High Rise

by

Gabriel Bergmoser

After a year of searching, rogue ex-cop Jack Carlin has finally found his estranged daughter, Morgan, holed up in the top floor of a rundown, grimy high-rise building. The trouble is, Jack's unconventional policing and information-gathering methods in the past has made him some serious enemies. And what Jack doesn't know as he heads into the building, intent on saving his daughter, is firstly, that Morgan doesn't want to be saved - particularly not by him - and secondly, that the entire criminal underworld in the city are on their way too... There's a bounty on his head, and they're after his blood - and they don't mind if Morgan is collateral damage.

As bounty hunters and gang members converge on the building, father and daughter are thrown into a desperate fight for survival through fifteen stories of deadly enemies - with only each other to rely on.

This book showcases Bergmoser at his finest. It's well-written, packed with a fantastic cast of characters, and loaded with nonstop action. Jack Carlin is on a mission to find his daughter, ultimately tracking her to a high-rise. As I mentioned, the cast is excellent—even Maggie from THE HUNTED makes a cameo.

However, it’s quite violent, so if that’s not your thing, this might not be the book for you. For the rest of us, dive right in and enjoy.

My only gripe, and this is purely personal, is that the book is written in present tense. But like I said, that’s just me. Overall, it’s an exhilarating read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this story. 

Top Gun

by

Gordon D. Shirreffs

Get a copy here from Wolfpack Publishing!

Dade Averill was fed up with being a gunslick. Before getting locked into the path he’d been on for years, he’d wanted more out of life than the clothes on his back and the pair of silver-inlaid Colts on his hips.

When an old friend pleaded for his help to fight off a bunch of killers, he wanted no part of it but couldn’t simply turn his back. He knew what he had to do, simply because he was the best. There was no rest for the weary, and no resting place for a top gun—except the final one.

I really enjoyed this book. It has a strong element of mystery, starting with Dade Averill being asked to help a friend while trying to leave his gunhand ways behind. Add another fast gun named Guthrie and an old flame named Mae, and things get intriguing right from the start. Then he meets the sheriff and his daughter, and everything shifts. The sheriff is murdered, and Chris Guthrie, the prime suspect, is locked up. But Averill suspects he’s not the killer, so he sets out to uncover the truth while staying alive. Eventually, everything unravels, leading to a final bloody showdown. 

Shirreffs is at his storytelling best here, crafting a broad range of characters, any of whom could be the killer. I read the paperback pictured below—the cover art is excellent, and the pages have that wonderful old book smell. Originally published in 1957, the edition I read dates back to the mid-to-late 1970s.

 

 Blood and Gold

Outlaw Ranger #3

By

James Reasoner

Get it here from Wolfpack Publishing.

A savage ambush...twenty men slaughtered in a brutal massacre...a fortune in gold stolen! This was a crime big enough and bold enough to bring the Outlaw Ranger to the wide-open settlement of Cemetery Butte, where a powerful mining tycoon rode roughshod over any who dared to oppose him. But even that atrocity doesn't prepare G.W. Braddock for the evil that awaits him, stretching bloody hands out of the past.

The third book in the Outlaw Ranger series is a thrilling ride. Braddock, seeking peace in the quiet village of Esperanza, spends his days playing chess with the local priest. However, tranquility is short-lived when Senora Dominguez approaches him for help. Her grandson was killed in an ambush, where a fortune in gold was stolen, and she believes Braddock is the perfect man to seek vengeance. But revenge isn't hers alone—Martin Rainey, the man behind the mining operation, becomes an even bigger target as the thieves use the massacre and stolen gold as a way to strike at him.  

This was another fantastic story by an author who truly knows his craft. It’s shorter than some others in the series, but it kept me hooked and flipping pages (digitally) right to the very end. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a bad story by James Reasoner. The best part is that all the Outlaw Ranger books are available in an omnibus edition. Load up your boots (or Kindle)!

James Reasoner

 Trigger Happy

Nathan Stark #2

By

William W Johnstone

Steely-eyed. Quick as a rattler. Unforgiving as the desert sun. The stories of Nathan Stark’s grit and determination as a manhunter across Indian territory are legendary. He stalks the wild western frontier on behalf of the army, pursuing hostiles to avenge his slaughtered family—and redeem his own failure to protect them.

Once again reluctantly partnered with Crow scout Moses Red Buffalo, Nathan has been assigned to assist the U.S. cavalry in escorting a large band of Blackfoot Indians across Montana and into Canada. Refusing to leave, Chief Thunder Elk threatens to wage war if his tribe is not left alone. Wealthy rancher Bennett McGreevey wants the land the Blackfoot call home, and he’s powerful enough to ensure the army does his bidding.

