Buzzard Bait

WIDOWMAKER JONES

number 2 of 3

By Brett Cogburn

Pinnacle, September 2017

Newt Jones is none too proud of his deadly nickname. But when you tangle with the likes of Judge Roy Bean and the notorious Mexican outlaw Juan Cortina, a man’s bound to earn a reputation. Or get stuck with a moniker like “Widowmaker.” Even so, Newt is ready to put his gunslinging days behind him, hang up his Winchester, and take it easy. There’s just one problem: Ain’t nothing easy about living in Apache country . . . 

When Newt gets word that a renegade tribe has kidnapped Matilda Redding’s grandson, he can’t just sit back and let the local authorities bungle it. Matilda once did him a good turn up on the Pecos and – flat broke and half-drunk or not – he’s got to help the old gal out. So, he saddles up his horse, straps on his dead man’s gun, and sets off to save the boy before he’s buzzard chow. Sure, Newt’s outnumbered, outgunned, and probably out of his mind. But they don’t call him Widowmaker Jones for nothing . . . 

Brett Cogburn once again has Newt Jones riding alongside a real person from the history of the West. This time it’s a young, and very talkative, Tom Horn. Other real people make an appearance too, such as Al Sieber. According to the author’s notes at the end the story is based on the kidnapping of Charlie McComas and this child has a role to play in this tale too. It is unknown what really happened to this boy and Cogburn puts forward some facts so you can make your own mind up. There are other real characters too but to say more will spoil some of the books surprises.

Cogburn mixes truth with fiction superbly. He counters the more horrific aspects of the tale with comical moments, mostly through conversation. Jones and Horn couldn’t be more unalike – Horn likes to run off at the mouth whilst Jones prefers silence – and it’s often their clashes of personality that create the humour. 

The story is fast moving and vividly described. There are some memorable bad guys, such as a man called The Hatchet and a Federal Colonel. Violent action comes frequently as The Widowmaker strives to fulfil his promise to Matilda. 

Like the first in series, I found this to be a hard to put down book that left me very eager to read the next Widowmaker Jones tale. Hopefully I’ll get to that very soon as the third book, Gunpowder Express, has finally been released.

Available in paperback, ebook and large print.

Widowmaker Jones

By Brett Cogburn

Pinnacle, August 2016

With a bag full of gold dust, Newt “Widowmaker” Jones is set for life. Then he makes his first mistake, trusting a cheerful stranger. By dawn the stranger – Javier Cortina, the son of the famous Texas border bandit Juan “Red” Cortina – is gone. So is the gold. So are Newt’s horse and even his fearsome Winchester rifle. It’s enough to make a man want vengeance. And vengeance will be Newt’s.

Newt chases Cortina into Mexico, where the man is legendary for the horses he’s stolen, the women he’s bedded, and the men he’s killed. As for Newt, he has a unique talent for choosing the wrong partners, from an angry, addled judge named Roy Bean to a brother and sister pair of circus Gypsies, Fonzo Grey and Buckshot Annie. The more Newt pursues the cunning and deadly Cortina, the angrier he gets, until somewhere on the border the whole crazy journey explodes into an all-out battle of bullets and blood….

This is the first book I have read by Brett Cogburn and it certainly left me eager to hunt out his previous works and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for any future publications, especially in this series (the second book Buzzard Bait is already out and a third, Gunpowder Express, is listed for a February release).

Cogburn has created a wonderful set of characters for this book and switches between Newt and the Gypsies as misfortunes befall them, these hardships putting them on converging trails. Cogburn’s portrayal of Judge Roy Bean is top class, he’s a colourful character whose court hearings had me laughing out loud, and he certainly painted some vivid imagery in my mind’s eye, such as riding his horse with a cockerel perched behind him.

Newt is a great lead character who earned the name “Widowmaker” (a nickname he hates) as a fist-fighter and due to this he is recognized every now and again, usually at the most inappropriate moments.

Cogburn's prose is extremely readable, and he mixes plot twists, action and plenty of humour perfectly making this a very enjoyable read.

Spur Awards

The Western Writers of America have announced their Spur Award winners and those that apply to fiction are:

Jory Sherman is honored the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Best Western Short Novel was awarded to Matthew Mayo for Tucker's Reckoning.

Runners up were Lonesome Animals by Bruce Holbert and City of Rocks by Michael Zimmer.

Best Western Long Novel was awarded to Thomas Cobb for With Blood in their Eyes.

Runners up were The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin and Country of the Bad Wolfes by James Carlos Blake.

Best Original Mass Market Paperback was awarded to Larry Sweazy for The Coyote Tracker.

Runners up were Redemption: Hunters by James Reasoner and The Secret of Lodestar by Tim Champlin.

 

Best First Novel was awarded to Brett Cogburn for Panhandle.

Runners up were Wide Open by Larry Bjornson and The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin.

 

A full list of all categorys and winners can be found here.