Redemption: Trackdown

By James Reasoner

Berkley, March 2013

Marshal Bill Harvey puts his life at risk every day to protect the people of Redemption, Kansas. But there’s only one resident whose well-being comes before all else, and if you touch her, you’re as good as dead in his books…

Bill Harvey thought he had his hands full with the hot-headed Jesse Overstreet, a Texan like himself, who’d stumbled into town. But Overstreet is the least of his problems when Caleb Tatum and his gang sweep through town, cleaning folks out of every last penny. As a bonus, they make off with a beautiful hostage: Eden Harvey, Bill’s wife…

While Bill and his posse ride hard through Kansas to save Eden and the old buzzard Mordecai is left alone to police the town, a broken marriage turns violent and a suspicious gypsy spooks the townspeople. Mordecai desperately needs Bill to return. And he might just get his wish when the posse finds unexpected help from that fiery Texan, Overstreet. Bill will surely get back his beloved, at any cost…

At last the third book in James Reasoner’s excellent Redemption series is out and, like the previous two, it proves to be a gripping, first class, read.

Switching regularly between the various groups of characters, often leaving them in dangerous situations, James Reasoner urges you to keep reading to find out just what happens next, as it seems both Harvey and Mordecai are out of their depths, particularly the latter as a troubled marriage turns brutal and family members demand violent justice.

This fast-paced book provides excitement, believable characters and tense action scenes. It most definitely falls into the category of books you won’t be able to put down and closes with a neat little mystery about the identity of one of the main characters.

As with the first two books I highly recommend this to all fans of the western and hope that it isn’t too long before a fourth book appears.

Redemption: Hunters

By James Reasoner

Berkley, February 2012

Now that former Texas cowhand Bill Harvey has been appointed marshal of Redemption, Kansas, the troubled town has a hope of staying lawful. But in the untamed West, justice can come at a deadly cost…

When a group of buffalo hunters gets into a scuffle with a party of Indians, the end results are tragic – leaving all but one of the Indians dead. With the sole survivor on his way to rally the rest of his tribe for vengeance, the buffalo hunters hightail it to the closest settlement, putting Redemption in the middle of a war.

Now Bill has to figure out a way to keep the residents of Redemption safe as the Indian war party descends on the town. And with outlaws taking advantage of the chaos and attempting to rob the town bank, Bill will need all the help he can get to keep the peace and stay alive…

This is the second book in James Reasoner’s Redemption series and it proves to be as highly entertaining as the first one: Redemption, Kansas. Obviously, as with any series set in a town, many of the characters will have already been met by readers of the previous book, and here James gets to develop their personalities more, as well as adding new characters to the mix, such as Captain Stone and buffalo hunter Costigan.

The story moves from Redemption, Stone’s patrol, and the buffalo hunters effortlessly, as events unfold that will ultimately bring the Indian war party to the town. The demand from the Indians to leave the town alone makes for a difficult and almost impossible choice for Bill to make. A supreme act of courage could solve this problem and end the standoff but others want the attack to take place and move to make it happen…

James Reasoner creates a terrific air of tension as the town waits for the Indians to arrive. His pacing is excellent and his prose believable. Everything builds towards the final showdown, which provides a dramatic and exciting ending to the story, leaving me without hesitation in recommending this book.

Me? I just hope Berkley realize that in this writer and these books they have a first class series, and that they need to publish them more often, as nearly a year between books is far too long to wait for those of us eager to see what troubles befall the town of Redemption next.

Redemption, Kansas

By James Reasoner

Berkley, March 2011

The town of Redemption surely does need some – especially with a crooked marshal in charge. Texas cowhand Bill Harvey, injured in a cattle stampede on a drive through Kansas, is laid up in Redemption waiting to heal. Tended to by a shopkeeper’s lovely daughter, Eden Monroe, he figures there are worse places he could have ended up…

But the longer Will stays in Redemption, the more he gets the feeling that there’s something wrong. A series of unexplained killings plagues the town and has the local shopkeepers fearing for their lives. It’s up to Bill to figure out what’s going on before more people, including his beloved Eden, get caught in the cross fire.

This is the first in a new series, and, going by the strength of this book, I hope it has a long run.

James Reasoner has created an engaging hero in Bill Harvey, a young man who will go through some changes during the course of this story. Events take place that will see a change in his profession and his life in general. Another great character is Eden Monroe, and seeing her and Bill’s relationship develop is one of the highlights of this book.

There is plenty of action, and we witness Bill being drawn into solving the mystery of the killings when those who are helping him recover are threaten. There’s some superbly drawn bad guys, in particular Zach Norris.

As expected James Reasoner writes a fast moving and gripping tale, that’s beautifully paced, building in tension to its exciting final showdown.

Redemption, Kansas once again strengthens James Reasoner’s reputation as being one of the best of the authors writing westerns today. If you’ve never read any of his work before then this excellent book is the perfect place to start. For fans of his writing, make sure you don’t miss this one, as I’m sure, like me, it’ll leave you eager for the next in the series.