Triplecross Trail

By Josh Lockwood

Hale, September 2013

The Lost Treasure Ship of the Mojave, said to be loaded with a cargo of black pearls from the sea of Cortez, was probably the oldest, most persistent tale of lost treasure in the West.

Ned Gamble, a down-at-heel drifter, is hired to guide a high-class Mexican woman into the Yuha Badlands in search of the ancient vessel and finds instead that he’s stumbled into a game of treachery and triple-cross.

Still, unravelling the legend of the ancient ship would make a man rich as a king…if it doesn’t kill him first.

Based around the mythical lost ship of the Mojave which legends say is a Spanish ship laden with pearls, lost in the 1600s and all but forgotten until sometime in the 1800s when some set out to find it.

Josh Lockwood’s third Black Horse Western tells of a fictional search for the missing ship that proved to be a gripping read as I wanted to know if Gamble would find the ship and if he did, would it’s treasures (if they existed) bring wealth and happiness. Of course the title of the book hints that everything will not run smoothly and that danger through triple-cross will have to be overcome, but who was going to cross who?

The story involves Indians, Mexican bandits, and a beautiful arrogant woman who Gamble really can’t bring himself to like in anyway.

Lockwood’s descriptions of the desert landscape are particularly well written and the action scenes are fast and hard-hitting. Gamble is a likeable hero and I found myself sharing his dislike of the woman who hired him and of his loathing of bacon and beans (you’ll have to read the book to find out why this is). After the triple-cross the tale becomes a classic vengeance tale that ends in a brutal gunfight that provides an exciting end to the story.

Death on the Devil's Highway

By Josh Lockwood

Hale, February 2012

Sentenced to hang for a murder he didn’t commit, mustang man Auggie Kellerman escapes from custody and heads back to the scene of the crime to clear his name.

As an escaped prisoner, he is fair game for every lawman, bounty hunter, and Indian tracker in the Arizona Territory. He is also a fast-moving target for Charlie Keogh, the so-called Copper King of Arizona, the one man who stands to lose everything if he makes it back alive.

The only thing for it is a dangerous ride across the harshest stretch of trail known to mankind – the Devil’s Highway. Often enough in the West, a man’s reputation is all he has and Kellerman’s is badly in need of some six-gun justice.

This is Josh Lockwood’s first western for Hale, and it proves to be a very entertaining read. His writing style is straightforward and easy to follow and he tells his story at a fast pace. His plot doesn’t deviate from that outlined above, and there is a mystery element as to just why Kellerman has been framed. 

There are plenty of gunfights packed into the story, which are described vividly as are details of the landscape the action takes place in. Characters are well thought out and each has his/her own voice. 

The story races along to the final showdown, which ties everything up neatly, and left me feeling satisfied with this book.

Death on the Devil’s Highway is officially released on February 29th but is available now from the usual Internet bookstores.