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Elsewhere, Aaron Mackey, Halstead’s boss, is attempting to get the warrant rescinded, but that seems to be a difficult political battle.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.

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.

THE DARK SUNRISE

SHERIFF AARON MACKEY 4

By Terrence McCauley

Pinnacle, December 2020

At long last, U.S. Marshal Aaron Mackey and Deputy Billy Sunday will see crime baron James Grant and his kill-crazy cronies stand trial for the mayhem and suffering they unleashed on the people of Dover Station. But as Montana Territory’s statehood is approaching, murdering devils like Grant can no longer be tolerated in positions of political power.

Or can they? Montana’s capital of Helena follows its own set of laws – laws that not only set Grant free, but give peacekeeping authority to a sadistic murdering gunslinger like Colonel Nathan Rigg, Mackey’s commanding officer during the war. The city’s leaders prefer keeping killers like Grant and Rigg under their thumbs.

Mackey knows there’s no controlling these bloodthirsty madmen. And if they think they’re above the law, then Mackey and Billy will just have to appoint themselves judge, jury, and executioners . . .

For those who have read the previous books this is a must read as it brings about a very violent conclusion to the plotlines that have run through those earlier novels. If you haven’t read any of the others then it might be wise to do so before reading this one, but if you’d rather just dive into The Dark Sunrise, the author does include enough background so you’ll pick up on what has gone before. 

There’s more of Mackey’s history to be discovered in these pages, some horrific actions that have helped mould him into the man he is. The author also includes other surprises such as the one Mackey faces when summoned to Judge Forester’s office for reasons unknown. There are also some powerful emotions for Mackey to have to deal with, more of which I can’t reveal here without including a major spoiler. There’s a lot of very visual destruction in this book and it also contains a high death toll. The final showdown which sees Mackey and Sunday taking on massive odds makes for gripping reading.

As I reached the end, I couldn’t help but feel this may be the last outing for Mackey. I can only hope I’m wrong and we’ll soon see him ride again.

As usual, Terrence McCauley paces his story superbly. His characters are well crafted and his action scenes are described in hard-hitting prose. As I read further and further into the story, I found myself grinning more and more as new characters were introduced. It was their names that had me smiling, as many of them will be recognizable to well-read western fans. 

With each book he writes, Terrence McCauley strengthens my belief that he is one of the best western authors writing today. 

GET OUT OF TOWN

SHERIFF AARON MACKEY 3

By Terrence McCauley

Pinnacle, September 2020

Dover Station, Montana, is no place for a lawman. A sheriff’s badge ain’t worth a nickel here – unless you’ve got the bullets to back it up . . .

When he signed up to be sheriff of this dirty little boomtown, Aaron Mackey knew he was asking for trouble. Once, when Mackey was the U.S. marshal for the whole Montana Territory, he swore no job could get any harder. But that was before he took down a few of the bank-robbing Hancocks – and incurred the wrath of the gang’s maniacal matriarch, Mad Nellie Hancock.

And the was before every avenging outlaw and hired henchmen came crawling out of the woodwork to kill him – in the meanest, bloodiest showdown the town had ever seen . . . 

Aaron Mackey knows you can’t fight city hall. But you can flush out every kill-crazy outlaw, greedy grifter, and boomtown rat – then exterminate with extreme prejudice . . . 

Murder, political wrangling, outlaws, lawmen, intrigue, opium, gunfights, tense standoffs, false accusations, this story has them all and much more.

Terrence McCauley brings back all those characters who survived the previous books and adds a few new ones to spice up this excellent mix in a twisting plot that proves to be a gripping read. Mackey’s new role as a U.S. Marshal gives him more ground to cover but his desire to take on the people he sees as ruining Dover Station also puts him at odds with his new employers.

The power hungry Grant is the man Mackey is determined to bring down but the crooked mayor always seems one step ahead of the lawman. Grant also has the Hancock clan working for him and they cause a lot of trouble for Mackey. 

As the plotlines entwine so the tension mounts. Will Mackey find the proof he needs to bring down Grant once and for all? As the story races towards the end it seems that Mackey is doomed to fail in his mission. 

