The Bounty Killers

THE LONER #7

By J.A. Johnstone

Pinnacle, October 2010

He didn’t want much – just the chance to drift out of Texas into New Mexico Territory. That’s when the Loner discovered there was a price on his head. A victim of mistaken identity, he broke out of Hell Gate Prison a few years back. Now, he’s behind bars again, until a sheriff’s love-struck daughter decides to come to his aid, and a beautiful bounty hunter – who also has eyes for the Loner – joins in.

Riding out of the frying pan and into the fire of a land war, the Loner has all kinds of murderous cutthroats on his trail. But he doesn’t have any problem with women – as long as they’re willing to ride on the wild side once the lead starts flying.

The above blurb is taken from the back of the book and it contains one big inaccuracy, and that’s where it says ‘broke out of Hell Gate Prison a few years back’, this ought to read a couple of months back. That story is told in the previous book, Seven Days to Die, and this one follows closely on from that, the events of that tale shaping this one.

All through the series the Loner has resisted the advances of women, whilst mourning the death of his wife, and even though he will never forget Rebel, the Loner will finally give in. Please note this is not an explicit adult western. So, that’s one change for the Loner and it would seem he might be ready to give up being the Kid and return to being Conrad Browning as the story heads to its conclusion.

This author definitely knows how to spin a yarn, tell a tale that hooked me from the opening pages and ensured I kept reading as twist followed twist. Packed with plenty of action and great characters, this story proved to be as entertaining as all the previous books in the series. Everything comes a head in a final showdown that sees justice done and concludes with a dramatic revelation that guarantees I will be reading the next book very, very soon.