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The Tainted Dollar
“In that time Jake covered the distance to the cowboy, drawing one of his knives from its sheath as he moved. The next thing the cowboy knew was the pommel of Jakes knife was smashing into the side of his head, knocking him onto his knees. The sharp point of the knife had also done its work, nicking the skin deep as he fell to the floor. The blood was running warm and free down his neck and soaking into the white collar of his shirt.”
Jake Base - orphaned at an early age, and now the last surviving member of his family.
Adopted and raised by the Plains Indians as one of their own for ten years and destined never to be totally accepted by either the white man or the Indian.
Now he’s a no-nonsense US marshal tracking two killers down into Texas he discovers more than he bargained for.
There are the confusing emotions of a new, and unexpected, love – which in turn puts him in grave danger.
Jake has difficult choices which will need to be made. People will be hurt in the process.
This story has it all, bar room brawls, brutal murder, cattle rustling, dusty streets and the lovely Maria Sanchez.
Throughout everything one thing remains constant, the one silver coin.
The Tainted Dollar.
Jake Base - orphaned at an early age, and now the last surviving member of his family.
Adopted and raised by the Plains Indians as one of their own for ten years and destined never to be totally accepted by either the white man or the Indian.
Now he’s a no-nonsense US marshal tracking two killers down into Texas he discovers more than he bargained for.
There are the confusing emotions of a new, and unexpected, love – which in turn puts him in grave danger.
Jake has difficult choices which will need to be made. People will be hurt in the process.
This story has it all, bar room brawls, brutal murder, cattle rustling, dusty streets and the lovely Maria Sanchez.
Throughout everything one thing remains constant, the one silver coin.
The Tainted Dollar.
- GenresWesterns
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 18, 2014
1 person is currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Chris G. Derrick
6 books131 followersChris G Derrick was born and grew up in a small town situated between the cities of Bath and Bristol in the south west of the UK. Born in 1957 his favourite genre of film has always been the Western. A birthday treat to watch The Magnificent Seven with some young friends when he was around six years of age no doubt had a hand in developing his life long appreciation of the Old West.
After leaving school Chris started his working life as an accountant, with a short spell in HM Royal Marines in his early twenties. From the 1980’s onwards he earned a living as an IT professional up until the end of March 2013.
Chris’s favourite part of the world happened to be the South Western states of the USA – Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. He'd always enjoyed writing, creating a picture with words, and still maintained his affection for a good Western and the cowboy way of life.
With this in mind Chris decided he'd combine these three things - and write a Western himself set in those states of the USA.
The Tainted Dollar was written with a keen eye on western history, and there are plans for other books to follow.
Each one will retain Jake Base - if not as the main then certainly as a central character within each story.
Jake Base – a US marshal, but one with a difference.
After leaving school Chris started his working life as an accountant, with a short spell in HM Royal Marines in his early twenties. From the 1980’s onwards he earned a living as an IT professional up until the end of March 2013.
Chris’s favourite part of the world happened to be the South Western states of the USA – Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. He'd always enjoyed writing, creating a picture with words, and still maintained his affection for a good Western and the cowboy way of life.
With this in mind Chris decided he'd combine these three things - and write a Western himself set in those states of the USA.
The Tainted Dollar was written with a keen eye on western history, and there are plans for other books to follow.
Each one will retain Jake Base - if not as the main then certainly as a central character within each story.
Jake Base – a US marshal, but one with a difference.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 24, 2015
It's been a very long time since I read a western, which was probably Shane - one of my all time favourites! I love western films and I will probably now not wait a further thirty plus years to read another western book. This was a great fun read with a very likeable and tough hero in Jake Base and an interesting mix of other characters.
The author has done a good job of describing life in the wild west and creates a feeling of real suspense as Jake tracks the bad guys with the reader never quite certain who is good and bad.
I look forward to reading more adventures of Jake Base.
The author has done a good job of describing life in the wild west and creates a feeling of real suspense as Jake tracks the bad guys with the reader never quite certain who is good and bad.
I look forward to reading more adventures of Jake Base.
January 27, 2019
A good old Western Filled with drama. If you like this genre, it is a must read. I enjoyed it.
November 30, 2015
I'll admit that I was intrigued with the thought of a British gentleman writing a western and purchased The Tainted Dollar by Chris Derrick after seeing several posts from a friend via his social medial feed.
The story was well worth 4 bucks. Although I wish it had been longer, the story was much longer than I expected it to be.
Jake Base is a US Marshall traveling to Laredo Texas on the trail of a pair of no good brothers who had killed a man in Tucson. As the story unfolds, he falls in with a small handful of local cowboys--some good and some not so good--there's of course the local Sheriff and a barkeep. Along the way he meets Lupe Sanchez local rancher and father of the lovely Maria. The story is up and down until about the halfway mark when Derrick pulls the trigger if you will and its on from there.
I was totally surprised by the ending. I did see the western ending the way that it did well before the story was finished, but the last couple of pages were not expected.
If you enjoy the old west, cowboys and big ranch cattle drives in the form of Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey...give The Tainted Dollar a read.
I've already purchased the next in the series The Sheriff's Sister and look forward to a long holiday weekend read
Well done Chris Derrick
The story was well worth 4 bucks. Although I wish it had been longer, the story was much longer than I expected it to be.
Jake Base is a US Marshall traveling to Laredo Texas on the trail of a pair of no good brothers who had killed a man in Tucson. As the story unfolds, he falls in with a small handful of local cowboys--some good and some not so good--there's of course the local Sheriff and a barkeep. Along the way he meets Lupe Sanchez local rancher and father of the lovely Maria. The story is up and down until about the halfway mark when Derrick pulls the trigger if you will and its on from there.
I was totally surprised by the ending. I did see the western ending the way that it did well before the story was finished, but the last couple of pages were not expected.
If you enjoy the old west, cowboys and big ranch cattle drives in the form of Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey...give The Tainted Dollar a read.
I've already purchased the next in the series The Sheriff's Sister and look forward to a long holiday weekend read
Well done Chris Derrick
December 7, 2020
I've only read one other Western in recent years so I can't really say how it works as a Western but I can say it is a great adventure story in a cowboy setting which seemed very gritty and realistic. One of the strengths of the book was how the historic setting was brought to life.
Jake was a likeable character, the pace was consistent and the storyline was interesting and enjoyable. A couple of minor issues but overall this is a great debut novel. The most important thing is accomplished - an engaging story that kept me entertained. I will look out the later books in the series in the new year.
Recommend for anyone who enjoys an adventure story in an authentic setting.
Jake was a likeable character, the pace was consistent and the storyline was interesting and enjoyable. A couple of minor issues but overall this is a great debut novel. The most important thing is accomplished - an engaging story that kept me entertained. I will look out the later books in the series in the new year.
Recommend for anyone who enjoys an adventure story in an authentic setting.
June 16, 2017
I’m a lifelong fan of westerns by Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey, so when I saw this on Twitter, it found its way onto my TBR list.
When I started reading, I was pleased to find the story was engrossing and fast moving. The latter is an issue for me, but not in a bad way. My complaint comes from that just when I was getting comfortable reading the story, it ended. Considering it’s a decent sized book (about 420 pages or so), that’s a great problem to have.
One thing that really struck me is the timing of the action and interactions between the characters. Like Louis L’Amour, the author takes us right into the story and moves it along. The action scenes are fast, but thoroughly described, which pulled me deeper into the story. It’s a refreshing style that is difficult to pull off.
The characters appear and pass by almost as fast as the fight scenes, but these are slowed down as most of the description of the area is done through dialogue. While this doesn’t happen too often, it can be a little tiring if you’re used to or expecting the rapid fire exchanges to continue. It’s not a bad thing, though I do have to admit I think Jake was a little liberal with his information and trusted people a little too much, but that’s just my opinion so I’ll leave the final verdict to you.
The grit and lifestyle of the Wild West are brought to life in a fun style, and I can’t wait to read more by this author.
When I started reading, I was pleased to find the story was engrossing and fast moving. The latter is an issue for me, but not in a bad way. My complaint comes from that just when I was getting comfortable reading the story, it ended. Considering it’s a decent sized book (about 420 pages or so), that’s a great problem to have.
One thing that really struck me is the timing of the action and interactions between the characters. Like Louis L’Amour, the author takes us right into the story and moves it along. The action scenes are fast, but thoroughly described, which pulled me deeper into the story. It’s a refreshing style that is difficult to pull off.
The characters appear and pass by almost as fast as the fight scenes, but these are slowed down as most of the description of the area is done through dialogue. While this doesn’t happen too often, it can be a little tiring if you’re used to or expecting the rapid fire exchanges to continue. It’s not a bad thing, though I do have to admit I think Jake was a little liberal with his information and trusted people a little too much, but that’s just my opinion so I’ll leave the final verdict to you.
The grit and lifestyle of the Wild West are brought to life in a fun style, and I can’t wait to read more by this author.
November 28, 2020
Great story!
The storyline was phenomenal! Mr. Derrick has quite the imagination! That being said, it took a little while to get vested in the book, so give it a chance.
It also took a bit to get accustomed to his writing style as, in my humble opinion, some of the dialogue didnt quite seem natural, and there were some minor discrepancies here and there, but all in all I enjoyed the book!
It was interesting, intriguing, unique, suspenseful, and a page turner at times! I personally would have liked to know more about what transpired between Jake & Maria, but maybe that will be another book! I think most everyone who likes this genre would also enjoy this book as I did!
The storyline was phenomenal! Mr. Derrick has quite the imagination! That being said, it took a little while to get vested in the book, so give it a chance.
It also took a bit to get accustomed to his writing style as, in my humble opinion, some of the dialogue didnt quite seem natural, and there were some minor discrepancies here and there, but all in all I enjoyed the book!
It was interesting, intriguing, unique, suspenseful, and a page turner at times! I personally would have liked to know more about what transpired between Jake & Maria, but maybe that will be another book! I think most everyone who likes this genre would also enjoy this book as I did!
June 10, 2015
Chris Derrick’s debut book, ‘The Tainted Dollar’, breaths a breath of fresh air to the idea of a book set in the Wild West. This book offers the reader a classic who done it story in a cowboy town setting. I gave this book 5/5 because I like the way the story unfolded; it kept my interest all the way through-out the book and I couldn’t put the book down. I think that Chris Derrick is a new talent that is one to watch, but don’t take my word for it, why not see for yourself.
As a mum, I would describe this book as having adult content in one or two parts of the book.
As a mum, I would describe this book as having adult content in one or two parts of the book.
November 27, 2015
Mr. Derrick brought us back to pre-Civil War Texas to experience a fearless lawman who, in the process of chasing down 2 killers, gets involved with solving an additional murder mystery.
Great story, and plenty of historic background that shows he did some research. There's some violence and romance to cover all the bases. Good character development, too.
I enjoyed it!
Great story, and plenty of historic background that shows he did some research. There's some violence and romance to cover all the bases. Good character development, too.
I enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews