Inferno

The Loner #12

by J.A. Johnstone

The Loner turns his back on the past—and rides straight into an inferno of death and revenge—in this red-hot thriller from the bestselling Western author.

Out of the Heat. Into the Fire . . .

Led by a charismatic fool, a group of pioneers are crossing Apache territory, blind to the danger around them. The Loner would ignore the passing pilgrims if it weren’t for a beautiful woman. Then, when he turns his back, the Apaches strike. The night is lit with an unholy fire. Mutilated bodies are left behind. And four women are taken prisoner across the Rio Grande . . .

To go where no man should go alone, The Loner joins a brutal band of scalp hunters. His plan is to strike before a notorious Mexican slaver gets a hold of the captive women. But the first shots The Loner fires might be the easy ones. Getting out of Mexico alive—with two bands of enemies behind him and miles of desert straight ahead—will be the fight of The Loner’s life . . .

“The story is filled with great characters . . . An excellent bloody final showdown that brings the story to a terrific end.” —Western Fiction Review

Genres: Westerns

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

J.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

Reviews

[Jeff Tankersley]

Conrad Browning, aka Kid Morgan, aka The Loner, the rich and restless legendary gunman, crosses paths with a wagon train heading west. This gaggle of pioneers are planning to settle in Raincrow Valley and, knowing his reputation as a gunfighter, ask that he accompany them along the remaining three days to their destination. There is a roving band of raiding Apaches on their path.

Morgan's adventure here eventually takes him across the southwest desert "Inferno" (2012) into Mexico with some bandits hunting Apache scalps.

Verdict: One of the better Johnstones I've read recently, "Inferno" ratchets up the tension, peril and stakes; a good modern extra-frills cartoony action western.

Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[Rob Smith, Jr.]

This entry follows many volumes leading to the conclusion of the book before this one. In this one, The Loner is in an escapade that has minor elements of the books before it, but otherwise is a stand-alone novel that could have traded Browning for Smoke Jensen or Preacher or any of the many characters the Johnstone Clan has in their stables.

The story is pretty typically a standard tale of the west and of the Johnstone kind. This one is unlike the previous volumes with various twists and turns in the story. There are a few levels of chracters that had me guessing if a twist was coming.

The writing is pretty standard Johnstone. The characters are weaker than usual. that and there are a lot of them. Still better character writing than most books today.

Much like the last book, this one also has Browning doing things differently than he was doing in books before. There was plenty of motivation not to get as involved as the character did, yet stuck around and beyond that.

Bottom line I recommend this book. 6 out of ten points.

[Steve Scott]

I got this book for free, and it was worth less than I paid. My goodness, this was a poorly written and crappy western.

Formulaic, occasionally overwritten, and with stereotyped characterizations drawn completely from Hollywood. The gun fights were drawn from Hollywood, too, with antagonists dramatically throwing their rifles up into the air or falling off of cliffs after getting shot by the hero and his allies.
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“Blood flew in the air like rain,“ was a painful sentence to read. It wasn’t as painful as “‘What’s the matter, Chiquita? ‘The Mexican asked in a leering voice.” Look up the definition of the verb “to leer“, and see if you can find a way to make a voice do that.

[Nai Wang]

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 .

[Dean Chapman]

Inferno review

This book keeps your attention throughout the book. Really well written. One of the better Loner books. More for the Kid

[Randy]

I do Believe J.A. Johnstone is going to be a good author, this book is one of the best he has written. Kid Morgan saves four women from impossible odds. A good read.

[Bob Nelson]

Interesting story but I find it hard to believe that 1 man could achieve as much as the kid did, it was a fun read though.

[Yosef Shapiro]

It had a good basic Western plot. But, I prefer it when the Loner is involved in more quick draw action.

[Nolan]

Pretty good story. The author has the main character say and do some stupid things.

