Ebook News

Here's the first in what I hope to be an ongoing series of posts highlighting ebooks.

Chet Cunningham, whom I interviewed here, has been busy putting out his back catalogue as ebooks, including his Jim Steel series and his Pony Soldiers series. The books I'd like to bring to everyone's attention though, is his Outlaws series; six books that were originally published by long gone Leisure Books. All six are now available as ebooks. The reason I'm mentioning this series in particular is that Chet has also put out a further three books that I'm sure fans of the series will be eager to read.

Gary McCarthy, another author I interviewed sometime ago, has also been busy making many of his books available as ebooks, including his entries in the excellent Rivers West series. Two of his own series that I really enjoyed are amoung his releases; The Horsemen, and The Derby Man - you'll find a number of the latter series reviewed on Western Fiction Review.

Piccadilly Publishing continues to put out around eight ebooks each month and have recently begun releasing two terrific series by Judd Cole; Wild Bill and Cheyenne - the latter of which I'd highly recommend are read in order as story threads continue book to book. They've also started publishing Cy James' great Sam Spur series, Peter McCurtin's Carmody books, and McCurtin's entries in the highly regarded Lassiter series originally written as by Jack Slade. Finally, for this entry anyway, I'd like to mention one other series they've started to put out, and whilst some may not called it a western series specifically due to it being set slightly later than the years many consider westerns to be set in, and that's Lou Cameron's Renegade books, originally put out as by Ramsey Thorne.

A Bullet for Lawless

By Steve Hayes

Hale, October 2014

When ex-lawman Ben Lawless took a bushwhacker’s bullet that almost killed him he knew the man who’d shot him and he knew that the bushwhacker never missed: so why was Lawless still breathing?

With rancher Veronica Ketchum to thank for his life, Lawless decides to return the favour and back Veronica in her battle with land-grabbing cattle-baron, Stillman J. Stadtlander. Their paths have crossed before and Lawless is no fool: he cannot take on Stadtlander’s gunhawks alone. He enlists old friends, Drifter and the enigmatic Gabriel Moonlight, and just for good measure calls in Latigo Rawlins, the very man who had bushwhacked him….

This is the latest book in Steve Hayes Santa Rosa Saga and readers of this excellent series will have met all the main players in this story before, and this time it seems as though Stadtlander might finally be made to pay for his crimes.

Steve Hayes builds the tension well, not just for the coming showdown between Lawless and Stadtlander, but also for the future of Moonlight who is now riding on the wrong side of border, the side that has him named as an outlaw with a future at the end of a rope.

When Lawless and friends finally face Stadtlander and his gunhawks the results are unexpected and provide a terrific twist to the tale. This in turn means Lawless has more problems to solve, not least one of the heart.

I can’t really say any-more about the storyline without spoiling it so will finish by saying that if you have read any of the Santa Rosa Saga books before then make sure you don’t miss this one, and if you’ve yet to try any of Steve Hayes work then this could well be a great place to start.

Many of the Santa Rosa Saga books are also available as ebooks.

Stearn's Break

By Caleb Rand

Hale, October 2014

Looking to start a new life, away from the futility of working an exhausted gold mine, Will Stearn and his partner ride into Ragland. But the town is tough and it isn’t long before Will’s old friend is fatally wounded in a back street brawl. Will considers moving on, until a brush with Connie Boe leads him to accept an attractive and profitable business offer.

So, when hard-nosed gunman Newton Boe returns to claim his wife and a share of the newly opened Rojo Pluma, Will is advised by the sheriff to cut his losses and leave town. But Stearn knows better than to avoid this fight, and must stand firm in the face of terrible trouble.

Caleb Rand is a pseudonym used by Carl Bernard, and under this name and another, Abe Dancer, he’s had around forty westerns published. Quite a few of these reside in my collection but this is only the second one I’ve read.

The plot is fairly straight-forward and doesn’t happen is quite the order the blurb above would have you believe. For instance Stearn’s partner, Clem Tapper, isn’t killed until near the end of the book. My favourite character was the sheriff, a man struggling to keep everyone alive whilst keeping his daughter out of trouble.

The pace of the book is excellent, ever increasing towards Tapper’s death, and this in turn sets the story up for a deadly final showdown between Stearn and Newton Boe.

On the strength of this story I think it’s time I dug out some of Carl Bernard’s other books.

Cougar Prowls

By Owen G. Irons

Hale, October 2014

Battle-hardened Carroll Cougar has finally made it home to his little ranch on Twin Creeks with his new bride, Ellen, after spending years with General Crook in the southwestern wars.

But Cougar and Ellen have left too many enemies alive behind them, and more have accumulated in Twin Creeks in their absence. With his home dangerously threatened, Cougar realizes his warrior years are far from behind him and the time has come for him to buckle on his guns and go out prowling, until he has defeated every last one of his enemies.

This book continues the storylines begun in Cougar Tracks and readers may like to read that one before this, although Owen G. Irons does include enough information for readers new to Cougar to understand what has happened previously.

