The Preacher's Legacy

By Walter L. Bryant

Hale, June 2013

Tom Deegan’s fight for survival begins when he rescues a child from a burning stagecoach, held up by the murdering preacher and his gang. The preacher dies and Tom takes the loot and hides it.

Years later three killers are looking for Tom, and the money. But protecting himself, and his adopted son Billy, is only made more difficult by the local rancher, whose hired guns want Tom dead. By using his fighting skills can he protect them both? And can he remain silent about the whereabouts of the cash?

After enjoying Walter L. Bryant’s first Black Horse Western, Nine Dead Men, I guess it was inevitable that I’d read this one.

The hunt for the missing money is played out against a backdrop of a land-grab plot, this latter element of the tale giving Deegan a few more enemies to worry about. He gets involved in this by rescuing a farmer and this leads to some romantic interest between Deegan and the farmers' daughter. Only trouble is her brother was killed during that long ago stage robbery whilst Tom looked on which is something she might not be able to ignore.

Walter L. Bryant tells his story from the point-of-view of different characters. Bounty hunter Slim being one of my favourites, he will do anything to get his hands on the missing money and he is the one who will cause most of the problems for Deegan. 

The story is told well and the plot moves forward rapidly. There’s plenty of action which includes a couple of great, tense, scenes involving bluff’s with empty guns.

So, once again, Walter L. Bryant presents the reader with a very entertaining read and, in my case, leaves me looking forward to his next.

The Preacher’s Legacy is officially released tomorrow but is already available from the usual Internet bookstores.

Nine Dead Men

By Walter L. Bryant

Hale, December 2012

Ten years after his life is saved, Jason drifts into Inspiration. He believes fate has given him the opportunity to repay the debt when he hears of the leader of an outlaw gang, Adam One-Ear. But fate has dealt him a dangerous hand and he must use all his skills with gun and fist to remain alive, especially when up against two ranch-workers who want him dead.

His determination to meet Adam is complicated by the invention of a sheriff who wants to kill the outlaw, a young man seeking revenge for an old injustice, and the abduction of the rancher’s daughter. And by the time Jason, the sheriff and Adam meet for the final time, nine men will have died….

As far as I can tell this is the first Black Horse Western to carry the author name of Walter L. Bryant and his book is one of the longer stories published by Hale. 

Bryant mainly follows his hero Jason but does switch to other characters every now and again such as One-Ear and Billy, the vengeance driven kid. Each storyline, and those of the sheriff and the ranch-workers, are expertly woven together, weaving a twisting yarn that easily held my attention.

Bryant also includes plenty of hooks in the form of questions such as is One-Ear the man who saved Jason back in the Civil War? Why was Jason offered a job out of the blue? Can Billy become a successful outlaw? Which nine characters will become those of the title?

The story is told confidently and at an ever-increasing pace and all the questions are answered satisfactorily by the end. On closing the book I was left hoping it isn’t too long before another BHW comes out from this writer.