Tell Slash B Hell's A'Comin'

By Elliot Long

Crowood Press, April 2016

Mort Basset – the powerful owner of the Slash B ranch – thinks he and his men have got away with the killing of the Cadman family, when the corrupt Broken Mesa court finds them not guilty. But Basset and his men sound find that this is not to be. The men involved in the murders begin to be hanged or shot dead by an unseen avenger, and they soon find that the man they are after is a deal cleverer then they anticipated, and the killings continue. Where will it end?

I’ve only read a handful of Elliot Long’s thirty plus Black Horse Westerns and I’ve enjoyed them all. Tell Slash B Hell’s A’Comin’ certainly enforces my thoughts that Elliot Long is a writer worth taking the time to read.

The story begins with the Slash B dealing out what they see as range justice, even though their foreman, Jim Alston, tries to stop the killing and also fails to stop the murder of the rest of the Cadman family. Elliot Long then introduces a handful of other characters, all of whom are sickened by the fact that the court finds the Slash B crew not guilty of murder, and you’ll soon be wondering if one of them is the person avenging the Cadman’s deaths.

Elliot Long sure knows how to pace a story and I soon found myself unable to put the book down because of my desire to find out who the mystery killer was. The story is mainly told through Jim Alston but does occasionally switch to one or two of the other characters, such a lawman Talbot Dixon who’s doing his best to stop the assassination of the Slash B crew yet also seems to think, and support the fact, that they are getting nothing more than they deserve. Of course this line of thinking causes friction amongst the posse members which is a mix of townsfolk and Slash B riders.

As you read the story you might think you’ve worked out how the tale is going to end and it’s there that Elliot Long springs the biggest surprise of the tale that left me cursing and grinning and nodding in satisfaction that the book just couldn’t end any other way could it?

If you get the opportunity to read this book then don’t hesitate to do so and once you’ve finished it, like me, I'm sure you’ll be left eager to read more of Elliot Long’s work.

Six for Texas

By Elliot Long

Hale, January 2013

When Tom Nation was lynched for no good reason there was only Ed Colerich left alive to take word back to the T Bar N on the Brightwater. So when six rode to Texas, they only had two things on their minds: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. With guns blazing and blood flowing there wasn’t one man or woman among them certain to return to the T Bar N alive….

With over 30 Black Horse Westerns to his name this book certainly shows why Elliot Long is so popular with readers. With a well thought out storyline, that is never predictable, and strong, engaging, characters of both sexes the book grips from the opening lines.

The first part of the story fills the reader in with the backgrounds of the Nation family and friends as the menfolk return home from the Civil War to discover their ranch in ruins and set about rebuilding. When Tom Nation is lynched by a bunch of ex-Confederates the tale really picks up in the action stakes and gunplay fills the second half of the story.

There’s one of two surprises in store regarding the real identity of a couple of characters as the tale moves swiftly through some savage gunfights, ambush, murder and kidnap in the quest for revenge – and it’s not just the Nation’s looking for vengeance.

Six for Texas proved to be a very entertaining book and left me eager to read more of Eliiot Long’s work.

Six for Texas has an official release date of January 31st but is available now from the usual Internet booksellers.

Big Trouble at Flat Rock

by Elliot Long

A Black Horse Western from Hale, May 2010

It was with a near-broken heart and a deep hatred that Jim McKendry looked down at his father lying dead in his coffin. He could barely look at the lifeless face and the silk wrapping that covered the ghastly wound across his father’s throat.

Jim swore that someone would pay for his father’s death and no matter what it took the killer would be brought to justice – alive or dead.

With over thirty Black Horse Westerns to his name, Elliot Long has become a favourite with many readers, so it may come as a surprise when I tell you, that even though a number of his books can be found in my collection, this is the first story of his I’ve read.

Elliot Long knows how to pace a story, how to create memorable characters, and how to spring surprises on the reader. All his story threads race towards a brutal and well-written final showdown that ties everything up neatly.

The story shows how a man can be driven by the lust for revenge, so much so everything else in his life is pushed aside, including his woman and his family. For me, though, Jim McKendry isn’t the most fascinating character in this story, that honour falls to the hired assassin, van Otis, a man with ties to the Tongs.

At first I was disappointed Elliot Long let on who had hired van Otis but this lead to a neat twist in having this person killed off soon after, rubbed out by van Otis, and this time the identity of the hirer is kept a secret. The author gives a few hints as to who this person is, but too many characters fit with these clues, thus ensuring the reader continues to keep turning the pages.

Looks like it won’t be long before I’m hunting through my collection for more of Elliot Long’s books.

Big Trouble at Flat Rock is available to order now from all the usual Internet sources even though it has an official release date of May 31st.