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The Loner #11
Crossfire
The Loner’s desperate search for his missing children ends—and the fight begins—in this Western adventure from the USA Today–bestselling author.
HELL ON FRISCO BAY
Conrad Browning is The Loner, a man on a mission, crossing the country—and crossing a lot of bad men—to rescue his kidnapped young twins. The trail has led him all the way to San Francisco’s perilous red-light district, where a crime lord is the proud father of newly adopted twins. The Loner knows his children when he sees them. But they’re hostage to a brutal, violent mob feud. Then, just when he needs it most, The Loner is no longer he is joined by his own father, Frank Morgan—the most notorious gunman in the West.
A family’s pain. A woman’s betrayal. A city exploding in violence . . . The Loner has come to the right place to save his children. But will they get out of Frisco alive?
“An excellent story that pulls you in . . . [A] terrific, twist ending. Top class entertainment that left me looking forward to reading the next book in the series.” —Western Fiction Review
HELL ON FRISCO BAY
Conrad Browning is The Loner, a man on a mission, crossing the country—and crossing a lot of bad men—to rescue his kidnapped young twins. The trail has led him all the way to San Francisco’s perilous red-light district, where a crime lord is the proud father of newly adopted twins. The Loner knows his children when he sees them. But they’re hostage to a brutal, violent mob feud. Then, just when he needs it most, The Loner is no longer he is joined by his own father, Frank Morgan—the most notorious gunman in the West.
A family’s pain. A woman’s betrayal. A city exploding in violence . . . The Loner has come to the right place to save his children. But will they get out of Frisco alive?
“An excellent story that pulls you in . . . [A] terrific, twist ending. Top class entertainment that left me looking forward to reading the next book in the series.” —Western Fiction Review
- GenresWesterns
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
J.A. Johnstone
642 books237 followersJ.A. Johnstone learned to write from the master himself, Uncle William W. Johnstone, who began tutoring J.A. at an early age. After-school hours were often spent retyping manuscripts or researching his massive American Western History library as well as the more modern wars and conflicts. J.A. worked hard and learned, later going on to become the co-author of William W. Johnstone’s many bestselling westerns and thrillers. J.A. Johnstone lives on a ranch in Tennessee and more information is at WilliamJohnstone.net
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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October 9, 2011Conrad Browning, aka Kid Morgan, is nearing the end of his quest. He's tracked his two children, twins, across the country, following a convoluted trail full of traps laid down by his vengeful ex-fiance. She's dead, killed by one of her own traps, but she left a letter delivered after her death, telling Conrad that he had twins he never knew about and that she'd hidden them from him.
Now in Carson City, he finds a clue that confirms what he already suspected. They were somewhere in San Francisco and he had a pair of initials of the man paid off three years before, before her death, that might have the final clue to their location.
But he's still going to have a gauntlet of killers to go through before he finds the twins.
About halfway through the book, Conrad's father, Frank Morgan, The Drifter and star of his own series, shows up to help.
And there's one final surprise in the climax.
Whatever author is under the house name J. A. Johnstone, and I have my suspicions, is obviously a comics fan. Conrad's lawyer, Turnbuckle, assigns him a bodyguard named Dugan, described as a large man wearing a derby and sporting a red handle bar mustache. Dum Dum Dugan has long been associated with Nick Fury, from their days as Howling Commandos in WWII to Fury's directorship of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Good one.
Now in Carson City, he finds a clue that confirms what he already suspected. They were somewhere in San Francisco and he had a pair of initials of the man paid off three years before, before her death, that might have the final clue to their location.
But he's still going to have a gauntlet of killers to go through before he finds the twins.
About halfway through the book, Conrad's father, Frank Morgan, The Drifter and star of his own series, shows up to help.
And there's one final surprise in the climax.
Whatever author is under the house name J. A. Johnstone, and I have my suspicions, is obviously a comics fan. Conrad's lawyer, Turnbuckle, assigns him a bodyguard named Dugan, described as a large man wearing a derby and sporting a red handle bar mustache. Dum Dum Dugan has long been associated with Nick Fury, from their days as Howling Commandos in WWII to Fury's directorship of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Good one.
Want to Read
January 14, 2013They need to make this series into a movie love Kid Morgan he's a hunk!
October 6, 2020
Best One Yet
A gripping tale back and forth across the New Mexico and Mexican border as Kid Morgan risked his life once more to help the female survivors of a wagon train massacre. Facing a hundred of Apache warriors determined to take their female hostages to a Rurale Warlord who will sell them as slaves, the Kid fought the Apaches
, the unbearable heat of the desert, and a gang of killers out to collect Apache scalps, the Kid pretended to join the gang in 9per to free the captivating s. A great story with turns and twists.
