The Trailsman #312

SHANGHAIED SIX-GUNS 
as by Jon Sharpe

Signet, October 2007

Skye Fargo has gotten mixed up with the wrong woman before, but now he’s in way over his head. In San Francisco he rescues a kidnapped Hawaiian beauty named Kean. Her captor is the most feared man on all the seven seas, Captain Theodore Strang, and he’s obsessed with her. He reclaims Kean as his “betrothed,” forces Fargo into servitude, and then embarks on a very bumpy ride back to Hawaii to seal the deal. Strang is about to learn the hard way that Skye Fargo ain’t no servant, and he ain’t the sort to abandon ship until this woman is free.

This book has to stand out in this long running series due to the fact that it, mainly, takes place on board a ship and in Hawaii, than in the usual American West. In fact it’s the sequences on the ship that I enjoyed the most. The comparisons made between sailing the oceans and riding a horse through the landscape of the West made for some thoughtful reading. And who will forget Fargo’s encounter with a shark? Not to mention the chasing down of a group of whales?

The author (this time David Robbins writing as Jon Sharpe) grabs your attention from the word go and doesn’t lose his grip until the end. All his trademarks are there too, the cliff-hanger chapter endings, the savage action interspersed with moments of humour, and his descriptive writing painting magical imagery in the mind’s eye.

For fans of the Trailsman, or just for those who enjoy an exciting read, this book is a must have.