The first seventy or so pages conclude the major story threads from the first book in a number of desperate and bloody confrontations that will also see Cougar struck dumb by some of the heart-breaking truths that are revealed and they surprised this reader too.

The rest of the book sees Cougar and Ellen attempting to begin a new life but trouble isn’t far away and Irons' uses this part of the tale to tie-up a situation that started right at the beginning of the first book.

Owen G. Irons is a pseudonym used by Paul Lederer, and as expected this book proved to be extremely difficult to put down. Full of gripping action scenes, well-crafted characters, and mystery – such as who is sniping at Cougar’s homestead and why? The story comes to a satisfying ending and I’m left looking forward to Paul’s next book and hoping that, just maybe, we haven’t heard the last of Cougar. 

Badlanders

By David Robbins

Signet, October 2014

When Alexander Jessup moves with his two daughters to the Badlands to run a ranch, he’s unprepared for the West’s deadly perils. But despite the dangers, his daughter Edana is determined to manage the Diamond B. And it may be possible, thanks to the ranch’s foreman, Neal Bonner, and his partner, Jericho, an expert gunman.

But Edana’s headstrong sister, Isolda, has other plans. She has no interest in herding cows – or in polite society, for that matter. So she latches onto cutthroat conman Beaumont Adams, and the two scheme to take over the town of Whiskey Flats with the help of the worst criminals in the Badlands.

Now Edana, Neal, and Jericho must face down a pack of stone-cold thieves and murderers to avenge a death and to save Whiskey Flats – or die trying.

David Robbins’ latest stand-alone western is packed full of memorable characters which includes two very strong female leads whose true personalities are brought to the fore with their move to the West and by the men they fall for. Robbins’ includes some brief, yet detailed backgrounds for all his main players which goes some way into explaining why they act as they do.

Learning the ranching business is one part of the tale as is the brutal way Adams goes about taking over Whiskey Flats and I was soon wondering how these two seemingly unrelated storylines would be brought together and this is expertly done through the mystery of someone who becomes known as the ‘cow killer’.

David Robbins superbly tells his tale in gritty prose. The story laced with bursts of deadly action, tough dialogue and many humorous comments. Why someone is killing cows becomes a gripping thread of intrigue and the final showdown brings both surprises and a fitting end to the book.

Rondo

THE LANDON SAGA #4

By Tell Cotten

Solstice Publishing, September 2014

When Rondo Landon accepts the sheriff’s job, he has hopes of marriage and settling down. 

But things unravel quickly for the young sheriff. An old friend is killed, and Rondo’s past continues to haunt him when a mysterious stranger rides into town. 

Like the previous three books this one proved to be difficult to put down. You don’t need to have read those books to appreciate this one but your enjoyment maybe enhanced if you do so. Rondo is, effectively, a stand-alone tale but it does mention past events, and with the inclusion of Lee and Clark there is a continuation of a plotline begun in book 3.

Told mainly in the first person, through Rondo, we witness the once outlaw attempting to walk on the right side of the law. Maybe even get married. Yet a shadow from his past might destroy these dreams in a blaze of gunfire. Watching Rondo trying to avoid this inevitable confrontation makes for effective reading whilst he tries to discover the whereabouts of a missing man which will lead to more deadly situations.

Lee and Clark provide many of the more light-hearted moments and will stand by their friend when needed…..and when they aren’t.

Full of great dialogue, plenty of action, and a twisting storyline, Rondo proved to be a pleasure to read. Tell Cotten brings this fast-moving tale to a satisfying conclusion but still leaves a couple of story threads dangling, thus ensuring that this reader is already anticipating the fifth book in the series, Yancy, which is to be published in the not too distant future.

Also available as an ebook.

Dynamite Express

By Gillian F. Taylor

Hale, September 2014

Sheriff Alec Lawson has come a long way from the Scottish Highlands and work is never slow as he deals with a kidnapped woman from China, moonshine that’s sending those who drink it blind and a terrifying incident involving a moving train.

But when a man is found dead out in the wild, Sheriff Lawson starts to wonder if the one and only witness might not be telling him the whole truth as to what really happened and decides to start digging deeper….

This book sees Gillian Taylor bringing back Sheriff Lawson, who previously appeared in Silver Express. The main storyline, that of solving a murder, sees Taylor blending western and detective elements perfectly to provide a gripping read full of questions that Lawson will struggle to answer even using photographs of the dead man to help.

The other major story thread, that of the deadly moonshine, and discovering who is making it, leads to a neat shootout that should satisfy all western fans. But this exchange of gunfire is nothing compared to the dramatic and extremely memorable conclusion to the murder case, and its destructive finale was something that I didn’t see coming.

Will Lawson return in a third book? I certainly hope so as Taylor leaves what looks like a blossoming love triangle unresolved and I for one would really like to see how this pans out.

Dynamite Express proved to be a very entertaining book that I believe will be enjoyed by all western readers and probably by those who like detective novels too.