Day of Independence

Bad Men of the West #3

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

A Texas frontier town is ready to fight for its independence from a ruthless cattle baron in this Western by the authors of Savage Texas.

One hundred years ago, American patriots picked up rifles and fought against British tyranny. That was in Boston, where the enemy was King George III and his British troops. Now, in Last Chance, Texas, in the Big Bend River country, the enemy is Abraham Hacker, a ruthless cattle baron who will slaughter anyone who tries to lay claim to the fertile land—or anything on it.

For Last Chance, freedom is under siege one violent act at a time. Then wounded Texas Ranger Hank Cannan arrives in town. When he sees the terrorized townsfolk, Cannan is ready to start a second revolution. It's going to take a lot of guts. But Cannan is ready to set Last Chance free with bullets, blood, and a willingness to die—or kill—for freedom.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

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

[Diamond Cowboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a most excellent book as usual for this author. The charictors are very well developed. There is a whole lot of violents and prejudism. It describes the times as they were. I highly recommend this book.

[Dan Smith]

A Texas Ranger get shot, but is found by an old nemesis and taken to a small border town. While recovering he learns that a washington aristocrat wants to invade the small town by using Mexican immigrants to run the towns people away and take over the town.. Interesting story..

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating tale of greed and treachery as evil men try to destroy a small Texas town

A Texas Ranger is ambushed yet survives to make it to a small border town where a wealthy conniving aspiring US Presidential candidate and his ring of hard-case gun-hands plan the total destruction of the small town and it’s inhabitants with an overwhelming rush of illegal immigrants. The outcome is grim with plenty of twists and turns to the end. Well worth the time.

[Douglas Fugate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one from Johnstone.

[larry brashear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

A really great book that was enjoyable and exciting from start to finish! This author is my favorite and I never tire reading his work.

[Masina Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Man's Army

A slower paced novel but still has enough action to hold the reader's attention. Ready for another Western from Johnstone.

[Tammy R. Blackwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading about the adventure s of Ranger Hank Cannan. A good man standing up to evil in the 1800's.

[Donna Covell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good old-fashioned Western.

[Vince · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing stands out as exceptional western. Main character saves the town but invalid most of story. Not a strong character.

[Jeff Benham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hank Cannan is a Texas Ranger. He is also shot full of holes and barely alive. He sees it as his duty to save a town he has never heard of. A little juju mixed in, which I didn't really think added to it, but it didn't subtract from the story either.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.875

I would read another of his books

[B.J. Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel is packed with shootouts and action scenes. However, I found the pacing to be uneven; it often slowed down due to an overload of short-lived, unnecessary characters. Hank Cannan fits the mold of the typical "goody two-shoes" hero—an instantly likable family man with a badge who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The main antagonist is a stereotypical, overweight baron surrounded by the usual henchmen.

Regarding the narration, despite the pacing hiccups, the writing is commendable. However, I wish the characters had more distinct Texas dialects and individual traits. Many of the side characters blended and lacked personalities. If it weren't for the speech tags, I wouldn't have known who was conversing with whom.

In conclusion, Day of Independence is an action-packed, nostalgic Western that’s far from perfect, but I still found it enjoyable.

Find my full review at https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/....

[Charles Darlage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining. The weird voodoo witch just disappeared like the author forgot about her. And the ending seemed like the Author just wanted to be finished with the book as the main character fell unconscious during the final fight.

[Peter Charleston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice western adventure. I'm not sure if the witch did her job. Found the original William W. Johnstone western books more to my liking, surely enjoyed his storytelling competence.

[Jeff]

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