A gripping tale back and forth across the New Mexico and Mexican border as Kid Morgan risked his life once more to help the female survivors of a wagon train massacre. Facing a hundred of Apache warriors determined to take their female hostages to a Rurale Warlord who will sell them as slaves, the Kid fought the Apaches
, the unbearable heat of the desert, and a gang of killers out to collect Apache scalps, the Kid pretended to join the gang in 9per to free the captivating s. A great story with turns and twists.
December 17, 2020
Another one continuing the story established a few books ago. This one has a guest appearance that is definitely of interest. Also, this one has a more city vibe and gangs, which is pretty different style for most of the westerns I've read. It was enjoyable.
December 18, 2023
Murder and mayhem with a stupid ending.
December 28, 2023
It's terrible how evil people can be. If I can't have you nobody can have you. Revenge no matter what, even in Love and hate. A journey through hell all because of a lie. Excellent read.
November 17, 2021
The culmination of multiple volumes of 'The Loner' series is worth the wait. Wasn't sure if this was going to drag to the end of the series at times and a few volumes could have been done without. In the end, the volumes were were the reading.
This finally pitches the star and his side kick into San Francisco, where the main character alters his ways. In other instances, when a threat is leveled, he pulls his gun and discards the threat. In this episode, he doesn't. Many times. Some of which include convenient times he doesn't have a gun. Obviously this is all to get the story wanted. The irregular character as a story device was disappointing. Though does make the character more realistic.
There's a cacophony of activity included. Quite a load of characters and locations. The approach is more pulp than western, which is refreshing, but inconsistent from the previous books.
Overall this is a fine tale and a step above the previous entries.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.
This finally pitches the star and his side kick into San Francisco, where the main character alters his ways. In other instances, when a threat is leveled, he pulls his gun and discards the threat. In this episode, he doesn't. Many times. Some of which include convenient times he doesn't have a gun. Obviously this is all to get the story wanted. The irregular character as a story device was disappointing. Though does make the character more realistic.
There's a cacophony of activity included. Quite a load of characters and locations. The approach is more pulp than western, which is refreshing, but inconsistent from the previous books.
Overall this is a fine tale and a step above the previous entries.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.
August 9, 2016
The final wrap up story for Conrad's quest to find his supposed children, ending in San Francisco. It was an interesting device for a series, but the events in some of the books really pushed the boundaries of plausibility and reason in terms of someone being able to set all of it up in a matter of weeks.
The story here brings Conrad's father, another book series main character (The Drifter) into the tale and resolves a long chain of events, leaving Conrad ready for a new series. Overall it was interesting enough but not particularly compelling and missed a lot of terrific chances to tell period details and the fascinating city that SF was at the time.
The story here brings Conrad's father, another book series main character (The Drifter) into the tale and resolves a long chain of events, leaving Conrad ready for a new series. Overall it was interesting enough but not particularly compelling and missed a lot of terrific chances to tell period details and the fascinating city that SF was at the time.
January 6, 2017
"VENGEANCE FROM THE GRAVE"
Conrad Browning aka "THE LONER", fighting bushwackers left and right. In fact, it seems "trouble" just simply follows him. Just a simple stroll, enjoying the fresh weather minding your business, you feel something buzzing by your ear..dang if it ain't some back shooter, this seems to be Conrad's typical day. If your a follower of "THE LONER", u know he's had a saddle full of saddness brought on by a so call scorned lover
Patricia Tarleton, u should read "CROSSFIRE", it will give you answers, that I'm sure you want. All I'll say is, do u really know your lover??? Think about it......
Conrad Browning aka "THE LONER", fighting bushwackers left and right. In fact, it seems "trouble" just simply follows him. Just a simple stroll, enjoying the fresh weather minding your business, you feel something buzzing by your ear..dang if it ain't some back shooter, this seems to be Conrad's typical day. If your a follower of "THE LONER", u know he's had a saddle full of saddness brought on by a so call scorned lover
Patricia Tarleton, u should read "CROSSFIRE", it will give you answers, that I'm sure you want. All I'll say is, do u really know your lover??? Think about it......
December 31, 2019
I binge read the series in one month, 12 books. That makes my 2nd western in one year and I loved it. This one takes place during the Wild Wild West and it was such a great adventure that I loved every minute of it. I recommend this to anyone who likes a fun adventure in the West .
October 1, 2011
Excellent ending to the running storyline! Didn't see the twists and turns coming, but thoroughly enjoyed it right to the end! Really enjoy this series!
October 16, 2011
Omg i loved loved loved this book I cried even :( haha
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews