The Branded Man

as by J.D. Ryder

A Black Horse Western from Hale, December 2009

Cordy Lowell lost more than his youth and his horse when they branded him, but the red-hot branding iron did more than just scar his chest, it forged a strong thirst for revenge.

Taking sides in a range war, Cordy found himself fighting on the side of a wheelchair-bound ranch owner against Bosewell, a greedy man who wasn’t satisfied with owning most of the basin, getting rich from his cattle and horse breeding operation. It wasn’t long before the fight became personal and Cordy had a chance to find retribution. If he lived long enough…

This is J.D. Ryder’s third Black Horse Western and once more he presents the reader with a very fast moving story – lengthy time periods passing within a couple of paragraphs help create the impression of days passing quickly. The plot is fairly straightforward and it does turn out pretty much as you’d expect, but it is a great read getting there.

Cordy Lowell comes up against some well crafted bad guys, such as Bosewell, Price and No-nose; the latter being an Indian who likes nothing better than pressing a red-hot branding iron onto human flesh.

J.D. Ryder combines a typical range war story with a tale of revenge, which is also a quest to retrieve a stolen horse. Ryder’s writing style makes for an effortless read and the book can easily be read within a couple of hours.

Checking the copyright page reveals that J.D. Ryder is a pseudonym used by William Sheehy.

The Branded Man has an official release date of December 31st and is available for pre-order from the usual Internet sources.

The Short Creek Rustlers

as by J.D. Ryder
A Black Horse Western from Hale, July 2009

Someone is rustling livestock from two of the largest cattle operations in Short Creek basin and everyone is busy pointing the finger at his neighbour. Elias Fagan, a drifting cowboy with experience working with the law, has agreed to look into the situation and quickly finds himself caught smack dap in the middle. It’s swiftly made clear that catching the rustlers won’t be easy.

Nobody is supposed to know anything about Fagan but before he even reaches Short Creek someone tries to ambush him. Then in town no more than an hour, he is savagely beaten. To add to his troubles outlaw members of the old Hole-in-the-Wall gang turn up and recognise him. Maybe, he realises, there is more going on than just cattle theft.

It’s action from the start as Fagan narrowly avoids being shot only to nearly drown whilst escaping his would be assassin, and from there the author piles on the problems of staying alive for Fagan, never mind the difficulties of trying to figure out who is behind the rustling. Fagan has plenty of suspects; the ranchers, who seem to be friends – even trail drive their herds together, the successful horse ranchers, the blacksmith, the girl who dislikes him from the moment she sets eyes on him, and more.

Of course I had my thoughts on who would turn out to be the person behind the rustling although I couldn’t put my finger on why. As I read on I kept changing my mind as the author dropped in a few more clues and false leads. In fact I didn’t work it out until J.D. Ryder decided to reveal all.

This book is a little longer than most BHW, using smaller print so it comes in at the same number of pages as the majority of BHW. The story flows well and moves forward at a fast pace making for a very entertaining read. There are a few surprises too, mainly to do with the fate of a couple of the characters.

I’d not read anything by J.D. Ryder before – this is his second book, the first, Sacred Hills Massacre came out in August 2008, and a third, The Branded Man, is due to be published in December 2009 – and, on the strength of this story, I’ll certainly be looking out for them.

The Short Creek Rustlers is officially published tomorrow, July 31st, but is available now from the usual Internet booksellers.