Herne the Hunter #1

White Death

by

John J. McLaglen 

The sun was getting well up, and its warmth was melting the snow fast. Its rays broke through the open doorway, striking across towards Louise, and as she moved through them, Jed saw her face properly for the first time.

It took all his self-discipline to stop himself jumping up and grabbing her. There was a great bruise under her right eye, and her nose had been bleeding. A thread of black blood crept drily from the corner of her mouth, down across her chin, on her neck. And there were deep scratches around her throat.

He realized that Yates had also seen it at the same moment, hearing the strangled gasp, and feeling the man’s body tense in the chair beside him, ready to leap up. Herne reached across and seized his arm, squeezing it with all his strength …

What was done to Herne’s wife—and to his neighbors—defied all decency. Now the two men were united in their thirst for vengeance, and nothing would stand in their way. Herne pursued his retribution with a cold, deliberate precision, while his neighbor Yates slipped into outright cruelty, leaving a trail that might as well have been marked in blood. Revenge is supposed to be served cold, but was it meant to be this brutal?

This is classic Piccadilly Cowboy territory: raw, relentless, and unapologetically violent. All the hallmarks that defined the genre are here. I read only a handful of these years ago, so I’m finally committing to the full ride—from book one straight through to the finale.

It’s gripping and well-crafted, but if excessive violence isn’t your thing, this series won’t win you over.

John J. McLaglen is the pseudonym for the writing team of Laurence James and John Harvey.

Piccadilly Publishing Edition.