Gunsmoke Express

By Gillian F. Taylor

Crowood Press, June 2019

Thanks to a tip-off, Sheriff Alec Lawson and his deputies fight and capture the notorious outlaw Saul York. But the trouble doesn’t end there. Alec falls desperately ill and when he recovers, he finds that York’s lawyer has got him out on bail.

Although still weakened by his illness, Alec is determined to get back to work. He soon finds himself in the action again, but fatigue leads to a terrible mistake and he begins to doubt his abilities. Will his frailty endanger his friends? York is still out there somewhere, protected by his ambitious lawyer.

When York becomes his prime suspect in a murderous robbery, Alec Lawson must push himself to close the net on the elusive outlaw. He’ll have to face down a lynch mob, the killer outlaw and his own doubt to get the job done, whatever the cost to himself.

I’ve read a number of Gillian F. Taylor’s Black Horse Westerns and thoroughly enjoyed them all, so was looking forward to reading this, the fourth of her books to feature Sheriff Alec Lawson. The books in this particular series all have the word Express in the title and all involve a train at some point in the storyline.

Each book in the series is a self-contained novel, so you can jump in anywhere. The only real connections the books have to each other are characters and their relationships, and this one finds Alec having to deal with his feelings for and confusion in the way two women react to him now as well as hunting down York and proving that he has done the crimes the sheriff believes he’s committed. 

There’s plenty of gunplay as well as battles of words to trick York into admitting his guilt. Alec confronting York’s lawyer, Hart, makes for some fascinating reading too. Alec’s banter with his deputies adds some welcome light-hearted humour to the story. Taylor brings everything together in an exciting, tense, conclusion that brings the book to a brutal ending that leaves me hoping Gillian won’t take too long in writing another story about Sheriff Alec Lawson as I’ve got to know if the lawman will ever work out what is going on with the two women in his life.

Outlaw Express

By Gillian F. Taylor

The Crowood Press, January 2017

Sheriff Alec Lawson had never robbed a train before. He’d infiltrated a band of outlaws to help capture them, but when they kidnapped Lacey Fry from the Leadville express, he had no choice but to try and rescue the young woman alone. Alec Lawson didn’t know the territory and he didn’t know the girl. He had to fight his way through the snowy mountains, trying to stay one step ahead of the pursuing outlaws.

Bill Alcott, the gang’s leader, felt he had been fooled and then betrayed by Lawson. He had to kill him to avenge his brother and keep the respect of his men.

Lacey Fry had to ride as she’d never ridden before, and travel with a man she didn’t know, who was her only hope of escaping a fate worse than death.

So the chase was on, through snow and bloodshed, until one of them could run no further and hunter and hunted finally came face to face.

This is the third book to feature Sheriff Alec Lawson, the previous two begin Silver Express and Dynamite Express. You don’t need to read the earlier books as Gillian F. Taylor includes enough background information in Outlaw Express to fill a new reader in on Lawson’s back story.

This tale is pretty much a straight chase story, but with the twist that it is a lawman being hunted by outlaws rather than the other way round as is the case with many books. The fact Lawson isn’t familiar with his surroundings means there are plenty of obstacles to overcome if he wants to stay one step ahead of the outlaws.

I’ve read a number of Gillian F. Taylor’s books before and have always enjoyed them, and Outlaw Express proved to be another very entertaining read. I can only hope she doesn’t keep us waiting another three years for her next book.

Dynamite Express

By Gillian F. Taylor

Hale, September 2014

Sheriff Alec Lawson has come a long way from the Scottish Highlands and work is never slow as he deals with a kidnapped woman from China, moonshine that’s sending those who drink it blind and a terrifying incident involving a moving train.

But when a man is found dead out in the wild, Sheriff Lawson starts to wonder if the one and only witness might not be telling him the whole truth as to what really happened and decides to start digging deeper….

This book sees Gillian Taylor bringing back Sheriff Lawson, who previously appeared in Silver Express. The main storyline, that of solving a murder, sees Taylor blending western and detective elements perfectly to provide a gripping read full of questions that Lawson will struggle to answer even using photographs of the dead man to help.

The other major story thread, that of the deadly moonshine, and discovering who is making it, leads to a neat shootout that should satisfy all western fans. But this exchange of gunfire is nothing compared to the dramatic and extremely memorable conclusion to the murder case, and its destructive finale was something that I didn’t see coming.

Will Lawson return in a third book? I certainly hope so as Taylor leaves what looks like a blossoming love triangle unresolved and I for one would really like to see how this pans out.

Dynamite Express proved to be a very entertaining book that I believe will be enjoyed by all western readers and probably by those who like detective novels too.