The Lonesome Gun

Perley Gates Western #7

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

From the Greatest Western Writers of the 21st Century, William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, the 7th blazing adventure featuring legendary gunslinger Perley Gates, a new hero in the Old West who’s as honest and good as his heavenly name. Perley always fights on the side of the angels. But in the East Texas county of Angelina, the war is half over—and the devils are winning . . .

Perley’s elder brother, Rubin, who manages the Triple-G Ranch decides to try breeding some Hereford cattle with the ranch’s longhorns. He asks Perley to deliver the contract for the Herefords, a simple task. But nothing ever remains simple when Perley is involved. And for the reluctant fast gun, it means a nightmare journey through hell itself . . .

The trouble starts when Perley and his sidekick, Possum, meet some damsels in distress—a lovely group of saloon girls with a broken wagon wheel. Being a good Samaritan, Perley feels honor-bound to help them. But when the travelers cross paths with an ornery gang of vicious outlaws, things turn deadly—and fast. It only gets worse from there, for Perley agrees to escort them to Nacogdoches—next to Angelina County, a section of which is infested with a special breed of vermin known as the Tarpley family. And this corrupt clan has a gunslinger—who’d love nothing more than to take down a living legend like Perley Gates . . .

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published July 25, 2023

About the author

William W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.

Reviews

[Laur · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The 7th blazing adventure featuring legendary gunslinger Perley Gates, a new hero in the Old West who’s as honest and good as his heavenly name. Perley always fights on the side of the angels. But in the East Texas county of Angelina, the war is half over—and the devils are winning .”

I adore the character of Perley Gates. Insanely fast with a gun, but never flaunts it and tries to always give the troublemakers that challenge him to a gun fight a way out. Unfortunately, every one of them learn the hard way!

Now some think he’s an angel because of his name, and the uncanny way he seems to come to the rescue - especially the damsels in distress he comes across while on a job riding for the Triple G (the family ranch).

That seems to be least of the problems he’s again about ready to step into the proverbial “cow pie” of trouble, - he seems to do that with his partner a lot (Possum). Yep, one cow pie after another. To find trouble seems his moral compass is right on - he don’t have to look far.

And then there’s the little matter of his fiancé, he loves her, she loves him - will he finally take the big step or will he get “a sign” indicating something else to him?

Good action throughout, clean writing, some humorous dialogue and scenes that were an unexpected bonus to the story. Food poisoning is NOT that funny (unless it’s in this western and you get a painted picture realistic picture of the urgency that befalls him. Poor guy!

This book is a great addition to the Perley Gates series in the Western genre. If you’re a Johnstone fan, check it out. Recommended.

My thanks to the publisher, to Johnstone & Co, and to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own

[Abibliofob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lonesome Gun is not the best Perley Gates story but it's not the worst either. William W. johnstone and J.A. Johnstone has so many westerns going on that a few of them will slip through on autopilot. I do enjoy the characters even though I'm a little tired of his girlfriend. I like the fact that there are a few new series with characters not typically found in westerns. I have to thank Kensington Books and Pinnacle oh and Netgalley of course.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Pearly and Possum are out to do a transaction for Ruben for 50 Hampford heifers they run into some sporting women and the little girl with the broken wheel and of course pearly stops to help The women or heading to Nacogdoches to start a new business and I’m grateful for pearly and possums helping hand but it is a few days later when pearly decide to go check on the ladies that his help really comes in handy three men have stopped at the campsite on side the road and decided to take their money and not leave them alive so when the good Samaritan and his old pal show up it is right on time. since they’re finished dealing with Ruben‘s heifers they decide to escort the women all the way to their destination but when they stop in Nacogdoches this is when pearly’s horse Buck gets stolen by the Tartling brothers since Brooke is unpredictable pearly leaves right away to get his horse back because he’s afraid when he asked his old ornery self they may shoot him in Pearl he loves his horse but unfortunately the brothers don’t want to give up that easy in the graceful gone man leaves them all deceased in his week this should have been the end of it but they have brothers and their brothers want payback the only problem is they’re coming to the triple D ranch to get it. I really enjoyed this edition of the pearly gates books because we got to see more of mama gates and he also has romance problems with Becky when she sees him in the showdown he tried everything to avoid. We also got to see more of the brothers in the family in this book and I really enjoyed it I also loved the gun battles and the principles that Pearly maintains. If you love a great western then you will love “The Lonesome gun“ by William and Jay Johnstone I want to thank net galley and pinnacle Kensington books for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Denice Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no such thing as a bad Johnstone western. Each series is built around main characters whose belief in the law and family is absolute, even if they've had to be reformed to get there. From Preacher, the original mountain man to the Jensen family to Perly Gates, to.....well, you get the point. Many times, characters from one series will show up in another as supporting hands. The communities are true to the era, clothing, guns, food and troubles are all what you'd find if you looked them up in the history books. No two stories are the same, each character or set of characters is unique and so are their stories. The writing is skillful, readers are pulled into the story and you will laugh and cry right along with the characters. I made the mistake of picking up a Johnstone western my uncle was reading. Ive been hooked ever since. Now I share them with my reading family and will continue as long as new Johnstones are released.

Perley Gates is a favorite character! With a name like his, well trouble is always looking to meet up with Perley. Perley and Possum come to the rescue when they meet some stranded lovely ladies and of course, with Perley, no good deed goes unpunished.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good western that has Perley Gates and Possum who both ride together for the Gates family's ranch. Perley is the youngest brother but he is also the one who seems to get into a bind from time to time. Not meaning to he ends up usually having to draw with someone and the other person ends up in Boot Hill, he has a quick draw that comes naturally. He of course is taken by a girl in the local town but after seeing one of the shootings she is wondering about marrying him later he and Possum are sent to purchase some cattle but along the way, they come along with some women stranded with a broken wagon wheel. After helping them and purchasing the cattle they decide to look for the women and once again they find themselves in trouble, now the two of them stay with them until they get to where they are going. Of course, nothing is that simple and there is more trouble along the way and when they get home. Perley once again is shooting, but not by choice. This is actually a good book with good characters. I received this book from Netgalley.com

[Monty · Rating 2 out of 5]

MC - Just too unrealistic a character who fluctuates between sharp witted and simpleminded, with shifting behaviour as in lacking continuity of mind. Also no character development/progression.

This apparently being book #7, I having mistaken it for book six, I find that the MC shows just about zero development after 6 books covering many years of adventures/life experiences and whatnot. In my opinion a lazy disgrace on part of whoever is writing this series.

This could as well have been book two as book seven.. for at times I found myself thinking that maybe I was re-listening to one of the older books, having somehow transferred the wrong book from my library onto my Mp3 player. Maybe its AI written?..who knows.

I just find it sad since I do not think it would take a great deal of effort to do a proper job of these stories. Sigh.

[Jeramy Schaub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in series

Overall allright book it follows along like the previous books. If the triple G was to start crossbreeding they would purchase bulls not cows along with why say Perly is still using a Henry by time he would have been big enough for a rifle the 1873s would be out. They also had part about bringing Becky to meet family yet stayed there after Perly and Possum rescued her. I just wish these authors would 1 glance over previous books to keep details straight and if feel they need to add stuff in that doesn't do anything but add more words they are accurate.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story but ...

too many typos, spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

For example: a word ending in 'f' in possessive tense, does not have a space after the 'f' and before the apostrophe. But this book has it wrong EVERY TIME. It should be "sheriff's office" not "sheriff 's office".

[Truitti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story. I borrowed this e-book from the Sacramento Public Library through the Libby app. Since I have caught up on this series, I will read another Johnston one. I really am into Western at the moment.

[Dirk Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good read

I really enjoyed reading this book. Lots of action. Think others would enjoy reading this book. I would recommend this book to everyone.

[Nancy Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Perley & Possum. He does always step in a pile.

[Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars out of 5. Okay story. About every five to ten pages, Perley Gates is eating either breakfast, dinner or supper.

[Anthony R Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent western

A great story about Parody Gates. I will go Bach and find the other books. Well written. Easy reading about Perley.

[Michael A. Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

really good book

I really liked this book and I think it would be a good read. I really like the series and the authors.

[John Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great tale

Now I'm unsure if this is the end or not but it still was entertaining reading. I'm hoping there is more to follow.

[alton gurney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lonesome gun

It's another good read. I can't believe how it ended. I hope they write a new one, just to know how his life turns out.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

just a good ol perly gates novel. I just enjoy him and possum. Good stuff.

[Inky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few books in this series were great fun. But not the next four. This book 7 contains a depressing "romance" subplot.

[Daa_of_night · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent read, but the person who wrote the back cover blurb must not have actually read the book. All the elements mentioned are part of the story, but not in anywhere near the arrangement suggested.

[Elias · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this final Perley Gates story, he and possum escort a group of working girls to their destination and cross paths with a family of criminals who, as everyone else that has challenged Perley, don’t know when to quit when they can.

Slightly more original than Texarkana, the previous story, this one was still lackluster for me. Again, it reuses a lot of the same elements from the previous books, and it makes me worried that I’ve already read enough of the genre that now the plots get recycled.

There is some development to Becky and Perley’s relationship, but not as much as I’d hoped for what seems to be the definitive end of this series.