BLACK HILLS BLOOD HUNT

By William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone

Pinnacle Books, November 2022

Deadwood, South Dakota. Miners flock there seeking fortunes, while cardsharps, bandits, and businessmen seek to deprive those who strike gold by means fair and foul. Legendary former lawman Seth Bullock plans to keep the peace by any means necessary – especially when his good friend, President Theodore Roosevelt, is expected in town to celebrate the anniversary of Deadwood’s founding.

Delayed in Washington, the President has sent his wife and children to the boomtown ahead of his arrival. But Ambrose Neill, a former New Your policeman jailed by Roosevelt for corruption has kidnapped two children in the First Family. Backed by a gang of trigger-happy outlaws and supported by a ruthless senator, Neill plans to politically control the Commander-in-Chief before slaughtering him.

But what Neill and his cohorts don’t realize is that Roosevelt has gathered a deadly posse of rough riders including Bullock – and the legendary father-son gunfighters Frank and Conrad Morgan – who are more likely to bring the gang to justice dead than alive . . . 

The book begins with a couple of incidents from Roosevelt’s past that will shape the plot of this story. The author includes many real life people as well as his fictional cast which brings together some of Johnstone’s most loved characters, the main one in this tale being Conrad Morgan. Roosevelt is attempting to employ Conrad when two of his children are kidnapped so the Kid offers to help save them and brings his father, Frank Morgan, in to help. Later they will team up with Hunter Buchanon. Other Johnstone characters make brief appearances too, such as Smoke, Sally and Denny Jensen.

This is a well written story that is packed with tense situations and engaging characters, both good and bad. As Roosevelt rides to rescue his children the youngsters find themselves in a frying pan into the fire situation as events change and their survival chances become much slimmer. Roosevelt, and his posse, are totally unaware of how things have altered, and their mission looks doomed to failure.

As well as plenty of action scenes, the author also includes moments of humour. The bickering about age between Hunter and Frank making me laugh out loud. Yeap, this story is set in the very early 1900’s, so these familiar characters have aged quite a bit since we last read about them in their own series. Does this also mean that Frank won’t be quite as fast with his gun as he once was when he needs to be?

If you like stories that bring together fictional characters with those that really lived, or tales that see heroes from different series riding and fighting alongside each other then this is a must read. Of course, no fan of the Johnstone books will want to miss this either.

THE MORGANS

By William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone

Pinnacle Books, October 2018

There’s nothing particularly unusual for a legendary gunman to be summoned to the lawless, bullet-riddled territory of Arizona. But when Frank Morgan, aka The Last Gunfighter, rides into Tucson, he finds himself ambushed and kidnapped by ruthless Mexican bandit Ramirez and his army of thugs. The only way out is for Frank’s son, Conrad Browning, heir to the vast Browning fortune, to ransom his father free. But Conrad isn’t giving up one cent. He’s got a far deadlier currency in mind . . .

Conrad heads down to the border and infiltrates the compound. But to prove himself, he has to hold up a train with the rest of the gang. Ramirez catches on to Conrad’s ruse, and the only way out is for Frank to come to the rescue. It’s a wild turn of events for sure, but for the Morgan’s, when it comes to killing their enemies, it’s all in the family.

Both The Last Gunfighter and The Loner series came to an end in 2012 and the many fans of these two series thought that was the last they’d see of Frank Morgan and Conrad Browning, but now they are back, together in a book that is advertised as the first in a new series. 

Throughout the vast majority of this book father and son operate alone. Even as Conrad attempts to free his father, Frank, unaware of his son’s plans, tries to break out of his prison. Nothing works out as expected and the Morgan’s find themselves in more deadly situations.

There are plenty of memorable characters, Ramirez, Kern, Bracken, and Antonia to name but a handful. The story is filled with twists and turns and contains plenty of action. The author includes tense scenes too, such as when Conrad is about to witness his father being shot dead right before his eyes. Everything moves forwards at an ever-increasing pace, culminating in an exciting showdown that finishes the book in blood-drenched style. 

Fans of The Last Gunfighter and The Loner will definitely want to read this. If you haven’t read any of the books in those earlier series then this is a superb way to introduce yourself to Frank Morgan and Conrad Browning. In my opinion this book should be on the reading list of all western fans.

Was there another book in this series? Sadly, there hasn’t been. But in October 2022 Pinnacle Books are releasing Black Hills Blood Hunt, a book featuring Frank Morgan, Conrad Browning and the hero from another Johnstone series, Hunter Buchanon, and that is definitely on my want list. 

Trail of Blood

THE LONER 

number 8 of 15

By J.A. Johnstone

Pinnacle, February 2011 

The son of legendary gunman Frank Morgan, Conrad Browning goes by the name of the Loner – and forged a growing reputation of his own. But in the midst of a fight for his life, the Loner discovered that he too was a father: of twins he’d never met. Now, the Loner heads back east to pierce a mystery guarded by murderous criminals for hire. Why is his ex-fiancée hiding his children from him? And why is this secret worth killing to keep? The answers lead the Loner back to a small Kansas town and a tale of cruelty, greed and power – the kind of story his father always knew how to end: with courage and a gun… 

This story closely follows the previous entry in this excellent series. The ending of book 7 introduced the possibility of The Loner being a father and Conrad’s desire to discover whether that is true forms the main thread of this tale. 

