Rogue Lawman #6

GALLOWS EXPRESS

By Peter Brandvold

Berkley, May 2011

Brazos got off lucky this time. His pa, Blue Tierney, saved him from receiving due justice at the hands of a hangman in Trinity Ridge. Which means the Tierney’s and their gang are continuing to roam free, spreading their terror…

What this town needs is a temporary lawman who exhibits little diplomacy when it comes to doling out justice – and Gideon Hawk is that man. Not everyone is sure of him though, especially a hard-nosed yet fetching schoolteacher and some shady businessmen…

Like most hardened outlaws, the Tierney’s don’t take kindly to getting pushed out of their territory, and they put up a damned good fight. But Hawk won’t back down until he has them strung up from the gallows they once escaped…

Once more Peter Brandvold comes up with the goods. This is a tough, violent, and very fast moving story that throws up a couple of surprises for fans of this series. The first being Hawk’s promise to a dead lawman to see the Tierney’s hang, rather than dish out his usual form of justice – killing them on sight. The other surprise comes at the end where we see Hawk considering settling down and getting married! That’s sure left me wanting to see another Rogue Lawman book come out as soon as possible so I can find out if this happens.

The book is filled with hard-hitting action, that builds in savagery towards an exciting and brutal final gunfight that Hawk is luck to walk away from. There’s plenty of cracking dialogue too, often laced with touches of humour. The story also sees the return of Saradee, the girl who kills as easily and proficiently as Hawk.

For fans of the Rogue Lawman series, and Peter Brandvold’s work – this is a book not to be missed.

Gallows Express should hit the shelves any day now if it hasn’t already. Definitely a book all westerns fans should enjoy. 

The Secret of Devil's Canyon

By I.J. Parnham

A Black Horse Western from Hale, April 2011

When Mayor Maxwell and his daughter are brutally murdered, feelings in Bear Creek run high. Even when the killer is caught and sentenced to life in prison, the townsfolk demand a lynching. So sheriff Bryce calls in Nathaniel McBain to spirit the killer away through Devil’s Canyon to Beaver Ridge jail.

At first, Nathaniel manages to stay one step ahead of the pursuing mob; but as he loses ground, he realizes he faces an even bigger problem: his prisoner may be innocent after all….

A dark secret about what really happened is buried in Devil’s Canyon. Will Nathaniel be able to uncover the truth before the mob reaches him?

I.J. Parnham presents the reader with a book that starts off like a straight-forward storyline but with the introduction of more and more characters, such as the bone-hunter Jim Dragon and his enemy Pierre Dulaine, and Emily Chambers who is searching for her missing father, all of whom seem to be involved in different threads to the story, it isn’t long before the plot throws up twist after twist that makes this book impossible to put down until the reader discovers how everything is resolved.

It’s the plots twists and turns that make I.J. Parnham’s books so appealing to me. Every time I think I know what is going on, what will happen next, Ian throws in another twist to completely throw me off track. Descriptions are kept to a minimum, just enough to allow the reader to visualise what the people, landscapes, and towns look like. Ian tells his story’s at a fast pace, uses believable dialogue, and ties everything up neatly by the end.

The Secret of Devil’s Canyon is a very entertaining read that, once more, leaves me looking forward to his next BHW. This book is available now from the usual Internet sources. 

A Way in the Wilderness

By Paula L. Silici

Moonlight Mesa Associates, May 2011

Left by a buffalo hunter on the doorstep of a brothel after her parents are massacred by Indians, young Meg Finn grows up to loathe her life as the cleaning woman at Dodge City’s notorious Black Boots Inn. When she is tricked by the madam into thinking she’s been sold for one night’s pleasure to mysterious rancher Nathan Barris, her world is turned upside down. So begins Meg’s adventure farther west to search for her Uncle Sean. Little does she know that fate will bring her face to face with Nate Barris again. Will the secrets she harbors keep her from finding love and acceptance in his arms at last, or will those secrets completely destroy them both?

I picked this book with some trepidation, as it’s not my usual reading choice, for this book is billed as a western romance. Now I’ve not read any out and out romance books before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I did find out very quickly is that Paula L. Silici knows how to write, knows how to create believable characters that capture the imagination from the opening scenes, knows how to keep her readers turning the pages.

This is a book that deals with the happiness and fear that falling in love brings forth within people and hidden secrets that could rip apart their dreams – and in this case it’s not just Meg’s story but there’s a secondary romance thread that follows the fortunes of Holly, a girl who leaves the Black Boots Inn along with Meg. Holly has to deal with a cowboy who knows what she did for a living and seems determined to destroy any hope of her starting afresh. How Roy Lunt will be dealt with was one of the storylines that kept me eager to keep reading.

There’s also another thread to this tale. This involves three orphan children that are rescued from being sold as slaves by Meg and her friends. Taking these children with them adds another enemy that wants these children back so must be confronted at some point. At first this storyline is kept to the sidelines, simmering just under the surface before it rears its ugly head and leads to a final shootout and ultimately leads to repairing damage done to other relationships within this fast moving story.

As Shirely Johnson, senior reviewer for the MidWest Book Review says, “This is a wonderful romantic read laced with adventure, mystery, and western flair.” And I don’t think I could sum it up any better than that.

