Diablo

By Chuck Tyrell

Hale, April 2014

On the streets of Diablo jobs are scarce, tempers roiling and dead men are stripped almost before they hit the ground. But Shawn Brodie need to collect $3000 for Tin Can Evans, and that amount of money can cause epic problems for a man in a hell of a town such as this.

And when things go bad, those living south of the A&P tracks, in a jumble of huts and tents, get the blame. With a host of dangerous men walking its streets, it’s only a matter of time before the fuse is lit that threatens to blow Diablo all to Hell…maybe where it belongs.

Back in 2010 Chuck Tyrell wrote a well praised book called The Snake Den and in Diablo he returns to some of those characters, namely Shawn Brodie and Shoo Lee. You don’t need to have read that earlier book to get full enjoyment out of this one.

Diablo’s storyline mainly revolves around the build up to a bare-knuckle fight between Shoo Lee and an Irishman on which many bets are placed. This neatly ties in with Shawn Brodie’s mission to collect on a debt.

Chuck Tyrell moves his story along well, and uses his knowledge of martial art training to great effect. Oriental weapons are used more often than guns giving this western a different feel to what one would, perhaps, expect. When the main fight takes place it is superbly described in a very visual manner and this brutal exchange leads to a much larger scale battle that has to be won before Brodie can tie-up his business.

For those who have read The Snake Den, or those who enjoy westerns that mix cultures, then make sure you don’t miss this one.

Diablo at Amazon.com

Diablo (Black Horse Western) at Amazon.co.uk

Monty McCord

By Chuck Tyrell

Hale, July 2013

Monty McCord is a top hand, but he’s got a hot temper. After killing young Hartley Billings he’s on the run, and now old man Hunter Billings has sent his riders to catch up with him.

But US Marshal Swade, Ellen Watson and her Flying W crew are on the lookout for Monty, and will do anything to keep him alive. Putting him in charge of a herd and betting Ellen’s ranch on his cowboy skills is a risky move. Can he get two thousand cows from Colorado to Wyoming? Or will the rustlers, and Monty’s pursuers, have their day?

Monty McCord is a great character, his devil-may-care outlook to life means he jumps into all kinds of situations without thinking, this attitude getting him into trouble time and again and this time could well be his last.

But Chuck Tyrell has some neat twists waiting in store, such as Billings health problems and him teaming up with Watson - I can’t reveal more about either of these events without spoiling the story for those intending to read it.

Chuck Tyrell (real name Charles T. Whipple) writes in a very readable style. His descriptions put you right in the thick of the action and his dialogue is believable. He regularly switches from character to character, often leaving them in suspenseful situations thus ensuring the book is difficult to put down before the end is reached.

If you like well told traditional westerns filled with twists then this book is certainly worth considering.

Pitchfork Justice

By Chuck Tyrell

Western Trail Blazer, October 2012

Ness Havelock rode the Outlaw Trail, partly because he was a loner and partly because he was running away from Rita Pilar. But now an old friend called for help, and Havelock could not refuse. When he got to Saint Johns, the Pitchfork Outfit was getting ready to take over the town, the county, and the state – if Judge Harlow Wilson got his way. 

Wilson courted Rita Pilar. He bragged about 50,000 head of cattle on the way up from Texas. He bilked immigrants. And he dealt out his own brand of justice ... with a quirt and a bullwhip. He was unstoppable, until Ness Havelock rode in to Saint Johns.

Ruel Gatlin wanted Havelock dead for killing his brothers, never mind it was three against one. He followed Havelock out of Colorado, across the bridge at Mexican Hat, through Canyon de Chelly, and into the high country of the Great Colorado Plateau. 

Then Harlow Wilson offered to pay for what Gatlin wanted anyway: Kill Ness Havelock.

Chuck Tyrell takes an unusual approach to his writing of this novel switching from first person, his hero’s view, and third person for everyone else. He does keep this to a chapter by chapter layout though as mixing both points of view per chapter it would become very confusing for the reader I think.

Ness Havelock may be the hero but the most interesting character for me has to be Ruel Gatlin as I found how his view of Havelock changed as he discovered just what drove the man he intended to kill fascinating.

Judge Harlow Wilson is definitely a bad guy that needs bringing to justice. He’s a man who has a passion for whipping those unfortunate to displease him, particularly young boys. It’s the death of one of these youngsters that gets Havelock involved in bringing Wilson down.

Chuck Tyrell (Charles T. Whipple) also includes a number of real life characters, such as Commodore Perry Owens.

Lots of action, great descriptions of the unforgiving countryside including the flora and fauna, there’s also a struggle to accept love, and the time honoured western theme of revenge. This all adds up to a well told tale that’s worth reading.

If any of you think this book sounds familiar then you may have read it in its abridged form as it was first published by Hale in their Black Horse Western range as Trail of a Hard Man in 2006.

Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles Vol. 2

By Edward A. Grainger

Beat to a Pulp Ebook, October 2011

Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles is a western noir, short story collection spotlighting the thrilling tales of two deputy U.S. Marshals working in 1880s Wyoming Territory. Cash Laramie, raised by Native Americans, is known as the outlaw marshal for his unorthodox way of dealing with criminals and his cavalier approach to life. Gideon Miles is one of the first African American marshals in the service and has skills with guns, knives, and tracking that are unrivalled.

Like the first collection of short stories about Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles this volume contains a mix of new tales and a few that have already been published elsewhere. The first collection had a story co-written by Sandra Seamans, and this one follows that tradition by having not one but two tales co-authored by Chuck Tyrell.

Contents:

Origin of White Deer (with Chuck Tyrell)

Maggie’s Promise

Miles in Between

Cash Laramie and the Painted Ladies

Gun Justice (with Chuck Tyrell)

Cash Laramie and the Masked Devil

Reflections in a Glass of Maryland Rye

The first story takes up nearly half the book, and tells us about Cash Laramie’s early years – including how he got the name. Along the way it tackles the problems of racial hatred between white people and Native Americans.

I must admit that overall I felt this collection of stories has a darker tone than those in the first volume. Just read Maggie’s Promise to see what I mean, this probably being my favourite tale, although the last story comes very close to taking that accolade.

If you’ve read my review of the first volume (which can be found here) then you’ll know I thought it to be excellent. This second volume I feel surpasses that. Why? I just felt that the stories presented here are harder hitting, more memorable due to the themes they cover – particularly that of the last story. 

Once finished I found myself wanting more, so any book that leaves me feeling that way just has to be tagged as highly recommended. At just over a dollar (less than a pound in the UK) this ebook offers exceptional value for money.

A Man Called Breed

By Chuck Tyrell

Hale, November 2011

Refused a drink and threatened with violence in a saloon because of his Indian heritage, Falan Wilder, the man called Breed, severely wounds Reed Fowley, and then takes refuge in the desert. Fowley’s father and brothers give chase, but are no match for Breed, who escapes and goes to his homestead in Lone Pine Canyon below the Mogollon Rim.

But the Fowleys will not give up. They hire man-hunter Dutch Regan to find him. Once found, Reed Fowley, and brother Bud, hire Robert Candless, a former major of the Colorado Volunteers, and a band of savage outlaws to storm Breed’s homestead and kill him. Breed, his wife-to-be Blessing, and his protégé, Sparrow, must fight for their lives, or die.

Unusually for a Black Horse Western, this story is told mainly in the first person, through Falan Wilder. I say mainly because Chuck Tyrell quite often moves the tale away from Breed so the reader can follow the movements of those who hunt him, these parts of the story being told in the third person.

A lot of the story involves memories, these flashbacks used to flesh out both Wilder’s past and that of the Fowleys. Chuck Tyrell also provides a lot of information regarding the landscape his characters find themselves in.

Chuck Tyrell includes many real people too, mostly just mentioned as someone Wilder has worked with or met in the past, such as Al Sieber.

The plot is expertly laid out and builds well to its final exciting showdown, which sees Wilder and Sparrow fighting against superior odds, the outcome of which left me wondering if Wilder will return in another story further down the line. Chuck Tyrell (this being a pseudonym for Charles T. Whipple) often has his heroes from one book guest starring in further books, so this could just happen.

A Man Called Breed has a release date of November 30^th but should be available now.

Guns of Ponderosa

as by Chuck Tyrell

A Black Horse Western from Hale, February 2010

When Jake Cahill and his gang take over the town of Ponderosa, sawmill magnate Fletcher Comstock sends for his friend and former town marshal Matt Stryker. When Stryker arrives though, Cahill is waiting. He gelds Stryker’s fine Arabian stallion and beats Stryker terribly, disfiguring him for life. But Stryker will not give up. Bearing the scars of his beating, he returns to Ponderosa to pin on the marshal’s badge.

Matt Stryker must tame a rowdy town and get rid of the ruthless Cahill gang as the guns of Ponderosa blaze and blood runs red in the Arizona high country.

Chuck Tyrell has written a book full of interesting characters, not in the least Matt Stryker, who not only has to battle against Jake Cahill and his men, but the town newspaper woman who campaigns for his removal from office due to his tough, and often brutal, methods of dealing with those who break his laws.

There is plenty of action and the tale moves swiftly along to its violent final showdown. Chuck Tyrell’s writing is very visual and he also does well in creating tension, particularly between Cahill and his own men, especially the man known as Breed. All through the story I wondered as to just whose side Breed was on, and this kept me reading to find out.

This is the first full-length story I’ve read by Chuck Tyrell – I’ve read, and enjoyed, a few short stories of his – and this book has me wanting to check out his previous three Black Horse Westerns.

As you’ll see from the date above Guns of Ponderosa came out a few months ago and Chuck Tyrell’s (author Charles T. Whipple) latest BHW, The Killing Trail, is available now, even though many Internet booksellers have it listed with a publishing date of August, so I’d suggest if you want a copy you don’t delay in ordering before it sells out.