Lee

THE LANDON SAGA #6

By Tell Cotten

Solstice Publishing, May 2015

Known for his outlaw ways, Lee Mattingly has hopes of changing his reputation when he becomes one of the owners of a new hotel. Business is good until Ike Nash, a man with money and power, takes all that Lee has. 

Lee only knows one way to respond, and that’s with violence. Along the way, Lee gets caught up in a robbery, a poker game, relationships, Huntsville prison, and revenge. 

The first book in this superb series that focuses on someone who isn’t a part of the Landon family. Lee Mattingly has crossed paths with the Landon’s most of his life and this story resolves some of the unfinished storylines from the previous books that tell of those encounters. Of course the Landon’s appear in this one too, as does real life gunman John Wesley Hardin.

Tell Cotten combines action, mystery, tense situations, excellent dialogue that is often laced with dark humour, and visual descriptions, in a very easy to read style that makes his books extremely difficult to put down before the end is reached.

I must admit that Lee Mattingly is one of my favourite characters in the series and here you do have to wonder how he can possibly regain ownership of the hotel as everything seems to have been taken from him perfectly with no legal loophole open to him. Many might give up and cut their losses but not Lee, he rises up to the task of getting back what is his.

There are many memorable scenes and dialogue exchanges in this terrific story such as this; 

“What’s the matter?” Brian asked from behind me.

“We’re two ex-jailbirds, wearing somebody else’s clothes, riding double on a blind horse. That is what’s the matter,” I said sourly, and added, “It can’t get any worse than this.” 

And I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that it sure can, and does.

Once more the book closes with a few new story threads left dangling thus ensuring I’m left eagerly looking forward to book 7 in the Landon Saga, They Rode Together, which should be released around October this year.

If you’ve yet to try Tell Cotten’s Landon Saga then let me urge you to do so, but I do recommend you start the series from the beginning as many storylines continue book to book.

Available in both paperback and ebook.