[James Bassett]

Electric action from start to finish. Felt like if the nameless man trilogy was a book

[Randy]

Conrad Browning had gone back to using his alias, Kid Morgan, when his life turned around once more. Back to being a drifter, moving along without a care, he comes upon something unusual that he's never seen: a wagon train. That mode of movine west had virtually disappeared with the railroad joining a line from each coast.

Led by Horace Dunlap, the last of the wagon masters still in business, he was escorting the group of pioneers to a small valley in the middle of the desert. Recognized almost immediately, he was invited to ride along with them when he wouldn't take a job. Rumors had been heard of a band of wild Apaches raiding out of Mexico.

The Kid agreed, although things didn't go well. They did reach the valley without trouble. But a young widow caught his eye, nothing much to it, but it didn't set well with her fiance, one of the train's scouts. She seemed to be find ways to be around the Kid a lot.

Things came to a head when she caught him alone, announced her intentions not to marry her man, then kissed him suddenly. The scout saw and a fight broke out.

There was nothing for it but to leave immediately, he did, and camp a few miles up the valley, planning to leave it the next morning.

The gunshots woke his uneasy sleep and he saw a glow back in the direction of the train. As he went to saddle up, he knew the Apaches must have found them, he was jumped himself. Three of them and if he hadn't had his pistol already in hand, he would have been dead. As it was, there was a tense minute before he killed the three.

He was to late.

The wagons were burning and dead bodies, men, women, and children, lay all around. One man was still alive, barely, the second scout. He told The Kid that the Apaches took four of the women, the young widow, a mother and her teenage daughter, and another young woman.

Though the odds were long, The Kid knew he was going after them. The trail led him into Mexico, a clash with an Army patrol led by an officious young officer and an old sergeant that wanted him dead, and a gang of scalp hunters, as well as a crooked Mexican Rurale into the slave trade.

As tough as it would be to rescue them, a very slight chance, it would be harder to escape if he did.

It didn't even slow The Kid down.

One of my favorite western series.


One final note: the cover is mislabeled, claiming this is the eleventh book in the series when it is in fact the twelfth.

[Flannery Kneel]

Conrad joins Horace Dunlap on the wagon train to Raincrow Valley escorting a group of immigrants to their new home. On the trail they are met by the Army Cavalry, that tells them to turn back because a group of rampaging Apache’s is on the loose! But the wagon train decides to push on. Once in Raincrow Valley, the worst happens and a lovely widow that The Kid has befriended, along with others, have been kidnapped by the savage tribe and are headed south of the border! The Kid goes after them vowing to rescue the women, with or WITHOUT the help of the Cavalry!

[Barbara Lee Wood]

"RESCUE FROM SLAVERY"

Wagon trains, families searching for a better life. Hardships hiding under every rock. Bandits, Indains who have crossed the border from Mexico. Slavery and Rurales who were expected to protect the small Mexican settlements, but who steal and terrorize these towns. Scalp hunters who are paid by the Mexican government to commit genocide against the Apache Indians by how many scalps they bring in for a bounty...read this adventure it's definitely action packed not to wordy...

[Yeva]

I'm glad I enjoyed this book, because for once a J. A. Johnstone book was hard to find. Walmart usually carries the Loner series, but I could not find it in the stores or on line. Finally, I ordered it from Barnes and Noble. I really enjoyed this book. It was somewhat of a departure from the other books, yet it was still chock-full of shoot 'em ups and narrow escapes. There's nothing quite like an action-packed western during a hectic week to keep one entertained.

[Kendra]

Couple of things. I've got the paperback version, and have no idea why this doesn't allow me the ability to chance that. 2nd, in my list it's book 12, not 11. That said, I was wondering how the author would take the series after the core events in the first 11 books finished up. I was very pleased with this read, and look forward to more! Another fast, enjoyable read!

[Jerry Blackerby]

This is part of The Loner, which is a new series by J.A. Johnstone. This is apparently the first series he has begun without any notes from his uncle. William W. Johnstone. I enjoy his writing very much, but there is just something in this book that causes me to rate it slightly below the other Johnstone series books.