Death Is The Hunter

by Charles G. West

When John Chapel was young, his parents were brutalized and murdered by Bevo Rooks and his gang of cutthroats. With a cold, undying tenacity, he tracked the men across Indian Territory, picking them off one by one. But the wily Rooks got away. Chapel was soon taken in by the Chickasaw Nation and lived as one of them.

Twelve years later, Chapel is a deputy marshal, renowned for his ability to run down his quarry. But he hasn’t forgotten the promise he made to finish what he began. And Rooks still hasn’t changed his evil ways. When Chapel joins the hunt for the outlaw, he knows his quest for vengeance is coming to a close—and that his prey will finally die by his bullet…

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 7, 2012

About the author

Charles G. West first arrived on the western literary scene in March, 1998 with his first novel, Stone Hand, published by Penguin under their Signet imprint. The book was the first of a three-book series, featuring Jason Coles, master tracker. The public response to those first three books called for more western fiction by West, and as of January 2014, Signet has published forty-five.

Inspired in his youth by great adventure authors like A.B. Guthrie and Vardis Fisher, West has always sought to be true to the men and women who braved the dangers of the savage frontier that was ultimately forged to become the American west. Novels by Charles G. West are classified as historical/westerns due to his diligent research in his subject matter, choosing to weave his fiction into the fabric of the actual places and events, being true to the times as well as the people. As a result, his protagonists are usually not heroes, but are often called upon to perform heroic deeds.

Insisting that his protagonists must be instilled with a sense of fairness in addition to courage. West readily admits that many of the characters in his books are patterned after his two sons, both of whom are graduates of the University of Montana, one still lives in Kalispell, Montana - and is the source of much of the author's detail on the ways of the mountain man. Both sons share West's love for the Big Sky Country.

Presently, the author resides in Ocala, Florida with his wife, Ronda, whose name is found on the dedication page of every West novel.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

After seeing his family killed by outlaws, John Chapel goes on the vengeance trail.

Not challenging in any way.

[HornFan2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the late author Bill Crider, with his 'Outrage at Blanco' novel that made me love revenge stories so much and in away revenge stories for me will always be a tribute to him.

With 'Death Is The Hunter', it checks off every box, as to what you would want in Western Lawman yarn. One of my favorite niches in the Western genre is the lawman novels. Doesn't matter if it's one with a 'Town Tamer', Sheriff, Town Marshall, Texas Rangers, Pinkerton, Rail Detectives, U.S. Deputy Marshall or someone like Chapel who steps into help those whom can protect themselves.

Man oh man, can he author Charles G. West ever tell a Western yarn, he always puts the reader in the pages, bring too life good or bad characters, never disappoints and good always conquers evil.

(To Be Continued)

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won't lie - the paperback cover and title caught my attention and led to my reading this book. I felt it started off strong and the energy never really seemed to let down until towards the end of the book. The character development was on the low side of decent; while I didn't read the book to read about "character development," I thought maybe the main character could have been developed a little more. It is pretty action-packed; it held my interest throughout. The ending did surprise me a bit; I did not expect it to go the way it did but I still liked the ending. It actually "humanized" the hero a bit, so that was well done.

The beginning is pretty crazy. A band of outlaws stops at a small farm and makes themselves at home before killing the father and raping the wife to death. The oldest son discovers the homestead in flames upon his return and starts tracking his family's killers. One of the craziest moments in the book (and the best) is when he catches up with the criminals right before they attack another homestead and quickly kills three or four of the criminals with his rifle from a distance. The survivors flee and split up. In the end, only two escape his hunt. He then heads west until he reaches land untouched by white settlers and lives amongst the tribe that lives in the area.

I felt that was probably the best part of the book, to be honest. The rest of the book is still good, but that initial hunt was the most intense part of the book for me.

There are two "time jumps." It jumps from when John Chapel is thirteen and starts living on his own, then it jumps ahead another nine years to when he's in his thirties. He made a name for himself, after a fashion, by his hunting, trapping, and tracking skills which help him land a job as a U.S. Marshal. After serving as a marshal for a period of time, he executes a criminal and loses his badge because of it.