After an exciting, bloody train robbery attempt, the story shifts to Boston as Conrad tries to hunt for truths that his children really do exist. Even in the domain of millionaires’ death lurks, and there are attempts on his life that lead to more questions. Eventually Conrad becomes the Loner again and heads West, following every lead he can. Each town he finds himself in seems to have its own problems and The Loner finds himself caught up in them, fighting for his and others lives before moving on.

Well read western fans will recognize one of the lawmen the Loner finds himself fighting alongside in Abilene, and will know another who only gets mentioned by name. This was a neat inclusion for me as I’ve long been a fan of the series these two characters star in and I’ve always liked it when different series characters appear in another series. 

As the body count mounts and trail goes from hot to cold and back again, you’ll soon be left wondering if the Loner will ever find out the truth. Maybe the answers lie in an orphanage near the town of Powderhorn but a lot of blood will have to be spilled before the Loner can find out.

This is another terrific entry in The Loner series. It’s a story that is episodic in a way, all the separate troubles being linked by the Loner’s search to discover if his children exist. The tale is peopled with many memorable characters and descriptions put me right there in the midst of the action. Like the previous book, this one finishes in such a way that I’m going to have to read the next one very soon. 

The opening blurb mentions the Loner’s father, Frank Morgan. For those who don’t know Morgan starred in his own twenty-three book series called The Last Gunfighter put out under the author name of William W. Johnstone and the latter editions also carry the name J.A. Johnstone. Both series ended in 2012 but in 2018 a new Johnstone series was launched called The Morgans that features both father and son. 

The Loner #2

THE DEVIL’S BADLAND

as by J.A. Johnstone

Pinnacle, July 2009

After Conrad Browning, known as The Loner, takes down the men who killed his beloved wife, he hightails it to New Mexico to visit her grave. There, he gets the surprise of his life: His ex-fiancée, Pamela Tarleton, backed up by a vicious gang of gunmen. Turns out the beautiful Miss Tarleton has a long memory – and she’s never forgiven Conrad for breaking off their engagement and marrying another. On top of that, she blames Conrad for her father’s death. With a band of kill-crazy outlaws backing Pamela’s play, the only way out for The Loner to survive the coming hell storm is by the gun.

I’d imagine the above blurb, taken from the back of the book, is the kind that makes an author grit their teeth in annoyance as it reveals too much of the plot. The author goes to great pains to conceal the identity of the person behind the evil that Conrad Browning has to battle only to have it given away on the back of the book.

This story follows on closely from the first Loner book. The author keeps the reader hooked with the question of who is behind the outlaws who killed Browning’s wife in the first tale, and adds to that mystery the question of why are they intent on turning Browning’s life to misery. Of course this is all explained during the telling of the tale but more detail behind these reasons can be found in William W. Johnstone’s thirteenth Last Gunfighter book, Savage Country (which makes one wonder if both books were written by the same author).

Good to see that this series is now being sold by booksellers other than just Walmart, thus making the books much easier to find, particularly if you’re outside of America. Going by the strength of the first two books this series should be on the reading list of all western fans who enjoy well written, fast paced, action packed books that prove to be hard to put down once started.

The Loner

as by J.A. Johnstone
Pinnacle, May 2009

When Conrad Browning’s wife disappears in the untamed frontier, Conrad finds himself assuming the identity of his famous gunslinging father, Frank Morgan, to find her. But his hopes of rescuing Rebel are swiftly shattered – and now he’s burning for vengeance, the old-fashioned way. So he fakes his own death and starts calling himself The Loner, becoming the deadliest gunfighter this side of his own father – ready to settle the score in blood and bullets…

The Loner is another book that takes a character from one of William W. Johnstone’s long running series (in this case The Last Gunfighter) and launches them in their own series – to date there are three Loner books. This is the first book that has dropped William Johnstone’s name and just carries the J.A. Johnstone name as author.

Like many series before it, this first book uses the classic theme of revenge to set Browning off on the killing trail. The story is extremely well written, its plot fast moving and full of action. In fact I found it a very difficult book to put down.

The above blurb is taken from the book and I did have to wonder where the part came from that says “calling himself The Loner” as this never happens, Browning calls himself Kid Morgan, often referred to as just The Kid. Maybe the Loner tag will be developed in further books?

Overall this is a very good read that should satisfy most western readers, and those who are fans of Johnstone’s series will have fun checking out which of his other characters get a name-check. The story leaves a thread dangling which will ensure readers will be eager to read the next in the series.

To me, the only real problem this book and those that follow it have is getting hold of them. The books are only sold in Walmart, which is fine for those who live in America, (the books don’t appear on Walmart’s website) and can get to one of their stores. The other alternative is to buy them through the Johnstone website but do check their postage charges, as having the books sent to the UK completely priced them out of what I was willing to pay. In the end a friend in America picked up all three books and mailed them to me in a single package, the cost of which (by air) was less than the Johnstone site wants to charge for one book! Due to this I do have to wonder how successful this series will be?