Title: Guns of the Mountain Man (Mountain Man #23)
Author: William W. Johnstone
Pages: 253
Year: 2018
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
The novel opens up with Cal Woods riding on the Sugarloaf ranch, taking care of the fence when he notices riders gathered on the ranch. When he approaches them, Cal knows he has run into a bunch of hard cases who don’t care they are trespassing, and they have no intention of leaving. Lazarus Cain is the ruthless leader of the bunch that not only seriously wounds Cal but takes his horse too!
Lazarus Cain believes he is on a mission from God, but audiences will quickly realize what a farce that is with the character’s actions, words and in how he treats others. As Lazarus surrounds himself with even more cutthroats, he sets his sights on not just taking what belongs to Smoke Jensen but the entire town of Big Rock.
In this installment, readers who haven’t read the prior books in the series will get quickly caught up on the history of Smoke Jensen by the author’s use of flashback. Even though I have read the books in order, the flashbacks were helpful in reminding me of different scenes where Smoke met different men and the conclusion of those meetings. I enjoyed taking time to sit and read a tale of a man whose hard beginnings forged him into one of the best western characters of all time!
I highly recommend reading the Smoke Jensen series along with the variety of other books published by the author. Visit the website to see the many stories just waiting to be enjoyed by readers of all ages! https://williamjohnstonebooks.com
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. ( )