone, Arizona, and in the process capture the notorious gunfighter Johnny Ringo.

As a result, Rance is persuaded to accept the vacant position of town marshal, formerly held by one of the famous Earp brothers. Unfortunately, he soon falls foul of the Big Silver mining operators led by E.B. Gage, who want the law on their own terms.

With the dubious help of his new friend, Doc Holliday, Rance has to fight for his life against Gage’s ruthless enforcers, as well as take on a band of murderous cattle rustlers and the vengeful Ringo, who has escaped a jail cell with mysterious ease. It is not long before brutal bloody violence explodes on the streets of Tombstone.

Paul Bedford combines both real and fictional characters in this, the third, book of his to feature Rance Toller and Angie Sutter, the others being The Devil’s Work and The Outlaw Trail. The inclusion of people who really lived is not something new in Paul Bedford’s work as most, if not all, of his seven Black Horse Westerns have also had roles for them too. What I like about this one, is that Rance has no idea who Ringo, the Earps, or Doc Holliday are and is certainly not in awe of their reputations.

Ringo’s attempt at getting revenge for being captured and jailed by Rance sees an escalation in violence as Toller’s life becomes a mission to bring Ringo down. The town of Tombstone will erupt as dynamite and bullets fly almost non-stop making this an action-packed story.

Terror in Tombstone is a fast-paced read that thoroughly entertains and leaves me looking forward to Paul Bedford’s next book, The Deadly Shadow, due out in August.

The Iron Horse

By Paul Bedford

Hale, January 2014

Josiah Wakefield and Dan Sturgis are young civil war veterans, employed in the Territory of Nebraska by the Union Pacific Railroad to hunt down the hired gunmen who are wreaking their supply trains. As robbery is clearly not the motive, someone must be trying to slow up the railroad’s westward progress.

After a vicious firefight on the trackless plains, their continued pursuit takes them to the dissolute city of Omaha where, in the company of their new acquaintance, Bill Hickok, they survive an ambush by paid assassins.

Their trouble is only just beginning, and they are to face deadly city marshal, Deke Pritchett, and the perils of being on board an Iron Horse, before the momentous finale. But just whose side is Bill Hickok really on?

There’s plenty of intrigue to keep readers turning the pages, such as who is behind the attacks on the supply trains and why? The mystery surrounding the appearance of Hickok and the doubt about where is loyalties lie serve as excellent hooks that truly make this a difficult to put down read.

Paul Bedford provides a terrific tale in this, his third Black Horse Western. It’s extremely fast moving and packed full of bloody action which can strike down any of his well-crafted characters at any time, without warning. The violent scenes are fairly graphic in their descriptions.

The story is longer than many Black Horse Westerns and that seems to be a trait of Paul Bedford, one that I welcome. At no time does his storytelling seem long-winded and padded to fit a required number of pages or words.

As I said in my reviews of Paul Bedford’s pervious two books he has become one of my favourite Black Horse Western writers and this story strengthens that statement with ease. Let’s hope it’s not too long before his fourth book appears.

The Iron Horse Amazon USA            
The Iron Horse (Black Horse Western) Amazon UK

The Devil's Work

By Paul Bedford

Hale, May 2013

It is December 1880 and snow covers the town of Devil’s Lake in northern Dakota Territory, where there have recently been two connected killings on the outlying homesteads. Angie Sutter, the attractive young widow of one of the murdered men arrives in town, seeking help from local marshal Rance Toller.

But having jailed a particularly menacing individual who appears out of place in such a quiet town Rance is reluctant to head out into the frozen wasteland, especially as there is only an ageing deputy to stand guard. On returning to Devil’s Lake, Rance and Angie find the deputy dead and the prisoner gone….

Having really enjoyed Paul Bedford’s debut Black Horse Western, Blood on the Land, I’d been looking forward to this one and I must say it more than lives up to the excellence of the previous novel.

From the opening pages this story is almost non-stop action as Rance and Angie find themselves taking on a whole band of regulators set on taking over Devil’s Lake and the surrounding area. There’s plenty of flying lead and blood as the story races to its explosive final showdown that takes place on Christmas Eve and fills more or less the last forty pages of the book.

Paul Bedford tells his story mostly from Rance Toller’s point of view, although he does occasionally switch to Angie or the lead regulator Bodeen. Rance’s favourite weapon is a shotgun and Bodeen’s a Sharps, the destruction to human flesh from these is described quite graphically, which perfectly fits in with the tough storyline.

On the strength of this, and his earlier book, Paul Bedford has firmly established himself a position in with my favourite BHW writers and I thoroughly recommend his work to those who enjoy action-packed westerns.

The Devil's Work has an official release date of May 31st but is available now from all the usual Internet bookstores.

Blood on the Land

By Paul Bedford

Hale, August 2012

In 1844, young British Army officer, Thomas Collins, is sent to the fledgling Republic of Texas. His mission: to meet the legendary President Sam Houston to negotiate terms for the British Empire’s involvement in his country.

What Thomas finds is a world of subterfuge and danger. The republic is scourged by an implacable and deadly enemy, the Comanche Nation, for whom rape, pillage and bloody warfare is a way of life. His desperate fight for survival brings him into contact with Captain John Coffee Hays, and his effective Texas Rangers, and ends in a lethal climax aboard a steamboat on the unpredictable Brazos River.

This first Black Horse Western from Paul Bedford is unusual in both the time period the story is set in and the fact that the story is told in the first person. The book is also much longer than the majority of BHW due to more words per line and more lines per page. Chapters also begin a few lines after the previous one ends rather than starting on a new page.

Paul Bedford's prose is very readable and his story is action-packed, containing many fights with the Comanche. Thomas Collins is a hero out of depth as he struggles to understand this new country and its people. He soon begins to have doubts about his mission and questions why he seems to be the target for assassination and who is behind these attempts. Can he even trust the man who saved his life, Bannock, a man who claims to be a Texas Ranger, one whom others have never heard of?

The fights often last a number of pages. They are brutal and often graphic in description. Great to see mention of the amounts of powder smoke emerging from the guns that obscure vision, making it difficult for the triggerman to see if they’ve downed a target. 

The story is well plotted and moves forward swiftly, its many questions serving to hold the readers attention. Finding a lone female survivor of a ruthless attack on her family’s cabin adds further complications in the form of kidnap and emotional turmoil as Thomas wonders if he’s falling in love with her. Can these feelings be allowed to get in the way of his mission?

I found Paul Bedford’s book to be an excellent read and was left hoping it won’t be too long before another comes out. Blood on the Land has an official release date of August 31st but is available now.