KICKED OUT WITH A COLD SHOVEL

 

BLOODY JOE MANNION
Book 6 of 9
KICKED OUT WITH A COLD SHOVEL
By Peter Brandvold
Wolfpack Publishing, February 2023

Town Marshal “Bloody” Joe Mannion is on the trail of some of the most vicious killers he’s ever faced. It’s up to Mannion to single-handedly retrieve the loot a gang stole from a train. He manages to take down the gang and secure the loot only to find himself facing yet another band of vicious killers who want to lay their own grubby hands on the cash. Bloody Joe, however, has other ideas…and this ain’t his first rodeo.

When the gang tracks Joe to the ranch of Sam and Ilsa McDowell, he finds himself on the run again, with both McDowell’s as well as the loot. The only thing harder than trying to hold onto the loot is getting Sam and Ilsa to safety – especially when a neighboring rancher sets his lusty sights on the girl…

This time Peter Brandvold sticks with Bloody Joe throughout the story. There aren’t any secondary plotlines involving Joe’s wife, daughter, deputies or anyone else back in Joe’s hometown, Del Norte, as has been the case in previous books. Yes, he does occasionally switch to other people so he can tell us what the outlaws, rancher or Sam and Ilsa are doing when they are separated from Joe. 

What the blurb above doesn’t tell you is that Sam is a youngster and his sister Ilsa is in her late teens. Part of the appeal of this novel is reading how their relationship with Bloody Joe develops. As you can imagine, it isn’t long before Sam begins to idolize Mannion, something Joe and Ilsa aren’t too keen on. As the three battle through various deadly situations their bond gets stronger and stronger.

There are some excellent set pieces that include many exchanges of gunfire and a dramatic escape from a trap. With the various groups of people hunting for the loot or Ilsa there isn’t a moment of peace for Bloody Joe as bullets fly thick and fast. Mannion also takes some punishment throughout this tale, this time around it’s mostly physical rather than mentally. 

Ilsa’s beauty also adds to the problems she and Mannion will have to deal with as it’s not just the rancher who sets his sights on her and the only way to protect her is with more gunplay. Unfortunately, Ilsa doesn’t escape from all this attention unscathed and this leads up to a memorable moment near the end of the tale. 

Peter Brandvold introduces some great characters in this story, be they outlaws or otherwise, such as the two who help Joe and Sam when they are in dire need. It isn’t only humans who are going to stick in your memory though. Sam and Ilsa have a pet dog, King, who travels alongside his owners and Mannion as they desperately try to reach the safety of Del Norte. 

Kicked Out with a Cold Shovel is another great entry in the Bloody Joe Mannion series and is one I’d recommended to all fans of western fiction. 

American readers can get a copy here

British readers can get a copy here

ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED

 

BLOODY JOE MANNION 5

ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED

By Peter Brandvold

Wolfpack Publishing, October 2022

When the savage bounty hunter Ulysses Xavier Lodge comes to town wanting to spark one of Jane Ford’s pretty doxies at the San Juan Saloon & Hotel, Jane and two bouncers give the bear-like giant the bum’s rush. Incensed, Lodge returns and shoots Jane, grievously wounding her.

Jane and Bloody Joe had been on the outs, their marriage dissolved, but now with Jane’s life teetering on the edge, Joe realizes how much he really loves the pretty redhead and what a fool he’s been. Enraged and knowing he can do nothing for Jane in town – she’s in a coma and only time will tell – Joe takes to the vengeance trail, shadowing Lodge high into the Sawatch Range.

Bloody Joe has faced some formidable foes, but none like Ulysses Lodge. With a snowstorm bearing down, Joe and Lodge go head-to-head in the high, stormy rocks where an angry wildcat might just have the final say…

Peter Brandvold sure puts Bloody Joe through the wringer in this one. Fuelled by rage, Joe is going to suffer both mentally and physically during his pursuit of Lodge, a man who seems to be one step ahead of the lawman at all times. There are some particularly vicious scenes of brutal violence ahead, one of which sees Lodge taunting Joe with a gruesome note that maddens the lawman even more, makes him more determined to bring Lodge to justice.

Back in town, there’s a problem for deputy Henry McCallister to deal with when he falls in love with a very attractive school teacher. Who are the rough looking men who seem to know her? What do they want? Things get even more complicated for Henry when his former girlfriend, Molly, gets involved. 

And what of Bloody Joe’s daughter, Vangie? She’s keeping watch over Jane, praying for her recovery and is struggling with her feelings towards a new doctor in town who is doing his best to keep Jane alive.

Peter Brandvold regularly switches between the three storylines, often leaving one or two sets of characters in a perilous situation when moving onto others thus ensuring that the reader keeps turning the pages. The plots evolve well, offering exciting action sequences, twists, and lively dialogue. Emotional turmoil plays a big part too, and you’ll feel the suffering and confusion along with the characters. Hanging over all this is the question of whether Jane will live or die…

All My Sins Remembered is another terrific entry in the Bloody Joe Mannion series that left me eager to read the next book as soon as I can.

American readers can get a copy here

British readers can get a copy here

TO MAKE A MAN

BLOODY JOE MANNION

Book 4 of 9

TO MAKE A MAN

By Peter Brandvold

Wolfpack Publishing, August 2022

Del Norte Town Marshal “Bloody” Joe Mannion and his junior deputy, Henry “Stringbean” McCallister, run down an especially violent as well as beguiling outlaw in the pretty form of Mathilda Calderon. The senorita is just one pretty girl, but she fights like a leg-trapped puma, leaving Mannion with an arm full of buckshot and Stringbean hurting where a man just shouldn’t be attacked, gallblastit! 

Senorita Calderon is wanted for aiding and abetting the commission of a federal crime and to testify against her boyfriend, the notorious border bandito and revolutionario, Diego Hidalgo, who stole three Gatling guns from the U.S. Army, slaughtering a dozen soldiers in the process. U.S. marshals are sent to retrieve the senorita and escort her to Tucson. Bloody Joe believes she will identify Hidalgo as the leader of the gang who stole the Gatling guns and also testify as to the guns’ whereabouts.

Arresting and holding onto Mathilda Calderon is just one of the problems Bloody Joe will have to deal with in this fast moving read. Peter Brandvold sure doesn’t believe in giving his characters an easy time of it and Mannion will not only have to suffer physically, but mentally too, as will Stringbean. As well as defending themselves from people trying to kill them, both have affairs of the heart to deal with. 

As the story unfolds, Stringbean finds himself escorting Mathilda “La Stiletta” Calderon to Tucson alone and there are plenty of dangers for him to face whilst doing so, from both men and animals. The relationship between prisoner and deputy is fascinating to watch unfold, especially as La Stiletta seems ready to kill Stringbean at the first chance she gets. The title of the book, To Make a Man, refers to Stringbean, as Joe believes his deputy will only be successful if he acts like a man, not as the kid he is.

Back in Del Norte, Bloody Joe has to deal with a mystery someone who has sent hired killers after him. Why? Getting to the bottom of this gives plenty of opportunities for Joe to live up to his nickname. To further complicate things his wife wants a divorce. Will Joe agree to this or can they work things out? 

There’s not one dull moment to be found in this story. Peter Brandvold paces the book superbly and fills it with interesting characters and plotlines. Amidst all the violent action there are gentler moments too, and some laugh-out-loud humour. All the story threads are tied up neatly, although not all of them ended as I expected and I was left looking forward to reading the next Bloody Joe Mannion book as soon as I can.

Mention must also be made of Wolfpack Publishing’s attention to their cover illustrations to highlight how they make sure the covers of their books depict a scene from the story and this one shows a particularly suspenseful part of the tale.

UK readers can buy the book here.
American readers can buy the book here.

BLOODY JOE MANNION series

1. Bloody Joe

2. Revenge at Burial Rock

3. Saints and Sinners

4. To Make a Man

5. All My Sins Remembered

6. Kicked Out with a Cold Shovel

7. Drawn and Quartered

8. Battle Mountain

9. Bloody Joe’s Last Dance

SAINTS AND SINNERS

BLOODY JOE MANNION 3

By Peter Brandvold

Wolfpack Publishing, May 2022

When constable Jeremiah Claggett is murdered by Frank Lord, the kill-crazy leader of a dozen wild outlaws, Bloody Joe has to come to grips with the fact that he’s inadvertently to blame. Mannion had turned Frank’s brother, Billy, over to Claggett for safekeeping, setting off the chain of events that end his friend’s life. Mannion is the kill-crazy one now. Not realizing he’s being shadowed by forces unknown, Mannion sets out on his vengeance quest.

In typical Bloody Joe style, he storms Lord’s gang single-handedly, which nearly proves his undoing – until he’s set upon by a mystery ‘Man of the Lord’ and given…something. Whether that something is good or bad Mannion has difficulty discerning.

Peter Brandvold has commented that Bloody Joe Mannion is one of his favourite characters and I’m very much in agreement with that statement. I really like how Mannion allows his anger to determine his actions, how he pushes aside everything else in his life as he relentlessly hunts down his prey. Mannion will suffer both mentally and physically before the conclusion of this tale.

Bloody Joe isn’t the only great character in this series, but the regulars that have had large parts to play in previous books only have small roles this time around. Mannion’s wife, Jane, has some decisions to make when a man she hasn’t seen for many years arrives in town which leads to a powerful scene at the end of the story.

The vast majority of the book follows Mannion’s attempts wipe out the Lord gang. During this Bloody Joe will have to struggle with unsettling changes within his person. Why did he decide to bring in Billy Lord alive instead of just killing him? This seems to be a new side of him that Mannion is not sure he likes, especially as it leads to the death of his friend, Jeremiah Claggett. Mannion isn’t the only one who has to deal with self-blame, there’s Claggett’s daughter too, who also sets out to kill Frank Lord.

The action scenes are hard-hitting, brutal at times, as Mannion deals out justice. There are elements of mystery too, such as who is the lone rider shadowing Bloody Joe and why is he doing so? The Man of the Lord makes for a fascinating character too, can he really summon powers unexplained to help him ’feed the beast’ or is there a more rational explanation? All this combines to make a gripping read that left me eager to read the fourth book in the series as soon as possible. 

REVENGE AT BURIAL ROCK

BLOODY JOE MANNION 2

By Peter Brandvold

Wolfpack Publishing, May 2022

Joe believes the old regulator, “Long Shot” Hunter Drago, who did twelve years’ hard time because of Mannion, has moved to the town of Del Norte in the Colorado Territory to kill him. But, nearly everyone else in town believes he’s there to take over the Three-Legged Dog Saloon and begin a new, peaceful life for himself. Mannion doesn’t buy a word of it. When he catches Drago palling around with his daughter, Evangeline, and beats the old killer half to death on Del Norte’s main street for all to see, the town decides Bloody Joe has finally gone too far.

As the game of cat and mouse continues, Mannion finds himself dodging a veritable lead storm nearly everywhere he goes, culminating in a bloody showdown on the stone mountain called Burial Rock, where he finds that not only his own life hangs in the balance, but that of his lover, Jane Ford, as well.

Beginning shortly after the previous book ends all the survivors are back to face new danger. Peter Brandvold really has created a great set of characters, good, bad, male and female, to struggle through the often-deadly situations they find themselves in.

Bloody Joe’s mistrust of Drago is the main story thread, but there are others too. Joe’s deputy Stringbean has affairs of the heart to deal with that see him facing a murder charge. Joe’s second deputy, Rio, also has woman problems to deal with – his being a little more light-hearted than Stringbean’s, and they often provide some comical scenes that provide some light-relief among the darker and more ruthless plotlines.

Bloody Joe isn’t completely fuelled by violence and anger as he struggles to control the odds that are stacked against him and those he calls friends. He does have a tender side too, usually only revealed to his daughter Evangeline and his lover Jane Ford. This time he may have gone too far for even them to forgive him.

Peter Brandvold never gives his characters or readers a chance to catch their breath as his twisting plot explodes in brutal fistfights and gunfights, these bloody action scenes being quite graphic in their depiction. It’s not just the men who get involved in these savage incidents either as the women will have to fight to survive too.

I’ve read a lot of Peter Brandvold’s books and this series has to be up there with the very best he’s written. Let’s hope Bloody Joe Mannion is in for a long run. 

BLOODY JOE

BLOODY JOE MANNION 1

By Peter Brandvold

Wolfpack Publishing, April 2022

“Bloody” Joe Mannion is a town tamer of great renown. His temper is just a famous. Known as the most uncompromising lawman on the Western frontier, he’s been the town marshal of Del Norte in the Colorado Territory for the past five years. When his temper gets the better of him and he badly beats Whip Helton, the son of a prominent rancher, Joe’s house is burned down and his daughter kidnapped and raped. Joe goes on a vengeance-fuelled warpath, putting him at odds with the whole town he’s sworn to protect.

To make sure Whip Helton hangs for the kidnapping and rape, Bloody Joe will risk everything, including his life, the town, and a hail of hot lead!

Bloody Joe is the first book in a tough new series from Peter Brandvold, an author I’ve long been a fan of, and for me he’s yet again come up with a terrific lead character who I’m going to enjoy reading more about. Once Joe sets his mind on doing something, he’s going to do it, and to hell with everything and everyone else. This single-minded determination could see him lose his job, his woman, and his life.

There are loads of excellent confrontations throughout this fast-moving tale and you have to wonder how Blood Joe can emerge victorious as the rancher has a small army ready to take on the lawman and bust Whip Helton out of jail. How Joe gets Whip into jail is just one of the thrilling parts of this brutal tale.

Peter Brandvold excels at fast and furious action scenes and hard-hitting violence, yet he can also write tender scenes just as well, Joe’s love for his daughter comes across superbly. Joe’s haunted mind regarding eyes and his almost uncontrollable temper are appealing traits to his character too.

One of the scenes that built-up tension to breaking point for me was when Joe daughter, Vangie, took her first steps into the streets of Del Norte after her horrific ordeal. I had no idea how this was going to play out. Was she going to snap, be ok, or perhaps take her own life?

There are other great characters to discover too, such as Stringbean, one of Joe’s deputies who doubts his abilities as a lawman, with the opposite sex and as a man and it isn’t long before he’s battling with his belief that he is a coward.

Everything is resolved in a gripping final showdown that has a high death toll and includes a couple of surprising moments making for a very satisfying ending to this great book. 

If you are a fan of Peter Brandvold’s work, then you’ll not want to miss this book, this series. If you love fast-paced action-packed westerns then this is a book that should be on your must-read list. If you’ve never read anything by Peter Brandvold then this is a great place to start, to find out what you’ve been missing.

Book 2, Revenge at Burial Rock is due out in May 2022.