Dakota Rage

By Jake Douglas

A Black Horse Western from Hale, April 2011

Chance Lawton lived with his best friend, Ishna-Kobay, amongst a Lakota Sioux tribe in the Black Hills of Dakota. They hunted and broke mustangs – until a fake army patrol ambushed them, stole their belongings and killed Ishna-Kobay.

Lawton usually liked to steer clear of trouble, but avenging his friend’s murder was no trouble: the way he saw it, it was his bounden duty. And if duty meant facing ‘Captain’ Brodie Hall’s guns, then so be it….

This book is filled with fast moving action from almost the first word. Lawton’s desire for revenge seemingly the only storyline, and that would be enough for most authors. But Jake Douglas further complicates matters with the discovery of hidden gold nuggets that Lawton cleverly uses to draw his enemy to where he wants him.

The final showdown between Lawton and McCracken – the actual killer of Ishna-Kobay - is an exciting one on one without guns that is told brutally. This fight carried out under Indian rules. In fact a band of Sioux play a major role to the outcome of Lawton’s quest for vengeance and the other plot threads.

Dakota Rage is a well-written book that moves forwards at a tremendous pace as it builds to its excellent ending. But then again I’d expect nothing more from this writer: Jake Douglas being non other than the highly regarded western author Keith Hetherington.

Dakota Rage has an official release date of April 29^th but is available now.

The Outlaw Marshal

Many of you will already be aware that Edward A. Grainger's latest Cash Laramie has recently appeared at The Flash Fiction Offensive but just in case there's some of you that haven't read it yet then please click the link and read this excellent short story that shows the darker side of Cash Laramie. (I've only got around to posting about this now as I've been away for a few days)

The first western I ever read

THE RIMFIRE RIDERS

By John Robb

The Children’s Press, 1968

This is the first western I ever read. It’s the story that got me hooked on, and began my lifelong passion for, western books. It could also explain why The Trailsman series is one of my favourites today – but more of that later.

I guess I’d have been under ten years old when I was given this book. I enjoyed it that much that I soon found myself the owner of two other John Robb westerns. All three starred the same hero. A scout who was very fast with his twin Colt Dragoons, a man called Catsfoot.

This story sees Catsfoot taking on a Mexican bandit called Janamo and his gang. Janamo is a giant of a man who is also extremely fast with his guns, although he likes to use his fists too. Janamo is the terror of the area but everyone is too scared to take him on. The army can’t spare any soldiers as they have their hands-full with an Apache uprising, so Catsfoot steps in.

Catsfoot is definitely a ‘white hat’ hero. He fights for justice, doesn’t use bad language (he wouldn’t I guess when you consider the age group this book is aimed at), and only kills when there’s no other choice – for instance in this story he takes on a small band of Apaches and rather than kill them he’s good enough to shoot their weapons from their hands! Fanciful stuff, and not very realistic, but for a young child reader exciting and dramatic. The final showdown between Catsfoot and Janamo in a classic one-on-one fast draw in a dusty street also stayed in my mind.

Even today I found this book to be an entertaining and action filled read. I was also surprised at how savage it is in places when you think that the book was written for the children’s market.

I mentioned the Trailsman series earlier and that I thought Catsfoot could be the reason I like those books so much. When I compare Skye Fargo and Catsfoot there are many similarities, both are fast guns, both scout for the army, both wear buckskins, both are expert trackers etc. It’s almost like Fargo is the adult version of Catsfoot.

After having decided to read this again I’m sure I’ll be reading my other two Catsfoot westerns once more, and the other John Robb westerns I’ve managed to find thanks to the Internet.

Paytime for a Good Man

By Joseph John McGraw

A Black Horse Western from Hale, April 2011

Todd Coulter was a good man, a family man, wanting nothing more than to make an honest living by honest toil. He abided by the laws of God and men but somebody or something up there just didn’t like him….

In the end, he lost his family, his home and everything he’d worked for. But then Hollis Clarke turned up from his past and showed him the error of his law-abiding ways.

Hollis offers Todd a surefire way of making money. It’s not honest or legal but Todd no longer cares. He knows that a man with money can stand on his own two feet. He can do what he wanted and go wherever he pleases. He can be free….

But both men knew that the day of reckoning always comes…and when it does, it’s paytime.

This book offers a fast moving story filled with action that had me wondering as to its outcome, for this book has quite a dark theme running throughout that I found fascinating to see unfold.

Joseph John McGraw has written a wonderful study of character that illustrates how a person can change when everything he lives for is cruelly snatched away. We also witness how money leads to mistrust and greed – real or imagined – and puts a strain on friendships. McGraw portrays a man cracking under pressure superbly, the voice he begins to hear in his head questioning, yet urging him on in his quest for a new life, hints that maybe everything isn’t going to turn out perfectly for Todd.

As the killings mount up, the author throws in a number of surprises that eventually lead Todd to believe his luck is changing for the good, but McGraw has one hell of a twist waiting for Todd, one that I thought made for a just ending to the book.

Paytime for a Good Man is Joseph John McGraw’s fifth BHW, and the first I’ve read by him. On the strengths of this story I’ll certainly be looking out for more of his books.

Paytime for a Good Man is officially released on April 29^th, but should be available from the usual Internet bookstores now.