While serving as a marshal, Chapel does go after a family of criminals alone and is nearly killed because of it. He survives the deadly wound, however, and is able to "get his revenge" at the end of the book in that the father of this family of criminals is also the former leader of the gang that murdered his family..

I did like the "redemption" that occurred at the end of this story. Chapel encounters a U.S. Army scout who saves his life and this U.S. Army scout decides to tag along with Chapel because it is the only time this guy has seen a man come back from the dead like Chapel did. Jump ahead to the end when Chapel and the Scout go after the father and his outlaw family. After the villains are dispatched, Chapel discovers that this scout is the last surviving member of the gang that killed his family. However, the former gang member was not a part of the rape and subsequent murder. Chapel essentially forgives his friend for what happened and gives the scout his life back.

During this "final adventure" in the book, Chapel is helping a family that was wanting to settle in the new Oklahoma Territory when the father and head of the group is murdered. When he discovers the murderers are the same family that got away after shooting him in the chest and leaving him for dead, he becomes interesting in assisting this family. The single adult woman who is nearly as big as Chapel is takes a shine to him and after Chapel returns from his hunting of the outlaw family proposes to him that they get married. When she asks if love is involved, she tells him that, no, love is not involved but they seem to be a good match and could learn to love each other one day. So it was "cool" that he forgave is friend for crimes committed long ago as well as met his future wife all on the same day because the way the book ends, it is like it is truly life being breathed into a dead man, that Chapel has finally come back to life.

It was a fun book to read and a fast book to read; I have read some Westerns by Louis L'Amour as well as Appaloosa and some of the books following, but I generally have not read any other Westerns. I could see myself reading more of this author's works and am glad I took a chance on reading this book.

[Walter Breyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too Dark

An unrealistic and brutal display of senseless, murder, mayhem and rape. How anyone could find this an enjoyable read is beyond my comprehension. The writer did himself a disservice with this less-than-stellar and total waste of my time.

[Dan Panke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start of this book seemed similar to something I've read but that's where it ends. Another good read by Charles G West.

[Jordan Bowar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I just finished reading it for the 2nd time. It was the first western I ever read, and I can still say that this is my favorite. This story will keep you interested from start to finish. Lots of action, easy to follow, and a surprising twist towards the end. West does a great job at writing in a way that seems to put you right there with the characters. If you like westerns, you’ll enjoy this book. Definitely recommend!

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Chapel happened to be away hunting when the seven outlaws, Bevo Rooks' bunch, rode up to the family's house. H got back to find his mother raped and murdered, his father murdered, and the house and barn afire. He just managed to drag them from the house.

After burying his parents, Chapel began to follow the trail left by the gang, finally arriving at another ranch just as they were about to do the same thing. Three hots from his rifle took them out, four escaping, one of them Rooks.

Once again he took up pursuit, following one set when the four split in half. He shoots the first two down in a saloon and returns to the split point to follow the last two.

A thunderstorm wipes out the trail and eventually Chapel realizes he'll never find them.

He is all of thirteen at that point.

Twelve years later, after living near an Indian village, ostly as a hermit, the next phase of his life begins.

A deputy Marshall is shot by an outlaw he's trailing. Chapel promises to take him back as he lay dying. Also the outlaw.

He's offered a job as deputy Marshal.

Nine more years pass.

It takes a near death experience, shot with a buffalo gun, to slow him down. Three years later, he;s still hunting the man who shot him.

Bevo Rooks and his three sons! He doesn't even realize who Rooks is.

A tale of revenge and a man, always a loner since the murder of his parents at a young age, and his gradual transformation into more of a regular human.

Liked this one.

[Chanse Shore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I have to admit it was a little violent but it was not gory or detailed or anything. I like how they portrayed him as a relentless hunter. I think this book was really good. It was very well started and ended. It kept me interested from the front cover to the back cover. It had a really good amount of action. There was a constant amount of action throughout the whole entire book. It also was a fairly easy and fast read. I couldn't really pick out the theme but other than that I absolutely loved it. It was the first western I have read in a long time and helped me remember how much I love a western.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Western, unexpected twist at the end!!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good novel...will read more by this author.