Bleached Bones in the Dust

By I.J. Parnham

A Black Horse Western from Hale, December 2010

For twenty years, bounty hunter Montgomery Drake searched for Lomax Rhinehart, desperate to make him pay for an atrocity he committed during the dying days of the war.

So when Drake’s friend, Wallace Sheckley, told him that he had found Lomax, Drake followed him to Sunrise, but Arnold Hays and his gunslingers were holding the town in the grip of fear. Nobody would help him and worse Wallace had gone missing and Lomax was nowhere to be found.

With Arnold Hays the key to Drake finding out what has happened to both his friend and his enemy, he must turn to his gun to get the answers he needs….

Ian Parnham sure packs a lot of action into this book and fills it with great characters. There are a couple of surprises for Drake too that lead him to question his twenty year quest for vengeance, such as has he been wrong about Rhinehart all along? Before he finds the answer to that question Drake will find himself fighting alongside his target.

The bleached bones of the title become a gruesome yet pivotal aspect to the story, which moves swiftly, all the time building towards a lengthy shootout in the old abandoned fort that outlaw Arnold Hays has made his headquarters. His method of keeping the townspeople in line shows what kind of a savage man he is. Unfortunately for Drake, the townspeople’s fear of Hays means they turn against the bounty hunter too.

Although this story didn’t have quite as many plot twists as I’ve come to expect from Ian Parnham I still found this book to be a fast, gripping, and entertaining read that has left me eagerly awaiting his next book.

Bleached Bones in the Dust is officially released at the end of December but should be available now from the usual Internet bookstores.

The Killing Kind

By Lance Howard

A Black Horse Western from Hale, December 2010

Jim Bartlett thought he could put his former life behind him and forge a new one as a small Texas ranch owner but he was wrong…dead wrong. Someone from his past has followed him and is systematically and permanently trying to destroy his new life, piece by piece.

With his friends and the woman his loves being threatened by a man who knows no remorse and no boundaries, Jim finds himself in a desperate struggle – not only to escape his past, but also to hold onto his life….

Lance Howard is a pseudonym used by author Howard Hopkins and under his own name he writes horror stories, and this book, like many of his other westerns, often have horror elements within them. Here we find a dead man who is destroying Bartlett’s life. Howard is an expert at creating an air of terror, of writing about a man slowly losing a grip on self-control as his friends are killed one by one. As Bartlett begins to succumb to fear he often breaks down in tears – something you don’t often find a western hero doing, and this, perhaps, makes him more human, helps the reader share the terror he’s experiencing.

The book contains plenty of vivid imagery, Howard’s descriptions painting living pictures within my mind. There’s also a lot of death, as the seemingly unstoppable killer murders Bartlett’s friends at will.

Of course the past that Bartlett has tried so hard to keep a secret eventually comes out and this brings more emotional hurt to Jim as it threatens to destroy his relationship with his girl. But Bartlett isn’t the only one with a dark past…

The Killing Kind grabbed my attention from the very beginning and I found myself reading it in one sitting as I just had to find out how a supposedly dead man could return to terrorise Bartlett. I was also very eager to see how Bartlett could possibly survive and how many of his friends would too.

If you’d like a copy of this very entertaining book then I suggest you put your order in quickly, as, although it isn’t officially released until the end of the month, it is available to order now…and from past experience I know Lance Howard westerns tend to sell-out very quickly.

Trailsman #350

HIGH COUNTRY HORROR

By Jon Sharpe

Signet, December 2010

Arizona Territory, 1863 – where death comes in the dark of night, and worse in the bright light of day.

Over the past year, young women have gone missing from the town of Haven. They’ve been taken by a hunter who strikes at will and leaves no trace. And when a search party mistakes the Trailsman for the culprit, he ends up not just fighting for his life, but hunting a predator who needs to be put down like the bloody beast he is….

This is a book full of mystery. A mystery that will keep you guessing until the author decides to reveal the answers. I had my suspects as to the identity of “The Ghoul”, and my choice kept changing as the story developed, each chapter heightening my suspicions, making it harder and harder for me to stop reading until I’d discovered the horror of the title and just who was behind it.

Not only does Fargo want to find the person who has been attempting to kill him, and caused him to barely escape from being hung when he first arrived in the vicinity of the town called Haven, but he has to keep dealing with three townsmen who are determined to beat him to death. The fights with these three happening at regular intervals.

The book also has a number of memorable characters, in particular Marshal Marion Tibbit and the old prospector, Badger. Yet it’s the discovery of the horror of the missing girls that reveals the true savagery of this tale that is certain to leave a lasting memory with the reader.

The story is told at a very fast pace with action in virtually every chapter. The book ends with a couple of very brutal and bloody gunfights, and I was surprised at how many of the characters, who had survived to this point, died.

Once again Jon Sharpe (in this case David Robbins) has come up with another gripping entry into the Trailsman series. 

Ghost Towns

Edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis

Pinnacle, July 2010

The sound of a crowed saloon… The cry of a train coming through the night… The pounding of horses ridden by friends or foe… From the searing sun to snow-steeped winters, towns called Sentinel, Iron Mountain and St. Elmo stood strong and fierce – before they finally died.

From a soldier on the run from the fires of war… From a gambler who has long since played his last hand to a solitary, singing rifle man protecting a besieged town… With dreamers and schemers, with men and women of courage, conscience and faith – here is a collection of adventures that see these ghost towns return to life.

