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Hell Star
The Devil wears a badge…
When US marshal Link Leyland heard that his ex-partner Dan Shurmer had been killed, he rode in to Prairie City to investigate.
However, Link’s hopes for a quiet investigation are shattered when he intervenes in a coach robbery, killing a man.
Despite passing himself off as a rancher, Link attracts the attention of the town’s marshal.
Things are complicated further when Link is forced to kill the marshal’s deputy in self-defence.
But Marshal Pat Eke is not a man who can be trusted, nor the company he keeps.
While investigating the death of his friend and trying to stay on Eke’s good side, Link is also approached by Ann Rayner, who fears for her brother’s safety.
Could Schurmer’s murder, the robbery, the marshal and the brother all be connected?
It’s not long before more bullets start flying and bodies pile up.
Will Link find justice for his partner, or will he too fall to the killer who wears a Hell Star ?
‘A rollicking good read, full of danger and suspense’ – bestselling author, Tom Casey
Chuck Mason (1928), is one of fifty pseudonyms for British author, Donald S. Rowland, who was born in Norfolk, England. Rowland is married with three children, and previously had a variety of jobs, including film projectionist and Senior Clerk and Local Government Officer. It was only in 1964 that he dedicated his time to writing full-time and has since written a variety of novels, from science-fiction to westerns.
When US marshal Link Leyland heard that his ex-partner Dan Shurmer had been killed, he rode in to Prairie City to investigate.
However, Link’s hopes for a quiet investigation are shattered when he intervenes in a coach robbery, killing a man.
Despite passing himself off as a rancher, Link attracts the attention of the town’s marshal.
Things are complicated further when Link is forced to kill the marshal’s deputy in self-defence.
But Marshal Pat Eke is not a man who can be trusted, nor the company he keeps.
While investigating the death of his friend and trying to stay on Eke’s good side, Link is also approached by Ann Rayner, who fears for her brother’s safety.
Could Schurmer’s murder, the robbery, the marshal and the brother all be connected?
It’s not long before more bullets start flying and bodies pile up.
Will Link find justice for his partner, or will he too fall to the killer who wears a Hell Star ?
‘A rollicking good read, full of danger and suspense’ – bestselling author, Tom Casey
Chuck Mason (1928), is one of fifty pseudonyms for British author, Donald S. Rowland, who was born in Norfolk, England. Rowland is married with three children, and previously had a variety of jobs, including film projectionist and Senior Clerk and Local Government Officer. It was only in 1964 that he dedicated his time to writing full-time and has since written a variety of novels, from science-fiction to westerns.
151 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 16, 2017
In Chuck Mason's Hell Star (Pioneering Press 2017), Link Leyland is a retired Marshall back in the days of America's Wild West, when the law was pretty much whatever could be meted out between an action and reaction. The faster you were, the more power you had. Despite reaching the old age of 37, Leyland is called back from retirement to investigate the death of his former partner in the lawless town of Prairie City. He goes undercover, supposedly to buy cattle, but before he even enters town, he comes upon a stagecoach being robbed and must stop it. From that point on, it's a struggle to maintain his cover and face down the robbers who have the support of the town's leaders. Here's a taste of Mason's storytelling:
"Southward, the prairie, wide, rolling, featureless, stretched away to the distant horizon and beyond, and so it was to the east. Northward, the silent shoulders of rugged mountain ranges reared up like sentinels, and somewhere among their foothills lay Leyland’s destination—Prairie City."
The characters are interesting, the plot is quick, and the ending satisfying. I'd love to read more of this author.
"Southward, the prairie, wide, rolling, featureless, stretched away to the distant horizon and beyond, and so it was to the east. Northward, the silent shoulders of rugged mountain ranges reared up like sentinels, and somewhere among their foothills lay Leyland’s destination—Prairie City."
The characters are interesting, the plot is quick, and the ending satisfying. I'd love to read more of this author.
September 27, 2018
A Western About an Undercover U.S. Marshall
CN has penned a western about an ex IS Marshal that come out of retirement to find out who and where his last partner had been murdered. He arrived and stops a stage holdup. Then Becomes involved with the lady who owned the restaurant. In the final showdown he finds he has not lost any speed with his guns. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
CN has penned a western about an ex IS Marshal that come out of retirement to find out who and where his last partner had been murdered. He arrived and stops a stage holdup. Then Becomes involved with the lady who owned the restaurant. In the final showdown he finds he has not lost any speed with his guns. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
November 8, 2017
Undercover Lawman
A rancher who had previously been a lawman goes undercover to search for the person who killed his friend. A tense, fast moving Western. This novel will grab the reader's attention from page one. I highly recommend this author.
A rancher who had previously been a lawman goes undercover to search for the person who killed his friend. A tense, fast moving Western. This novel will grab the reader's attention from page one. I highly recommend this author.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews