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The Last Mountain Man #43
Bloodshed of the Mountain Man
Where There’s Fire, There’s Smoke
Smoke Jensen has journeyed up to the Colorado Rockies to a sell a prized bull to a local rancher. Instead, the rancher and his wife have been mercilessly slaughtered by outlaws only moments before Smoke’s arrival. In a hail of bullets, Smoke pulverizes two of the murderers and drags two others to the town of Brown Spur for justice. Come hanging day, the two killers are on the way to the gallows when a thundering gang of raiders crashes into town and rescues them from the jaws of death. When the bloody onslaught is over, dead bodies litter the streets, and Smoke Jensen is a man on a mission.
Calling themselves the Ghost Riders, a savage gang of outlaws has stealthily moved in from Wyoming Territory. Smoke now has a personal motive for going up against the Ghost Riders. No matter how many they are, no matter how many guns they have, he’ll hunt them down—one killer at a time...
Calling themselves the Ghost Riders, a savage gang of outlaws has stealthily moved in from Wyoming Territory. Smoke now has a personal motive for going up against the Ghost Riders. No matter how many they are, no matter how many guns they have, he’ll hunt them down—one killer at a time...
- GenresWesternsAdult Fiction
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 24, 2015
91 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
William W. Johnstone
1,041 books1,392 followersWilliam 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.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 28, 2023
Smoke and Cal plan are on their way to deliver a prize bull that Smoke has sold—the couple they have sold the bull to are killed by members of the Ghost Riders. Smoke and Cal kill two of the four gang members but Cal is shot and is not expected to live. After returning him to Big Rock Smoke, Pearlie set out to end the Ghost Riders, who are 30 members strong. This book has two stories going at once, making for an excellent read. There are lots of justifiable killings in this one and big-time heartache for Cal.
I won't give anything more away but will leave you with this. READ THE BOOK.
I won't give anything more away but will leave you with this. READ THE BOOK.
October 19, 2018
It was okay. I wanted to continue reading it so that's a plus. However, it became predictable and I figured out the plot long before I got to the end of the book. The ending however, was abrupt and while one of the possible outcomes I foresaw, was somewhat disappointing. I still rate it as a decent read.
June 30, 2022
It's a blood bath ! Another Smoke Jenson novel with excitement and suspense.
It did drag on for a few chapters
but as usual it went so much better to the end of the story. I would like to hear the next book that would take off exactly as this one ended !
It did drag on for a few chapters
but as usual it went so much better to the end of the story. I would like to hear the next book that would take off exactly as this one ended !
December 17, 2018
Great writing, as usual, and the usual outlaws and good guys. A little different plot in that Smoke is not the main character and I would have rated it higher but I don't like the ending.
July 28, 2019
Enjoy the 43rd book of the smoke Jensen series.
November 13, 2019
Love.
Horrible people will always be amount us until the end of time. Smoke Jensen really came through again, and I could not stop reading the story.
Horrible people will always be amount us until the end of time. Smoke Jensen really came through again, and I could not stop reading the story.
February 4, 2020
Cal just can't a break can he. It seems every girl he falls for eventually has a bad end. I liked this book. It continues with the themes of the many other mountain man books.
December 12, 2023
Excellent book.
March 9, 2020
Certainly one of the best Mountain Man books in the series. It's still comes down to Smoke confronting "treeing" a town, without the "treeing" word being used.
What makes this entry extremely different is the depth of the story and even a twist near the end. The characters are always the strength of the entire Johnstone Clan series. In this book, this is stepped up to even better levels as there is an even better drawing of the main characters. Also a better interaction of characters and plot.
The bad guys and town takeover(s) is the best plotted of dozens in the Johnstone Clan series. Mostly due to so little mention of it and more focus of the characters actions. This is very well done.
Biggest problem is another abrupt ending. This ending one of the worst abrupt endings in the Johnstone Clan series. I get Pinnacle wants to promote their other books with excerpts as advertising books has been greatly hindered in so many ways. But this novel needed another 20 pages to wrap up and present a better ending than given here.
Bottom line: i recommend this book. 7 out of 10 points.
What makes this entry extremely different is the depth of the story and even a twist near the end. The characters are always the strength of the entire Johnstone Clan series. In this book, this is stepped up to even better levels as there is an even better drawing of the main characters. Also a better interaction of characters and plot.
The bad guys and town takeover(s) is the best plotted of dozens in the Johnstone Clan series. Mostly due to so little mention of it and more focus of the characters actions. This is very well done.
Biggest problem is another abrupt ending. This ending one of the worst abrupt endings in the Johnstone Clan series. I get Pinnacle wants to promote their other books with excerpts as advertising books has been greatly hindered in so many ways. But this novel needed another 20 pages to wrap up and present a better ending than given here.
Bottom line: i recommend this book. 7 out of 10 points.
September 9, 2016
DESTRUCTION AND HEARTBREAK
Life can throw you a boomerang and doesn't necessarily have to come back the way it was thrown. Hannibal aka Enid Prescott, a dishonorable discharged officer from the U.S. Army, who stole Army's guns that eventually fell into the hands of warring Indians. He was narcissistic woman beater a d thought because he was a West Point Graduate, he should be promoted to Major as was the graduates of his class. This man engaged in robberies, murdered everyone no exceptions. Smoke Jensen presented his prize bull for sale and it was bought by a rancher. Smoke was delivering the bull to the rancher when they heard a scream and gun fire. The rancher and his wife were murdered by the GHOST RIDERS led by HANNIBAL...Smoke goes to the governor of Colorado to ask him to appoint him as a Colorado Ranger to hunt down the murderous GHOST RIDERS he was granted this title until he hunted down and killed this gang of outlaws. Smoke completed what he said he would do. You must read this adventure of SMOKE you'll laugh at some conversations and become teary with others....
Life can throw you a boomerang and doesn't necessarily have to come back the way it was thrown. Hannibal aka Enid Prescott, a dishonorable discharged officer from the U.S. Army, who stole Army's guns that eventually fell into the hands of warring Indians. He was narcissistic woman beater a d thought because he was a West Point Graduate, he should be promoted to Major as was the graduates of his class. This man engaged in robberies, murdered everyone no exceptions. Smoke Jensen presented his prize bull for sale and it was bought by a rancher. Smoke was delivering the bull to the rancher when they heard a scream and gun fire. The rancher and his wife were murdered by the GHOST RIDERS led by HANNIBAL...Smoke goes to the governor of Colorado to ask him to appoint him as a Colorado Ranger to hunt down the murderous GHOST RIDERS he was granted this title until he hunted down and killed this gang of outlaws. Smoke completed what he said he would do. You must read this adventure of SMOKE you'll laugh at some conversations and become teary with others....
December 30, 2015
Other than the rather abrupt ending that left me disappointed, it is another one of Johnstone's page turners featuring Smoke Jensen. This time Smoke is facing down a band of brutal outlaws that don't care who their victims are, especially if they are in the way of their plans. The usual gunfights, romance ( saloon girls abound) and plot twists that characterize these novels are all there. This is #43 in the series. I guess I have a lot of catching up to do.
January 11, 2016
Just another good book. Easy to read hard to put down. Smoke Jensen stories never get old. Just wish there were more
June 16, 2016
I liked it. I don't put Johnstone on the same level as Louis L'Amour, but if you like westerns, you're likely going to enjoy reading books by William Johnstone.
August 22, 2016
Enthralling!
As usual, the Last Mountain Man trilogy delivers a great read with plenty of action. The legend of Smoke Jensen continues and carries Pearlie and Cal with it.
As usual, the Last Mountain Man trilogy delivers a great read with plenty of action. The legend of Smoke Jensen continues and carries Pearlie and Cal with it.
January 21, 2017
Would make an alright action-western film I suppose, but as a book it never quite grabbed me. Not very surprising considering this is number 43 in the series.
March 7, 2017
Great!
Another fine western tale by my favorite author. I do not understand your 20 word requirement. It is a good book.
Another fine western tale by my favorite author. I do not understand your 20 word requirement. It is a good book.
May 20, 2017
I've enjoyed the previous books about Smoke Jensen but this one was simply awful. It started out when the author referred to Smoke's bull as a cow several times and using a leash for it and went downhill from there. Slow, boring, parts of it were written like a kid wrote it. The ending was way too abrupt and not good. I'm among those who question how much of this was written by the author.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews