A NOTCH WITH NO NAME

A NOTCH WITH NO NAME

By Walt Beaumont

A Cleveland Western (No. 1470) from Cleveland Publishing – year unknown.

Although I’ve been aware of the author name Walt Beaumont for a long time this is the first story I’ve read by him. I found his style very easy to read and the pace of the tale was excellent as it built to the inevitable showdown and I was never quite sure how it would end.

The story starts with a wedding, one that the families of the bride and groom are opposed to. There is a long running feud between them. The marriage takes place and the expected fight comes when both families find themselves in the same bar.

Beaumont tells his tale through the Brannigan family, with the main character being Scott Brannigan who is doing his best to keep the peace, to end the long running animosity. 

There’s a third family involved too. Frank Haskell wants to buy some of the Brannigan land, but Scott’s mother, Kate, refuses to sell. Scott is involved with Haskell’s daughter Greer which further complicates matters. More problems arrive in the form of two drifting gunhands who see a way of making money out of the troubles revolving around the Brannigan’s, the Allen’s and the Haskell’s. If that isn’t enough, Steve Brannigan is having an affair with the Sheriff’s wife.

At first confrontations are dealt with by bitter words or fists. Then the killings begin and members of both the Brannigan and the Allen families fall victim. Words of unfounded blame see Kate Brannigan lead her family in an all-out assault on the Allen’s. Only the deaths of her long-time enemies will satisfy her. 

A Notch with No Name is a fairly straight-forward feud western that contains one or two easy to predict twists but does include a couple of surprising deaths. The dialogue is lively and the feelings of hate and despair comes across strongly. The fight scenes are well written too. As to who would be alive at the end became impossible to predict.

After reading this book and being thoroughly entertained I was left looking forward to reading more of Walt Beaumont's work soon.

THE GAVEL & THE GUN

 

PREACHER’S LAW 
Book 3 of 7
THE GAVEL & THE GUN
By Dean L. McElwain
Leisure Books, 1987

Blackmailed into working for Isaac Parker, the notorious hanging judge, J.D. Preacher found himself with a tin star on his chest and a whole lot of trouble on his hands. His job: bring in some of the thieving, murderous scum that were raping the territory and the judge would clear his name.

Preacher believed in justice at the end of a rope – but only when he was judge and jury. That was Preacher’s Law.

It took me a long time to track down a copy of this book, so I’d already read the other four books that carried the author name of Dean L. McElwain - the last two books came out under the author name of Barry Myers. By the time I picked up The Gavel & The Gun I was eager to fill in the gap as the books have strong continuation running through them. The books don’t just feature Preacher, there are other supporting characters that appear in more than one novel. This one brings back someone who Preacher believed was dead. 

Even though there is a plotline that runs through the entire book, the story is fairly episodic and a lot of time passes before the end is reached. Although Preacher is the star of the series, he doesn’t take centre stage for much of this story, the author writes about other characters as much as, or more than, Preacher. 

Preacher is a hard man and can come across as quite cold at times. He’s lightning fast with his guns and will stop at nothing to achieve his aims. And for God’s sake, don’t call him the Widow Maker as he really doesn’t like the moniker that he picked up in the first book. 

McElwain includes enough information to tell new readers about Preacher’s past such as why he has a bounty on his head and it is this that Preacher is hoping Parker can remove. There are plenty of people willing to take on Preacher to try and claim that bounty and the identity of one of them comes as a surprise.

As well as Parker, a lot of other real people get mentioned or make appearances in this fast-moving story. The James brothers, Hec Thomas, Doc Holliday, The Earp brothers, and Bat Masterson to name but a few. 

This period of Preacher’s life comes to a fitting and satisfying conclusion and the author uses the last few pages of the book to explain what happened to Preacher and some of the other characters during the last couple of years of the 1870’s. Having already read book four, The Last Gunfight, I can tell you that it picks up not long after the end of The Gavel & The Gun. I will also add that the series is best read in order if you can. 

CANNON'S GRAVE

 

THE BADGE
Book 16 of 24
CANNON’S GRAVE
By Bill Reno
Cover art by Shannon Stirnweis
Bantam Books, April 1990

Emmett Kolfax is as vicious an outlaw as the West has ever seen. Hard as nails and ugly as a bulldog, he hides behind a bandanna and a hail of bullets, leading his gang on bloody killing sprees. But not even Kolfax can hide from the law – when the lawman is United States Marshal Joshua B. Cannon. Fast with a Colt .45, Cannon’s brought down dozens of cutthroats, and figures Kolfax will be just one more…until Kolfax hits on a plan to lure Cannon to his grave, one that puts the woman Cannon loves at the mercy of the ruthless desperado.

Most of the books in The Badge series are only linked by the fact that the main character wears a badge of some kind. One or two of these lawmen do feature in more than one book, but generally they are stand-alone titles, and Cannon’s Grave is one of those.

We’re introduced to Cannon and his abilities in the first chapter. The method he uses to take down some outlaws is something that I haven’t read that often, if at all, in a western and I had to wonder if this skill would be used again to bring Kolfax to justice.

The author switches between his characters regularly so he can reveal just how brutal Kolfax is. Kolfax also treats his own men harshly and it’s impossible to know when his temper will overflow in violence. This man, and his gang, are surely going to be difficult for Cannon to bring down.

Some of the story plays out like many other westerns, such as Cannon going undercover as an outlaw into the Hole-in-the-Wall to get close to Kolfax. Someone there recognizes Cannon but can’t place him. You know this man will remember who Cannon is at some point and this adds some good tension to this part of the book.

Reno does have a few surprises in store though, such as where the title of the book comes from. This is the reason Kolfax heads for the Hole-in-the-Wall only to find he isn’t top dog there and he gets a taste of his own medicine from the man who rules the roost.

The book is paced well, contains a lot of action including a couple of savage fistfights, and throws in a couple of neat plot twist before good triumphs over bad as expected. Cannon’s Grave isn’t my favourite book in the series but it certainly kept me entertained and left me looking forward to reading the next book soon. 

Bill Reno is a pseudonym used by Lew A. Lacy.

BAD NIGHT AT THE CRAZY BULL

 

BAD NIGHT AT THE CRAZY BULL
By John Dyson
Hale, February 2015

After a night of gambling and hooch-spiked drinking at the Crazy Bull Hotel, young rancher Glen Stone wakes up to find himself in bed with Katrina, one of the hotel’s gaudy-girls, who informs him that he has won her as his lawful wedded wife (courtesy of a local judge) on the previous evening.

With Katrina protesting volubly that she has no desire to perform the chores expected of a rancher’s wife, the pair set off for Glen’s spread along the banks of the Snake River near Jackson, Wyoming. There he has to face the bitter reproaches of his long-time intended, young Susan Cousins, and the wrath of her rancher father, Abe.

Katrina’s presence at the ranch attracts the attentions of some of her old admirers, among them some roaming Comancheros, and Zane Hollister, an ageing road agent who hope to set up as a roadhouse owner on his ill-gotten loot. He, in turn, is being pursued by tough old Sheriff Matt Alison, a lawman who tends to shoot and then wish he’d asked some questions first.

Will the arrival of horse preacher Repentance Rathbone, man of God but also very much a man of the world, vanquish the mayhem and restore harmony to the lives of the ranchers in Wyoming?

This book starts in a humorous tone giving the impression that it could be a comedy western, but as the story progresses the amusing conversations and scenes fade into the background – they don’t disappear completely – and the book becomes a more action-packed read. 

There’s a fine mix of characters, from the good although flawed Stone, the one you’ll feel sorry for (Susan), those you’ll love to hate (Katrina), the out and out bad guys with Hollister being the man on the top of the heap here, the man of intrigue (Rathbone), and others such as the old lawman Alison and a slimy lawyer, Levick. All their lives will combine as the story races towards its final showdown.

I’d class this book as a traditional western that is predictable in how it plays out, although Dyson does have a small twist that emerges near the end. Dyson being an English author writing westerns for an English publisher does include a number of British terms which will jar a bit with those of us who are used to reading American authors. I was also surprised at how much erotic (not explicit) imagery Dyson wrote into this story as that is usually something I don’t expect to find in Black Horse Westerns. 

John Dyson wrote around fifty westerns for Hale, which includes the Black Pete Bowen series, mainly under his own name but also used the pseudonym of Henry Remington. I’ve read a handful of his books and find him a bit hit or miss. Bad Night at The Crazy Bull fell into the category of a fun entertaining read but it didn’t make me want to rush out and find another of his books anytime soon.