Bothers in Blood

By Lee Lejeune

Crowood Press, March 2017

As young Stubbs ‘Sunshine’ Shining is riding West, he hears shooting, and sees four gunmen firing at a homestead. He fires a couple of shots to scare them off, and discovers that the person defending the property is a middle-aged woman named Bethany Bartok. She invites Sunshine in and gives him food and drink. He learns that her husband has died, her son Bart has gone off in search of his fortune, and her daughter Elspeth has travelled East to be educated. Sunshine decides to stay on at the farm for a short spell. But soon things get complicated. Bart has been kidnapped and the local Cutaway brothers are determined to get their hands on the property for some reason. Then Sunshine becomes even more deeply involved in the fate of the Bartok homestead when Bethany’s daughter Elspeth returns.

Sunshine soon gets a reputation as a gunfighter, but that’s only the beginning. Why do the Cutaway brothers want the farm? Who is holding young Bart captive? And where is he being held? Sunshine starts to untangle the thread that leads him into very dangerous territory.

As you’ll realize from the above blurb there’s a lot going on in this book and the author includes a few mystery elements to hook the reader right from the very start. As the story develops so more questions are raised that need answers and most of these will only be revealed towards the end of this very fast moving tale. I took a few guesses at who was holding Bart and was only partly right in my assumptions, as I was to why the Cutaway brothers want the farm, so the writer had a few surprises in store for me.

I’ve read a couple of Lee Lejeune’s other Black Horse Westerns and noted that they have strong female characters and this book also contains major roles for equally tough women who aren’t afraid of taking up arms against their enemies.

Brothers in Blood is a story that mixes gunplay, mystery, and memorable characters in a thoroughly entertaining read that left me eager to read another Lee Lejeune western very soon.

Incident at River Bend

By Lee Lejeune

Hale, June 2014

When Steve Carrington, the sheriff of River Bend, saves a young and desperate thief from a lynch mob, he is content to send the kid packing with his life intact. However when a mysterious army sergeant arrives, fresh out of jail for armed robbery, tension in the town builds.

Wesley Carradine is convinced the sergeant is sitting on a pile of loot the authorities never found and sends his private henchmen to investigate. All the while, however, with the help of a company of bandits, Carradine is organizing a more devious ploy that will really turn the town on its head.

Avarice, honour and the battle for supremacy fuel the saga that ensues, as the actions of a greedy few take a grip on the town.

I’ve read a couple of Lee Lejeune’s Black Horse Westerns before and they turned out to be thoroughly entertaining reads and Incident at River Bend is equally so.

Lee Lejeune includes many great characters in this twisting story that is filled with questions about their relationships, their true agendas, and the whereabouts of the missing loot – if this exists. All these, and more, prove to be powerful hooks that grabbed my attention and ensured I kept reading until I discovered the answers. For those who like action, there’s plenty of that too.

Like other Lejeune westerns this one contains a number of strong female roles and it would seem that events surrounding the sergeant and Carradine could just make or break Carrington’s relationship with one of them.

The story builds well to a showdown involving a stagecoach and a hotel standoff that brings everything to a satisfying and exciting end that left me looking forward to Lee Lejeune’s next book.

Incident at River Bend at Amazon.com

Incident at River Bend (Black Horse Western) at Amazon.co.uk

Blood on the Sand

by Lee Lejeune

A Black Horse Western from Hale, November 2010

Mav is on his way west from Tennessee when he encounters a gang of desperadoes about to kill a young Apache brave. When he intervenes to save the victim, he stirs up a lot of bad blood – but he also forges an unusual partnership when a band of Comanche comes to his aid.

He rides on to the small town of Cimarron where he hopes to find some rest … but he soon discovers that there are a few surprises left in store for him yet….

Lee Lejeune creates an intriguing hero in Mav. Seems his name is made up and he just may be a man with a murderous past. The desire to find out if this was true, and just how it would effect the outcome of the book, would have been enough to keep me turning the pages. But, Lejeune includes more hooks than just that, and the plots twists and turns make for an entertaining and fast moving read.

Like many BHWs, Lejeune includes some female interest for the hero, but not just one woman, here we have three, all very strong characters. Will he become romantically involved with any of them? That’s another question that needed an answer and one I’m not going to reveal here.

There’s plenty of action including bank robberies, kidnapping, revenge, overcoming fear of Indians, running fights, and exciting shootouts. More than enough to keep any western fan happy I’d say.

Blood on the Sand is available now from the usual sources.

Oh yeah, and there isn’t a prize for working out which actor has been used for the cover painting.

Time to Kill

by Lee Lejeune
A Black Horse Western from Hale, May 2009

Ten years after the end of the Civil War, Nat Jordan, who fought in the Confederate army, is returning by railroad to his home near Kansas City. When they are held up by so-called Quantrill raiders, led by Captain Coulter with whom Jordan escaped from Union forces during the war, Coulter recognizes Jordan and this soon leads to complications.

A Pinkerton agent called McGill suspects that Jordan is in cahoots with the raiders, and things turn very nasty when tragedy strikes at the Jordan homestead. Who is on the side of the raiders and who is on the side of the law? It is a time to kill, but who will die?

This fast moving, action packed, book is filled with memorable characters: such as Jordan, Coulter, McGill, Preacher Man and Rig. Lejeune keeps you guessing as to which side of the law they are on, and so hooks the reader superbly, and only reveals their true agendas when he wants you to know, thus adding a number of twists and surprises to the story.

The relationship between Jordan and Coulter is explained in a number of flashback sequences that are set during the Civil War, allowing for some savage confrontations between Union and Confederate troops.

Another fascinating relationship is that of Jordan and his father, and it is this one that creates an air of suspicion over Jordan’s loyalties.

Among all the violence and mistrusts there is another relationship, one from Jordan’s past, with a girl he grew up with. Could his renewed friendship with Beth develop into something more? Will his more violent past allow it to?

And what of the end? How does everything work out? Those are questions I’m not going to answer, instead I’ll suggest you buy or borrow a copy of this book and find out for yourselves. What I will say is Lejeune finishes the book with a final line that hints at more to come, and thus ensures this reader will be keeping an eye-out for more of his work.

Time to Kill is out now, its official release date being two days ago – May 29th.