The Boot Hill Breed

By Ned Oaks

The Crowood Press, November 2016

Upon learning his mother is seriously ill, Jack Marric leaves his carefree life in California to return home to the tiny village of Jasper, Oregon. He is a quiet man, slow to anger but good with a pistol, who minds his own business and doesn’t look for trouble. But before he reaches Jasper, he is forced into a shootout in a saloon, leaving two of the notorious Harper brothers dead.

Back home, Marric reunites with his family, and he is particularly happy when he learns his sister is engaged to the town marshal. Then some local ranch hands kill the marshal, reigniting an old feud between Marric and their boss, Chance Elson.

As Marric takes over as lawman, he is determined to bring the murderers to justice. Little does he know that one of the surviving Harper brothers is stalking him, just waiting for the opportunity to take vengeance on Jack Marric… and his family.

Ned Oaks doesn’t give his hero Jack Marric an easy time as he has to endure physical and mental pain in a story that revolves around different characters desires for revenge, which will eventually include Marric being driven by the need for vengeance whilst hunting for his sister’s kidnapper.

This book starts with gunplay, then dips slightly in the action stakes as the author paints a picture of happy family life that will be ripped apart violently and that is when the pace picks up again and it becomes an action-packed tale again and by the bloody end all the story threads will be tied up neatly.

Ned Oaks writing is extremely readable, he has created a great set of characters that will keep you turning the pages as you’ll want to find out what happens to them. The Boot Hill Breed is a western that I believe should be enjoyed by all fans of the genre. 

Deception Creek

By Ned Oaks

The Crowood Press, December 2016

A masked killer is stalking the small town of Oakridge. Known only as The Phantom, he strikes at night, attacking sleeping couples in their beds, raping and murdering with impunity. Despite the best efforts of the local deputy, he manages to elude capture, and finally former marshal Ed Burton is brought in to assist the investigation.

Burton is an experienced lawman, having solved many murder cases before his retirement, but never before has he hunted a predator as dangerous as this one. Working closely with Deputy Maynard Blayloch, he becomes obsessed with his quarry, and soon they close in on a suspect. But nothing is what it seems, and suddenly Burton finds himself the target of The Phantom.

A note on the back of the book tells us that this tale of terror and justice is based on a true story.

Ned Oaks builds his story extremely well, showing how The Phantom goes from just beating and raping to finally killing his victims. Who is The Phantom? What drives him? Why was there such a long gap between his first attacks and those that Burton finds himself investigating? All this combines to make this a very difficult to put down tale that will keep you reading until the answers are revealed.

Ned Oaks has also had fun with his character names, many of them being pseudonyms for westerns writers such as Tyler Hatch, Hank Kirby, Emerson Dodge and George G. Gilman. All these putting a big grin on my face as I read.

This is the third Ned Oaks western I have read, and like the previous two, I found it to be a very entertaining read that left me looking forward to his next book.

Quarter to Midnight

By Ned Oaks

Crowood Press, July 2016

Steve Karner was attacked one night in the woods outside Stayton, Oregon. Beaten nearly to death and thrown in the river, he hadn’t been seen in years, and everyone assumed he was dead. But then the men who tried to kill him started dying, one by one, and it soon became apparent that Karner was not only alive, but riding a vengeance trail that wouldn’t end until he had found the mastermind behind the attempted murder.

There are many dangers to be faced along the way, however – a tough town marshal who wants the truth, a cunning young millionaire who will use all his family’s power to protect his secrets, and a cold-blooded hired killer who’s been paid a very tidy sum to kill Steve Karner. It all comes together in a brutal final showdown in which the truth is revealed…and only one man is left standing.

This is Ned Oaks second Black Horse Western and the first I’ve read.

Filled with well thought out characters the motives that drive them had me hooked immediately as did the desire to discover just why Karner had been attacked. Karner’s vengeance on those who beat him and threw him in the river is dealt with fairly quickly making the reader wonder where the rest of the story will go.

With Karner in jail and a killer closing in the already fast pace of the story shifts up a gear and the book becomes very difficult to put down. Tension, more deaths, swift gun action, and a great twist leading to a final confrontation brings the book to an exciting ending.

On finishing this story I found myself wishing I’d read Ned Oaks’ previous book, The Drygulch Trail, but finding a copy of that can wait as I already have his third book, Rimrock Renegade, that has been published by Crowood this month and I will certainly be reading that as soon as I can.

If you’d like to find out more about Ned Oaks you can read an interview with him here.

In case you missed it, Black Horse Westerns are now available as ebooks as well as hardbacks.