But Nathan Stark is not a soldier. And no cattle baron is going to give him marching orders. It’s a perfect storm for bullets to rain sheer hell across the land . . .

This was another well-written story, bringing the two main characters together again as comrades. The book picks up almost exactly where the first one left off, resolving a lingering loose end from the previous installment. It's a solid series, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book soon. That said, I personally didn't find this one as good as the first in the series.

The two main characters are complete opposites, like chalk and cheese, and often clash with each other. I think this dynamic works well even if it gets a little wearing in some patches.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC of this book.    

 A Bullet is Faster

Big Jim #22

By

Marshall Grover

(Len Meares)

Don't quote me but from what I can gather this book was first published around 1965/66. However, both covers look good. 

What appears to be a straightforward murder case is anything but simple. Amos Lanfield faces the gallows in a trial no rational lawyer would dare to take on. The case seems utterly hopeless. Yet, Julia Rigby, a determined female lawyer, has a different plan. She not only wants to represent the supposed killer, she figures she can win. But someone doesn't want her digging too deep.

Enter Jim Rand. Former cavalryman now hunter of Jenner, the man who killed his brother. Julia needs someone to look after her and Big Jim is just the man. 

Then when the final blazing showdown came, only one man would stand tall--Big Jim.   

A classic Len Mears western—lighthearted, with a touch of comedy, a dash of mystery, and a simple yet engaging story that’s well-written and entertaining. Like many of his westerns, it follows the timeless good vs. bad theme. I read a lot of his books as a kid, and they’re just as enjoyable now as they were back then.

Get the first book here!

 Deadly Mistake

by 

Rob Sinclair

Simon Peake is not your average hero. He's called a cleaner. If you have a body, you want gone, then he's your man. But things go sour when he is brought the body of a woman to dispose of.

One problem...she's not dead.

Failing to do the job and killing two of the men who brought her to him, Peake finds himself on the wrong side of Lance Hardy, a scumbag who likes to feed people he doesn't like to his dogs.

Then things really heat up.

Sinclair has written an action-packed story with the cental character Simon Peake, I think is more of an anti-hero than anything else. It was well written and overall entertaining enough to hold my attention.

But be aware that this book has an element of violence and gore if you intend to read it.

This book will be published 17 September 2025

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this story.

 No One's a Winner

by

Emerson Dodge

(Paul Wheelahan)

First Published 1996

 Tom and Dane Hardy—brothers by blood, but little else binds them. When the story begins, Tom is serving a five-year sentence for cattle rustling, framed by none other than his own brother and the corrupt judge who oversaw the trial. On the outside, his sister Artella and a determined lawyer named Long are fighting to clear his name.

Inside the prison, Tom’s life is made unbearable by the judge’s allies. Pushed to the edge, he makes a daring escape into the snow-covered mountains, pursued relentlessly by a brutal prison guard and a pack of dogs. But Tom isn’t one to go down without a fight.

Meanwhile, Dane is deep in shady dealings, running rifles to Red Cloud’s Sioux warriors. He can’t afford distractions—but Tom’s escape throws a wrench into everything, and the stakes rise fast.

This isn’t just another shoot-’em-up western. It’s a gripping journey of transformation. Tom begins as a man of peace, but as the story unfolds, he confronts the fury buried within him. And when he finally unleashes it, the consequences are explosive.

Emerson Dodge (Wheelahan) delivers yet another compelling tale of the Old West—rich in character, tension, and grit. If you can track down a copy, it’s well worth the read. These books are getting harder to find, but any story penned by Dodge is bound to be a rewarding ride.

 Gun Trouble at Diamondback

A Bear Haskell Western #1

by 

Peter Brandvold

I wrote this review in 2016. I think this would have made a great series. Currently I think there are 4 books available.

Meet Bear Haskell. He's big, he's tough, he loves the ladies, and he's going to take over where Longarm left off. So if you loved Longarm then jump on the Bear train. I can't see it stopping anytime soon.

In Bear Haskell Peter Brandvold has crafted a top notch new western hero which readers will love and a story that will leave them looking for the next one.

The story sees bear investigating the death of his friend Lou Cameron and the element of mystery will stay with the story right up to the last few pages and have an ending that you won't see coming.

The story is easy to read and keeps you interested until the last page. And as with the Longarm books (Which Peter wrote many of) these are classed as adult westerns and not for the faint of heart.

In all this was a fantastic start to a new series that I'm sure will be around for a long time to come.

Buy a copy here and find out for yourself.

