Montana: A Novel of the Frontier America

Montana #1

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

Two families. Nine generations. One stretch of land under the Big Sky of Montana Territory.

From national bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, a bold new saga of the American West centuries in the making, from the brave ranchers who staked their claims in the spring of 1842, to the lawmen who risked their lives to keep them, and the descendants who carried their dreams into the 21st century…

Bordered by the Blackfeet Reservation to the north and mountain ranges to the east and west, Cutthroat County is seven-hundred glorious square miles of Big Sky grandeur. For generations, the Maddox and Drew families have ruled the county—often at odds with each other. Today, Ashton Maddox runs the biggest Black Angus ranch in the country, while County Sheriff John T. Drew upholds the law like his forefathers did over a century ago. A lot has changed since the county was established in 1891. But some things feel straight out of the 1800s. Especially when cows start disappearing from the ranches. . .

Residents and news media still recall a gun-blazing tale of the land-grabbing battles fought by Maddox’s and Drew’s ancestors. Meanwhile, their present-day descendants face a new kind of war that’s every bit as bloody. Sheriff Drew’s girlfriend/deputy is shot and seriously wounded in what appears to be a routine traffic stop. When Ashton Maddox’s rival rancher’s foreman is found murdered and a modern-day vigilante group hires a hard-drinking, publicity-hungry retired Texas Ranger to investigate, Drew and Maddox decide to do what their forefathers did so many years join forces against a common enemy. Risk their skins against all odds. And keep the dream of Montana alive for generations to come . . .

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 23, 2024

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

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Montana by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is one of the best books in a while from this author. Great plot and wonderful setting with good characters. The story is divided into three timeperiods, 1842, 1891 and the present but it all revolves around the same little county and the two storong families the Maddox and the Drew families that once where friends but have hated each other since the 1840. Most of the book is set in the present but as the mystery unfolds we get to know about the history behind what have happened in Cutthroat county. For those that like me enjoyed this one I can tell you that there is a second book coming in the autumn.

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story of generational feud between the Drews and Maddoxes. Basically two stories, with a bit of third thrown in to show how the feud started. Story runs from present day Montana to 1891, in Cutthroat County which is a fictional county but based on geography descriptions in the book is north of Great Falls and east of Glacier National Park.

A lot of back and forth with current day story about a sheriff's deputy being shot, and finding the bad guy, and wondering if others are involved. The 1891 story was similar with someone being killed and the sheriff Drew and the Maddox clan hunting down the bad guys.

Too much back and forth to give this 3 stars which for goodreads is you liked it. I did like the scenery descriptions, but overall the story was just ok.

[Donna G Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skip the Sleep

What a great read. Old time western brought up to date. Two books in one! What a ride! Great mystery and old time legends all in one book. The Hat fields and McCoys in this Montana setting. Could not put it down! NEXT!!

[Jaime K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was confused at first because even though the audio named the correct book, I was startled that it starts in post-pandemic 2020s. The story is somewhat about the rift between the Maddox and Drew families, but only when we flash back to the past...which is dull. I was more interested in the present time and the mystery going on there. I still felt confused at the end and bored throughout because I didn't care about the family rivalry at all. Also, you can say there's a rivalry without explaining the history of it.

[Thomas J Raveson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have now read a large number of Johnstone's books, maybe over 40, and have enjoyed them tremendously, rating all of them 4s or 5s - not true for Montana. This book is very difficult to follow, the writing unlike all the others is confusing, disorganized, frankly it needs a rewrite by whomever tried his hand at ghostwriting for the original Johnstone who I understand actually passed over twenty five years ago. All the other Johnstone books I thoroughly enjoyed but something important here is not consistent with his series. It is not the same quality and I rated it a disappointing "1".

[Roger L. Hagengruber · Rating 1 out of 5]

poor

This was a terrible read. Jumping back and forth in time and with different characters. A poor plot and inadequate character development. Appeared to be written by two authors doing separate portions. Waste of time!

[Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two families in a feud. One is in law enforcement the other is in ranching. Found the story to be a little on the slow side. Not fast paced at all. The past, in the 1800s, was super slow and mostly boring. The present part of the story was slow but more interesting.

[David Burnworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two families have a semi-like feud or a strong dislike for each other. In two stories from two different centuries, the families have to come together to help each other in old-west-like times and in more recent times.

[Scott Mcleod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book - a slow start but took off, as it showed modern day Montana and then travelled back in time a hundred years then back to modern times again, loved the time travel great to read about the characters in both times, got the sequel Hard Winter and am reading it now.

[Kentucky Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first book written by whomever is calling themself William W. Johnson these days that I didn't like. I got about 25% through this before deciding it was a waste of time.

[Ginger Poulsen]

It didn’t catch my interest enough for me to pay attention to it while I was working, so I really don’t know a whole lot what went on. It might’ve been a good book.

[Roy Mims · Rating 4 out of 5]

America Frontier to World

Enjoyed the journey between past and presented, took me few minutes or should I say fees chapters to understand the plot. Overall enjoyed the reading.

[HornFan2 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Damn, didn't make it past page 3, due to some crappy editing and guess Ms. J. A. has a bad case of Yellowstone fever. Due to me gambling paying $5.98 on this one being good, going to count it towards my read count and ended up throwing it in the trash.

Whoever the author was beats into the readers head the size of Cutthroat County, its 1,197miles, with 32.1 of those miles on water, your told twice in the first two pages the counties size and about it's wonderful t-shirt and the story imploded for me on page 2.

The narration in the prologue is from an interview, comes across as a wannabe expert on Cutthroat County, it's all over the place, he's on his way home on page 2, then he's back in the present talking to a Native man, while getting coffee at a gas station, rambling on how many gas pumps are in the county and halfway through page 3, he's talking to the County Sheriff John T. Drew. Whose drinking his third cup of coffee, while talking to him and no lead up as to how he met him.

Really, correct me if I'm wrong, but for me as a reader, prologue normal have enticing nuggets that make you want to read it or it sets up the rest of the book for you. It shouldn't make you wish that prior to purchasing it, you read the first couple of pages in the prologue verse the back cover and if I had, never would have purchased it.

William W. Johnstone was one of my favorite Western authors, never strayed from that genre, as he wrote in several other genres and he just hooked you in with his writing style. It's sad to see his name used on books that aren't worthy of having his name on them, that don't live up to his writing style standard and just put J.A. Johnstone name on them. Of course it won't sell as good as putting William's name on it.

[Kai Ming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Montana: A Novel of the Frontier America. I started this book with low expectation. The start of the book where a journalist is interviewing some locals did not capture my interest at all and almost made me stop. I decided to keep going though and the book slowly ramped up to be a very fun read. I enjoyed the back and forth from modern to past times. The chapters about the town was a perfect mix where the reader could enjoy both the classic western story with an action packed modern thriller. I recommend sticking this book out as you will likely be surprised of how enjoyable it can become.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new kind of book from Johnstone. A great read and a sequel are coming. Can't wait for it.