Hard Road to Holford

By Greg Mitchell

A Black Horse Western from Hale, March 2011

The stagecoach run from Muddy Creek to Holford should have been an easy one. But since one of the passengers is being hunted by a Mexican revolutionary colonel who was swindled in an arms deal, things are unlikely to be that simple….

Forced to abandon their coach, the travellers must experience many dangers before they reach their destination…and even then their safety is by no means guaranteed.

Greg Mitchell brings together a fascinating group of people to play the central roles in this fast moving tale. His characters are easily identifiable with and you’ll soon be wondering if any of them are exactly who they say they are. Just which of the passengers is it that the self-styled Mexican colonel wants? Or is it the stage driver or his shotgun guard? Greg Mitchell creates suspicion superbly well on all these characters.

There are plenty of well-written action sequences and descriptions of scenes are expertly drawn, making the reader feel like they are sharing the hardships of the author’s characters.

I’ve only read one of Greg Mitchell’s books before and that left me wanting to read more of his books, and this, his tenth BHW, strengthens my desire to track down more of his work.

Greg Mitchell is a pseudonym used by Paddy Gallagher.

Hard Road to Holford is officially released today, and if you’d like a copy I’d suggest you get your order in without delay, as BHW tend to sell out quickly.

Last Reckoning for the Presidio Kid

By Emmett Stone

A Black Horse Western from Hale, March 2011

A stagecoach robbery and a train hold-up announce the sudden return of the elusive Presidio Kid. Hardly anything is known about the Kid and what triggered these events remains a mystery.

In an isolated mountain cabin, Clugh Bendix is nursing a gun wound to the leg, vowing to find out who shot him and why. His journey takes him to the volatile Texas borderlands: right to the heart of the mystery of the Presidio Kid.

For Bendix, the mystery becomes a battle and he must rely on his wits and his guns to survive. Long-buried secrets and an unexpected romance are revealed, but what will his fate be when the explosive showdown arrives?

As far as I can tell this is the first BHW to carry the author name of Emmett Stone, so is this a new writer or a pseudonym for a previously published author? Whichever, this person knows how to snare his readers, hook them into his story from the opening scenes. Questions come fast, such as why has Bendix been shot? Once this is answered it only leads to more questions that ensure the reader keeps turning the pages.

The book is presented in long chapters, seven to be exact. There are a lot of descriptive passages that set the scenes well. Stone writes in a clear and easy to read style that makes the book a pleasure to read. A couple of the questions asked are fairly easy to work out, such as who the Presidio Kid really is, but, just as you think you know how the story will end, Stone springs a neat twist to his tale.

This story uses the age-old western theme of land grabbing as its basic plotline, but has a fresh approach to that story, in fact pushes this plot into the background as the identity of the Presidio Kid, and why he is doing what he is, becomes the main focus of the book.

Overall the Last Reckoning for the Presidio Kid proved to be an entertaining read that has a number of surprises waiting for the reader. The book is officially released tomorrow but is on sale now.

Down the Long Hills

By Louis L’Amour

Bantam reissue, June 2007

Originally published January 1968

Everyone was dead. Indian raiders massacred the entire wagon train. Only seven-year-old Hardy Collins and three-year-old Betty Sue Powell managed to survive. With a knife, a horse, and the survival lessons his father taught him, Hardy must face the challenges of the open prairie. Using ingenuity and common sense, he builds shelters, searchers out water, and forages for food. But as he struggles to keep them alive, he realizes that their survival will depend on his ability to go beyond what his father was able to teach him. Hardy bravely presses on, fighting off the temptation to give up, until a howling blizzard and a pack of hungry wolves force him to make decisions that no seven-year-old boy should ever have to make.

I picked this book to read as the blurb above indicated that the hero would be different to those I usually read about. Here we have a young kid instead of the fast-shooting drifter, gunslinger or lawman etc. My one fear was that L’Amour would make the boy too much like a young man, give him abilities that no child of his age would have. But I needn’t have worried; L’Amour does an excellent job in his characterization of Hardy Collins and Betty Sue Powell. They come across as children, children full of belief that Hardy’s father will find, and save, them.

There are some exciting action scenes too, although one of them stretched my belief a little, that of a fight between a horse and a grizzly, but still it was very entertaining and that’s what is asked from fiction right? If you agree with my last comment then you’ll also be able to overlook the other things that had me asking questions, such as how Hardy made a very good bow and arrows without any tools to speak of?

Forgetting the eye-brow raising moments, this is an easy to read book that offers a straightforward storyline that has a predictable outcome but still proves to be a very enjoyable read. In fact this book could be a perfect way to introduce young readers to westerns due to the fact that the heroes are children too.

Killer Chase

By John Davage

A Black Horse Western from Hale, March 2011

It was supposed to be a simple bank robbery until a nervous member of Wolf Cotton’s gang shot the bank manager, thereby rousing half the people of Suta Springs.

Wolf and Ab Cooper were killed during the getaway while Curtis Jordan managed to disappear into the back streets. But Drew Hudson, the trigger-happy gang’s newest member, got away clean – and with the loot!

When Drew doesn’t bring the money he owes the others to their pre-arranged meeting-point, an enraged Curtis vows to find and kill him. Meanwhile, Deputy Danny Ridge is more interested in discovering the identity of the person who gave Wolf Cotton the key to the bank’s back door.

Who will get their comeuppance first? One thing’s for sure: the chase is on!

Having read John Davage’s first BHW, Unsigned Avenger, and really enjoying it I was looking forward to this, his second book. Would it be as good as that first one?

John Davage writes in an easy to read style, his chapters being short – only a couple of pages long, as each one follows the trail of a different character. The book starts during the bank raid, giving the story an action packed opening that leads to a number of questions for Suta Springs lawmen. These puzzles being perfect hooks to ensure I kept reading. Also the relationships between various characters provide some great possibilities as to how these friendships might turn out, again keeping me reading to see if I’d guessed right.

The book moves forwards at tremendous pace as the surviving members of the gang escape with deputy Ridge in pursuit. This chase is further complicated by a fourth person joining the hunt. Three of these people are intent on killing the others. Along the way other characters become aware of who the outlaws are and attempt to get the money for themselves anyway they can, such as blackmail. Eventually the four main players come together for an exciting final tense shootout.

So, to answer my question as to whether I’d enjoy this book as much as the first one, I have to say yes, definitely. And once more I find myself eagerly looking forward to John Davage’s next.

Killer Chase is officially released at the end of this month, but is available now from some Internet bookstores.

The Skull of Iron Eyes

By Rory Black

A Black Horse Western from Hale, March 2011

In a remote forested valley, six miners, led by the once famous magician Will Hayes, strike pay dirt. As it turns out, a fortune in golden nuggets is hidden throughout the length of the dense landscape, waiting to be gathered up and taken back to civilization. A small isolated tribe of natives are the miners’ only obstacle but Hayes has a dastardly plan….

All goes well for Hayes and his ruthless followers until they make the mistake of killing a child and casting her body into the river. What none of the miners realize is that the body will be found by the infamous bounty hunter Iron Eyes. He vows to discover who killed the little girl and he won’t stop until he sees justice done….

The above blurb, taken from the back of the book, is a little misleading, as it implies most of the story will be about Iron Eyes’ hunt for the killers of the little girl, in fact this doesn’t happen until about thirty pages from the end. In the earlier parts of the book the author explains the events that lead up to the discovery of the girls body.

Rory Black moves from one set of characters to another chapter by chapter as he brings all these people along their various trails to where they will meet for a final, spectacular, showdown. We follow Hayes and his gang, witness how they use magic to fool the natives into believing they are gods, although not all the Indians believe this to be so. Iron Eyes is tracking a group of outlaws of which two escape and leave Iron Eyes blind. It’s when Iron Eyes recovers enough to follow these two fleeing outlaws that their trail leads to the dead girl.