Terrence McCauley has once again come up with a page-turner, a book that is very hard to put down. McCauley’s pacing is superb, his descriptions vivid and his plot ensnares the reader from the opening page.

Get Out of Town is another terrific entry in this first-class series and I’m now counting down the days until the fourth book, Dark Sunrise, hits the shelves in November.  

Dark Territory

Sheriff Aaron Mackey book 2

By Terrence McCauley

Pinnacle, April 2019

A rash of deadly train robberies has the chief investor of Dover Station feeling itchier than a quick draw without a target. And he wants Sheriff Aaron Mackey to scratch that itch with every bullet his battered badge authorizes him to shoot. When Mackey and his backup gun down four kill-crazy bandits, they uncover a plot cooked up by respected citizens of Dover Station – someone who can pull enough strings to replace Mackey with a disgraced marshal from Texas. Now Mackey’s badge may not say much, but his gun defies all fear. Anyone who stands between Mackey and the future of Dover Station is about to become buried in the pages of history . . . 

All the main characters who survived the previous book, Where the Bullets Fly, return in this gripping struggle for control of the rapidly growing Dover Station. Author Terrence McCauley has won awards for his crime and thriller stories and this tale borrows heavily from those genres in that Mackey and his deputy have to solve a lot of puzzles to unravel the mysteries of who is doing what and for what reasons so Dark Territory reads like a detective novel at times with a heavy dose of noir…and for me that isn’t a bad thing.

As each incident is solved either by word or gun, then another is born from that result. Even as Mackey begins to suspect the who and the why, proving it becomes another problem and it begins to look like Mackey will be on the losing side, stripped of his badge and unwelcome in Dover Station, perhaps dead as the army of gunmen stacking against him rise to unbeatable odds.

Tough, brutal, tense, edge-of-the-seat action scenes and plenty of twists, Dark Territory proved to be a difficult to put down read that has a very satisfactory ending that could lead to a third book. Let’s hope Pinnacle sees fit to continue putting out novels featuring Mackey rather than have him vanish after just two books like many of their recently launched series have done. 

Where the Bullets Fly

By Terrence McCauley

Pinnacle, October 2018

If anyone can smell an investment opportunity, it’s railroad men and big city bankers. They’re not the kind of folks that Sheriff Mackey is used to dealing with. But greed is greed, and if anyone knows how money can drive men to murder, it’s the sheriff of a boomtown like Dover Station. But when Mackey is forced to gun down a pair of saloon rats, it brings a powderkeg of trouble – with a quick-burning fuse of vengeance named Alexander Duramont. This bloodthirsty psychopath wants to kill the sheriff for killing his buddies. And he plans to get his revenge using a highly combustible mix of fire, fear, and dynamite…

Mackey’s not sure how he’s going to stop this blood-crazed lunatic. But it’s going to be one heck of an explosive and very violent showdown…

This is Terrence McCauley’s first western and it's also billed as the first in a new series featuring Sheriff Aaron Mackey. 

When we meet Mackey he is suffering from pneumonia and this ailment sees him struggling to do his job and this somehow made him seem more real than some western heroes – how often do we read of heroes being struck down by common illnesses? This sickness doesn’t just go away and it plays an important part in Mackey’s mood as he takes on outlaws and businessmen alike.

Mackey is also part of a love-triangle. Trapped in a marriage he refuses to break-up, but tormented by his true love, Katherine, living in the same town. It’s when Katherine’s life is threatened by the superbly drawn outlaw Duramont and her fate is unknown, that Mackey allows his feelings for her to override everything else and he sets out on a mission to find out what happened to her and to kill Duramont.

Duramont is beautifully evil, the perfect adversary for Mackey. But can Mackey bring the outlaw leader to justice as he always seems to be one step-ahead of the lawman? 

The book is tough, dark in tone, has plenty of violent scenes and moves forwards at a relentless pace. With an excellent cast of colourful characters in both the main storyline and subplots I soon found myself totally immersed in the tale. The ending was savage and not quite what I expected. McCauley also left a few openings for the next book in the series, Dark Territory, which will be published in March 2019, and I for one can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.