MAKE ME AN OUTLAW

By

Brett Waring

(Keith Hetherington)

A Classic Western #117

First Published 1974

Jim Rainey was an ex-lawman who had settled down with his wife and children to leave his previous life behind. But he gets caught up in a range was and his wife and children are killed he is after answers and revenge.

Once again, a smooth, well told story from Keith Hetherington. As usual with the Cleveland westerns there is plenty of action to keep the pages turning. At only 97 pages per story, they are a quick and fun read.  

Cleveland Publishing Company started publishing their westerns in 1953. At their peak the published 18 digest-sized westerns. Eventually they fell victim to the electronic age and readership fell away. They finally shut their doors in December 2018. 

Cleveland Publishing Company publications: American Wild West, Arizona Western, Big Horn Western, Bison Western, Bobcat Western, Chisholm Western, Classic Western, Cleveland Western, Condor Western, Coronado Western, Dollar Western, Fighting Western, Halliday Western, High Brand Western, Iron Horse Western, Legends of the West, Lobo Western, Loner Western, Peacemaker Western, Phoenix Western, Pinto Western, Rawhide Western, Santa Fe Western, Sierra Western, Sundown Western, Texas Western, The Avenger, Top Hand Western, Tumbleweed Western, and Winchester Western.

Some of the more prolific authors were: Des Dunn, Roger Green, Keith Hetherington, Richard Wilkes-Hunter, Len Meares and Paul Wheelahan. 

 The Man from Bitter Ridge

Universal Pictures 

Release Year: 1955

 Director: Jack Arnold

Main Cast:

Lex Barker as Jeff Carr

Mara Corday as Holly Kenton

Stephen McNally as Alec Black

John Dehner as Ranse Jackman

Writers:

Screenplay by Lawrence Roman

Adaptation by Teddi Sherman

Based on a novel by William MacLeod Raine

The Man from Bitter Ridge is a no-frills Western that delivers exactly what fans of the genre love. It has a principled hero, a corrupt townsman running for sheriff (John Dehner), and a trail of gunfire leading to justice. Lex Barker plays Jeff Carr, a state investigator who arrives in Tomahawk to solve a series of stagecoach robberies. Initially suspected himself, a telegram from a nearby town clears his name. He discovers a town bubbling with political tension ahead of an election and a power-hungry villain who flaunts his authority like the badge he desires.

Stephen McNally portrays Alec Black, a hardened, no-nonsense gunslinger leading and protecting a group of sheep farmers who have united to resist those in Tomahawk determined to drive them out. The farmers become an easy target for blame in the recent string of stagecoach robberies.

John Dehner portrays Ranse Jackman, the refined villain. Once again, Dehner takes on one of his suave badman roles. 

Mara Corday plays Holly Kenton, a gun-toting young woman who is just as tough as the men around her. However, her beauty catches Carr's eye, sparking his interest and the jealousy of Alec Black, who has plans to marry her.

I really enjoy the older westerns, and this one is no different. There’s something about the way they were filmed back in the day that completely captivates me. The lead characters were great, and Dehner was fantastic in his role as the badman.

RATING 8/10

 Lawless Prairie

By

Charles G. West

(Published 2009)

Find it Here!

A man discovers the bloody cost of freedom in this bold tale of the Old West.

Clint Connor only took the horse to stop a man from mistreating it, but a vengeful judge sentenced him to six years. Quietly serving his time, Clint suddenly finds himself free after he’s swept up in a daring jailbreak.  

Now a fugitive, Clint Connor will need courage, cunning, and a cold-blooded ruthlessness as he rides the lawless prairie. But before he can escape to the hills of Montana, he’ll have to outgun malicious outlaws and face a final showdown with a marshal determined to bring Clint back as a prisoner—or a corpse.

Overall, not a bad story and well written as is the usual with West's stories. I've read a few and never had any issues--until now.

Not that it is a big one, what I wrote above still goes about the book. However, I feel like this story went around in circles.

Clint Conner went to jail because he stole a horse to stop it being mistreated. Too bad a judge owned it, and it was the same judge who sent him to prison.

Then he gets swept up in a prison break with killer Clell Ballinger where he secretly saves the life of the guard. Conner decides to head north but swings by his old home to say goodbye to his father.

Now we get to the circle bit. This is the short of it. Saves the life of Marshal Zach Clayton, escapes said marshal, rescues young lady (Joanna) from Indians, captured again by marshal, taken in for trial, sentenced to extra time in prison by same judge, escapes and goes back to young woman before being captured again by same marshal. Meanwhile, Ballinger is still on the loose causing chaos.

But like I said, overall, it wasn't a bad story. But not one of West's best.

Gold Wagon

Jim Steel #1

by 

Jess Cody (Chet Cunningham)

Get it here!

First published July 1986

GOLD! A freight wagon load. It doesn't take a lot of gold to make a ton, and it can be fairly well hidden under bacon, beans and sacks of flour. But not when the hills are full of owlhoots and banditos who know it's coming. Jim Steel, even with a shotgun, a rifle, and a six-gun on his hip is no match for a dozen hard men...or is he?

Overall, the story was pretty good. Jim Steele was after a king's ransom in gold, along with every badman in the territory. Red Paulson and his gang of killers wanted it too. Paulson would stop at nothing to get it. While Steel watched, he and his men massacred an army patrol for an empty wagon. One of the decoys that the army had sent out.

All Steel wanted was the gold, what he got was something else entirely--a deputy sheriff's badge to help out a friend in Bisbee, Arizona. But that didn't stop him looking for the gold wagon  

By the time we get to the end of the story you start to wonder what Steel is going to do with the gold. 

Then comes the twist, one that will break Steel's heart.

 

 Elmer Kelton's

The Familiar Stranger

by

Steve Kelton and John Bradshaw

Hewey Calloway is traveling to a friend's place when he gets caught in the rain. He seeks shelter in a cabin and finds a young man there with smallpox. Even though the young man warns Hewey and tells him to leave, Hewey stays and gets the dreaded disease himself.

While this book was well written and it flowed well enough, it got off to a reasonable start with Hewey, the young stranger, and then the Pinkerton, but it never elevated to the heights I expected it to. Some others may find it good, but for me it just wasn't.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this story.

 Beartooth Incident

Trailsman # 332

by

Jon Sharpe

 (David Robbins)

In the frozen Beartooth Mountains, Fargo is rescued by a kindly wilderness woman named Mary Harper and her children. But when the brutal Cudgel Sten and his gang decide they want what the Harpers have, the Trailsman is going to give the snowbound sidewinders what they deserve.

Before we even get into the story, Skye Fargo was already up against it. Lost in a blizzard in the Beartooth Range there was a good chance he would die. Then he almost did, falling down a snowy cliff until he came to a halt at the bottom. When he'd gathered himself, he'd lost his horse and his gun. The only thing he had left was his Arkansas Toothpick.

However, danger lurked everywhere, and it wasn't long before starving wolves had Fargo pegged for their next meal. But the Trailsman wasn't about to become dog food.

Rescued by Mary Harper and her two children, one would have been forgiven that our intrepid hero was safe enough. But Mary had her own problems. Cud Sten and his men being all of them. Now it was up to Fargo to repay the debt. If they didn't kill him first.

I'm not sure who wrote this story but it was a rip-roaring tale. Plenty of action and suspense--especially the scene with the wolves. If you ask me, that should have been the final act in the book because it had everything you want in a climax.

However overall, I enjoyed the story, and it kept me interested to the very end.  

A Thunder of Drums

Release Year: 1961

Director: Joseph M. Newman

Writer: James Warner Bellah (based on his short story “Command”)

Starring: Richard Boone (Capt. Stephen Maddocks), George Hamilton (Lt. Curtis McQuade), Luana Patten (Tracey Hamilton), Arthur O’Connell (Sgt. Rodermill)

Set in a remote cavalry outpost in Arizona, A Thunder of Drums follows the journey of Lt. Curtis McQuade, newly stationed under the stern and battle-hardened Capt. Stephen Maddocks. McQuade struggles with his inexperience, tangled emotions, and a past romance with Tracey Hamilton — now engaged to another officer. Tensions rise when personal choices ripple into military consequences, especially after a botched patrol leaves fellow soldiers dead. McQuade, burdened by guilt and grief.

As hostile forces close in, McQuade and Maddocks mount a dangerous operation to lure and defeat the enemy, culminating in a harrowing ambush that costs lives and hardens resolve. The film closes with Maddocks offering a cold truth: "Bachelors make the best soldiers because they’ve nothing personal left to lose." 

I really enjoyed this movie and the characters. Richard Boone especially and the tough character he played. Harsh, unforgiving. And Charles Bronson playing a hardened soldier. Not a prominent role but still a good one. George Hamilton plays a young lieutenant, returning to the place he grew up in, whose father was the fort's commanding officer. He also had a past with Maddocks who holds a bitterness towards his former commander. Then there is Luana Patten who plays Tracey Hamilton. A woman torn between two men. One from her past and the man she is engaged to.  

Something here for all western lovers.