There’s plenty of action, often fairly graphic in description, and the story moves along at a great pace. There are a couple of sequences that stretch belief a little, but nevertheless make for entertaining reading. The finish of the book doesn’t seem to end that well for Iron Eyes, and left me wanting to know more, so lets hope it isn’t that long before another Iron Eyes book hits the shelves.

The Skull of Iron Eyes is the fourteenth book in the series, and is officially released at the end of this month, although it should be available from the usual Internet sources now.

Morgan Kane #37

DEAD MAN’S SHADOW

By Louis Masterson

Corgi, 1978

Originally published in Norway, 1970

Morgan Kane had been given the strangest assignment of his life, from a medic – three months in a sanatorium, or risk getting TB in his damaged lung. Kane had never been one for the quiet life, especially when the rules were ‘no tobacco, no liquor, no excitement’ – and when the room was the one Doc Holliday had died in…

But then he met up again with Gwen Arling, just as lovely as she’d been a year ago in Nicaragua and real pleased to see Kane again. And after that he came up against a marauding wolf, and a quarter-million dollar kidnapping. Kane may have had a bad lung, but he sure proved there was nothing wrong with his shooting arm…

I think anyone who has been on medication will be able to relate to Kane’s frustrations and self-pity as he’s told to keep away from all the things he enjoys about life. His relish when managing to eat forbidden food is beautifully described as is his anger at having his smuggled in whiskey discovered and confiscated. Gwen Arling’s mixed emotions at seeing Kane again are equally as well handled. (Kane first met Gwen in book 34: The Demon of Nicaragua)

It isn’t long before the always vigilant Kane begins to suspect there’s more than just a wolf prowling around outside the sanatorium. Persuading those in charge to allow him to hunt the wolf lets him investigate other suspicious activities too.

Like the previous novels in the series this is a short book, coming in at 102 pages, so it proves to be a quick read, not just due to its length but also because Louis Masterson (Kjell Hallbing) writes in a very readable style and his stories draw the reader into the plot effortlessly. The books do contain lots of action but I’d say their real strength lies in character study, particularly that of Kane where we see him emotionally scarred time and time again, and in later books see how they affect him. This book is one of the few times where Kane doesn’t add to his torments.

If you’re looking for a quick, entertaining, read then this book is worth considering. For those who follow Kane’s adventures then this is one not to miss as it continues, and develops, his relationship with Gwen Arling.

Trailsman #353

BITTERROOT BULLETS

By Jon Sharpe

Signet, March 2011

The mountains of western Montana, 1861 – where only the brave dare venture, and few who do ever come out again.

Fourteen-year-old Petey Evans ain’t much to look at, but he’s got a head filled with big dreams – and becoming just like his hero, Skye Fargo, is at the top of the list. Fargo isn’t as eager to take on a pupil, but he gives Petey a quick course in shooting, scouting, and surviving that the boy won’t soon forget. But before long, Petey discovers that there are some things that can’t be taught – even by the Trailsman…

Petey Evans is a great character, one that manages to pull the wool over Fargo’s eyes, something not many people achieve. Once the Trailsman realizes just what Petey’s real objective is, he sets out to save the boy from certain death. This involves the Trailsman putting his own life in danger, not least when he manages to talk his way into becoming a member of a gang of killers lead by the savage Lazarus Wolfe, the outlaw leader making for a terrific adversary for Fargo.

The story is told in an ever-increasing pace that is filled with action, some of which comes suddenly and brutally. Fargo is pitched against impressive odds, and you have to wonder how he can possibly beat them whilst keeping Petey alive. And if trying to save one person isn’t enough of a challenge, Fargo soon finds he has a second person to rescue.

The author – in this case David Robbins writing as Jon Sharpe – fills this book with memorable characters, each having an important role to play in the outcome, even people the Trailsman meets in passing, such as Stricklin, who you might think has played his part once he and Fargo go their separate ways.

Bitterroot Bullets proves to be another excellent entry into this long running series.