The Darkest Winter

The Frontiersman #3

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

In this western adventure by the bestselling authors of River of Blood, greedy trappers go after the wrong frontiersman.  Exiled from the Smoky Mountains for gunning down a man in self-defense, Breck Wallace tries to make a new home in St. Louis, even tries his hand at romance, but some men are too wild to settle down. Breck is soon back on the trail, where a vicious gang of trappers, after his goods, picks up his scent and begins to dog his every step, until Breck’s only choice is to bed down for the winter with a tribe of friendly Indians. In the frigid, brutal cold of a Rocky Mountain winter, he hopes to find peace…but death is not done with Breck Wallace. When the trappers ambush the Indians and leave Breck for dead, the frontiersman must ride deeper into the mountains than he has ever gone before. Peace be damned. The blood will flow until vengeance is his alone…

Genres: Westerns

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 25, 2017

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

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnstone's Frontiersman Darkest Winter western is not the Gunsmoke, Bonanza type, but more in line with Eastwood's and the movie Jeremiah Johnson. The third in the series captures the essence of roughing it the wild, while at the same time, dealing with the evil, low-down types, you find in westerns. Plenty of violence (guns, hand-to-hand combat). This installment was not as good in terms of the storyline, but the majority of the book, taking place in Montana, near the Bighorn River, with a tribe of Crow, helped boost the story. The scenery and weather environment made it visually appealing to this reader.

[Martha Peebles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Frontiersman

As always a really great read. The only problem I have with these Johnstone books is a have a really hard time laying them down.i just want to keep turning the pages to see what happens next. Thank you Mrs. Jo for a awesome read.

[Richard Guerrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this western read. Over-the-top and silly at times like usual but overall a good read.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the end of the second book in the series, Breck Wallace was to be married. However, in this book, (third of the series) he is not married and not happy. He and the woman are no longer together. It is explained why about halfway through this book. Here Breck and his buddy go off trapping by themselves. Breck wants to help some bad men where his buddy Morgan tries to tell him to stay away from but being Breck the idiot decides to stick his nose in other people's businesses doesn't listen and makes some enemies. 🙄

Breck and Morgan are amazingly able to move on, do make friends with some Indians and of course has a new love interest for Breck again. They fight some unfriendly Indians and of course the bad men show up again, wipe out most of the friendly Indians. The rest of the story is pretty much predictable after that.

[David Burnworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breck is set to meet Morgan in St Louis to sell some pelts and then head back into the mountains to trap. Before Breck finds Morgan trouble finds him and he is forced to kill two would-be robbers, while a third gets away. Breck finally hooks up with Morgan and the fun begins. It starts with the pair helping what turns out to be a gang of trappers are pinned down by some savages. After helping the gang one of them, the would-be killer mentioned above tries to set the duo up, and when that fails Breck accepts a challenge from the failed killer and wins. From there Breck finds love, loses love, and in between, he kills a lot all justified, befriends a tribe of local Indians and so much more. Enjoy this one as it is the best in the series.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a lot better then the previous book I read by this author. At first, I was a bit annoyed because I felt that the main characters name had been overused. Getting a little more into the book it didn't bother me as much, mostly because of the action scenes. Overall I would say that I enjoyed it as a leisure read, it was something I didn't have to think about but could just sit and enjoy. The ending was a cliffhanger and has me wanting to read the next book.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rip roaring fun

This was a thrill ride from start to finish. Would like to have known Breck. The characters were well rounded and interesting and I was sorry to see the book end. Sad that there was no follow up book on their search for Carnahan.

[larry brashear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

Another fine story by William Johnstone! Well written and edited, full of excitement and interesting all the way through. Truly a great adventure!

[Destiny Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

Love these books look forward to damnation valley and reading another one of these series of books on Breckinridge Wallace.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great series, I couldn't put the first three books down, now off to Damnation Valley #4

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good interesting story. Sad through much of the end and I'm just not into that all that much. This appears to be a running theme for Breck though....

[William J Zaremba · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Frontiersman

This was an exciting book and great adventure. This was the first book I read and I can't wait to read another book from this author.

[J D Vaughn]

Pretty Good Western

Nothing extraordinary but good fun and action. And while somewhat predictable, the characters were well developed. i will look forward to reading the second book.