Trapped!

BOWEN AND BAILE #4

By Frank Roderus

Western Trail Blazer, January 2014

An old friend from Cole’s past approaches the Bowen & Baile Detective Agency for help on an odd quest - to give back a stolen fortune. The only problem is, the man’s partners don’t want it to be given back…

The Bowen and Baile books are short and are therefore perfect for when you want a quick read, between those more lengthy novels perhaps.

This, the fourth in the series, has more of a straight western plot then the others that read like detective fiction set in the west, and why shouldn’t they? After all Bowen and Baile are partners in a Detective Agency.

Helping an old friend allows Frank Roderus the opportunity to fill the reader in on more of Cole’s past, something he tries to stop Johnny Adams from revealing, only thing is Adams is very eager to tell and doesn’t really need the prompting from Baile, which leads to some humorous exchanges.

The ride to retrieve the stolen fortune sees Bowen, Baile, and Adams being trailed by a number of riders. This adds an air of tension to the mission and, of course, leads to a brief but deadly exchange of gunfire that brings the story to its conclusion.

Like the previous three entries in the series, Trapped! proved to be an entertaining read and left me looking forward to Bowen and Bailes’ next assignment.

Felicity

BOWEN & BAILE #3:

By Frank Roderus

Western Trail Blazer, April 2013

Jonathon Two Hawk has disappeared and his wife – or widow – wants Cole Bowen and Edward Baile to investigate. What she really wants, and says so, is for Bowen and Baile to kill the man she believes has murdered her husband and stolen more than seventeen thousand dollars from him.

The partners are not assassins. But if someone tries to murder them, it will happen at that party's peril.

Like the previous stories in this series Frank Roderus presents the reader with a very fast moving tale filled with incident and surprises. The dialogue between Bowen and Baile is often laced with humour. The changing West also sees Bowen filled with wonder such as taking a ride in a lift and having cold and hot water piped into the bathroom of his hotel.

No matter how much Bowen doesn’t want to kill you just know it’s going to happen at some point and when the gun action comes it’s fast and furious, both Bowen’s old Colt and Baile’s much more modern Mauser being used swiftly and with deadly effect.

After finishing this I was left feeling thoroughly entertained and looking forward to Bowen and Baile’s next adventure.

Before I Die

BOWEN & BAILE #2

By Frank Roderus

Western Trail Blazer, December 2012

The first official job for the Bowen & Baile Detective Agency seemed straightforward – find a missing wife and bring her home before her husband succumbs to cancer. But nothing is ever as easy as it sounds.

Searching for the ‘lady’ in question takes the partners from fine hotels to the seedier side of several Colorado towns. Will they accomplish their goal in time?

The first case for Bowen and Baile sees the younger man learning the ropes from the elder Bowen and this leads to some lively, and often humorous, dialogue between the two such as their views on stagecoach verses rail travel.

There are some great characters to be found within this story and some well written action sequences, such as the excellent barroom brawl and the final shootout as Bowen & Baile race for a train.

Like the first book in the series this one proves to be a fast moving and very entertaining read that has left me hoping it won’t be too long before the third story appears.

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.