Bowen and Baile

By Frank Roderus

Western Trail Blazer, August 2012

The end of life for a member of his family means a return to a former way of life for Howard Bowen. He gave up hunting men years ago, but there is no one else he would trust with this job.

Then he meets a greenhorn named Edward Baile, equally determined to see justice done, who carries a new weapon called a Mauser. 

Bowen agrees Baile can tag along and together they hit an unknown trail, seeking five guilty men. Will this hunt mark a turning point in each of their lives, or bring about their deaths?

This is the first in a new series of ebooks written by long time western author Frank Roderus.

The book tells of how Bowen and Baile meet up and spends a bit of time introducing the reader to their back-stories, and neatly highlights the differences in abilities and experiences between the aging Bowen and the younger Baile. This also leads to a couple of humorous incidents.

Having Baile using a Mauser again allows for some great contrasts between it and the older western pistols and weapons preferred by Bowen, although both like to use sawn-off shotguns. All these weapons are used to devastating effect during this fast moving tale.

This month has seen the publication of the second book in this series, and on the strengths of the first one, I for one will be wasting no time in getting around to reading #2: Before I Die.

At $0.99 (£0.77) this is a bargain not to be missed.