Contents:

The Water Indian by Steve Hockensmith

The Ghosts of Duster by William W. Johnstone, with J.A. Johnstone

St. Elmo in Winter by Margaret Coel

Mr. Kennedy’s Bones by Johnny D. Boggs

Gunfight at Los Muretos by Bill Brooks

Iron Mountain by Candy Moulton

The Defense of Sentinel by Louis L’Amour

Paradise Springs by Sandy Whiting

Silent Hill by Larry D. Sweazy

End of the Line by Lori Van Pelt

The Town That Wouldn’t Quit by Deborah Morgan

Now We Are Seven by Loren D. Estleman

Contention City, 1951 by Jeff Mariotte

The Ghost of Two Forks by Elmer Kelton

Kiowa Canyon by James A. Fischer

This anthology brings together a fine selection of tales that are all extremely well written; all offering elements of the supernatural thus blending the western with ghost stories. Like any collection I have my favourites and there are a couple I wasn’t sure about – in fact there was one I gave up on. Not all the stories are set in the Old West, some are set right up to the present day, although these do have links to the past.

Most of the authors above will be familiar to western readers and fans of the Johnstone books should be pleased to discover that the story The Ghosts of Duster features Bo Creel and Scratch Morton from the Sidewinders series. Similarly fans of Steve Hockensmith’s two would be detectives, Big Red and Old Red from his excellent Holmes on the Range series should be equally pleased to find another story about them here.

I’ve always found it disappointing that the editors and/or publishers of anthologies like this feel the need to include yet another, already widely published, story by Louis L’Amour. The only reason I can see for doing this is hoping his name will help sell more copies of the book. L’Amour’s story, as expected, is well told and is in fact one of my favourites in the collection, but it is the tale that doesn’t quite fit in with the theme of ghost towns as well, if at all, as the others.

Other than wanting to read all the work I can by authors I enjoy, the main reason I read anthologies is to try writers that are new to me, or those I’ve been meaning to try for some time. And, as should be the case, I know have a longer list of authors I want to explore further.

The Mystery of Table Mountain

By William Post

AuthorHouse, March 2010

When young college man, James Raymond, is framed for murder by his uncle, aunt and her brother, he heads west to elude lawmen. It is here he sees the inaccessible Table Mountain and is taken with its beauty and security. Through his ingenuity James finds a way to the top of the mountain and discovers a paradise.

The day after he discovers access to the mountain top he manages to rescue a young woman from Indians and shares his “Garden of Eden” with her in a clandestine relationship.

This book is billed as an action packed western and that is a comment that could be argued with. Yes the book does contain action of the kind a reader of westerns would expect, range war, Indian attacks, a jailbreak and the struggle to stay alive through heavy snow. But this all takes part in the last third of the book and most of the battles are over quickly and mainly told in retrospect rather than as they are happening.

What the book is, to me anyway, is a romance. During James’ travels he meets a number of beautiful women, all of whom seem to fall in love with him, and this book is really about his relationships with them.

William Post wrote this story in the first person and his prose is easy to read. He sure packs a lot into the 239 pages of this novel in which the years pass rapidly. Having so much in the book makes for an extremely fast paced read. In fact certain elements of the storyline would prove an entire book plot for other authors, such as the range war, or the final chapter that sees the downfall of the man who framed James for murder.

The book also contains a strong religious overtone.

The Mystery of Table Mountain is the first in a trilogy, the following books being The Miracle and A Call to Duty in which the lives of many of the characters introduced here are continued. Having said that this book is a self-contained story and doesn’t leave any story threads hanging at its conclusion.

Overall the book is a satisfying read; just don’t expect a tough western of the type I usually review here.

Casey Tibbs: Born to Ride

By Rusty Richards

Moonlight Mesa Associates, 2010

Rodeo superstar Casey Tibbs lives again in Rusty Richards’ authorized biography of the memorable, charismatic cowboy from South Dakota. Richards spent over twenty years meticulously researching, interviewing, and capturing vibrant memories and recollections of the six-time world champion saddle bronc rider.

The book also covers the Roberts’ family, including rodeo greats Ken, Gerald, and E.C., along with Jim Shoulders, Deb Copenhaveer, Carl Olson, Ben Johnson, Gene Pruett, Bill Linderman, and so many more talented rodeo stars. In addition, Richards recounts Casey’s phenomenal success in Hollywood and his friendship with Audie Murphy.

Something a little different for Western Fiction Review, as this isn’t a book of fiction. Being English and living in the UK, I have never really had much knowledge of rodeo’s and the people who worked them other than what I’ve seen on television, so I wondered if this book would hold my interest?

Rusty Richards has put together a very readable book, his way with words really bring Casey Tibbs to life, and the book definitely held my interest, in fact I found it very difficult to put down. There are laugh-out-loud moments, tales of wonder – such as the man Tibbs hired to fly his aeroplane, and sadder moments too; seeing Tibbs become addicted to gambling and drinking for instance. The final hours of Tibbs life are beautiful told and extremely moving.

One thing that comes across very strongly is Casey Tibbs love of practical jokes, and many of them are told here. I was also amazed at how many stars of western movies he worked alongside and became friends with. One of the funniest moments for me was when Tibbs becomes lost and asks for directions, something that happens in the same place sometime later. The old-timers’ comments to him are priceless.

Moonlight Mesa are also to be congratulated on the production of this book, for the inclusion of some terrific black and white photographs, many of which show Casey Tibbs in action, and for the colour choice of the cover; a colour that is very significant to Tibbs.

For anyone with an interest in Casey Tibbs, or rodeo, this is a book you must not miss.  

Western Models

During my travels around various websites I came across Andrea Miniatures and thought some of you might be interested in seeing these superbly crafted models. They are a mixture of fictional figures, historical figures, and those from films. Maybe Santa will bring you one if you ask nicely? There's many more than I'm showing here.