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Hank Fallon #2
Behind the Iron
Second in the white-hot, violent new series!
Johnstone Country. The Good Die Young. The Bad Die Younger.
In this gripping thriller, America's greatest Western storytellers take you inside the dangerous world of an undercover agent--and the deadliest jail in America . . .
PRISON RIOT
Hank Fallon knows what it's like to rot behind bars. To wallow in the filth of a rat-infested cell. To smell the pent-up rage of cutthroat killers and thieves. Fallon earned his freedom the hard way. He saved the lives of four guards, got released early, and became a detective. Then he went undercover, infiltrated a prison gang plotting to bust out--and barely made it out alive. Now they're sending him back. Behind the iron. Straight to hell . . .
This time, it's the ninth circle known as Missouri State Penitentiary. His mission: get inside the infirmary, look for a pregnant inmate named Jess Harper, and find out where her bank-robbing boyfriend hid the stolen cash. Problem is: a rebellion is brewing among the prisoners. Their rage is burning out of control. An all-out savage riot is about to explode. And Fallon's head is on the chopping block . . .
Live Free. Read Hard.
www.williamjohnstone.net
Johnstone Country. The Good Die Young. The Bad Die Younger.
In this gripping thriller, America's greatest Western storytellers take you inside the dangerous world of an undercover agent--and the deadliest jail in America . . .
PRISON RIOT
Hank Fallon knows what it's like to rot behind bars. To wallow in the filth of a rat-infested cell. To smell the pent-up rage of cutthroat killers and thieves. Fallon earned his freedom the hard way. He saved the lives of four guards, got released early, and became a detective. Then he went undercover, infiltrated a prison gang plotting to bust out--and barely made it out alive. Now they're sending him back. Behind the iron. Straight to hell . . .
This time, it's the ninth circle known as Missouri State Penitentiary. His mission: get inside the infirmary, look for a pregnant inmate named Jess Harper, and find out where her bank-robbing boyfriend hid the stolen cash. Problem is: a rebellion is brewing among the prisoners. Their rage is burning out of control. An all-out savage riot is about to explode. And Fallon's head is on the chopping block . . .
Live Free. Read Hard.
www.williamjohnstone.net
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 30, 2018
256 people are currently reading
708 people want to read
About the author
William W. Johnstone
1,055 books1,401 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 16, 2019
GNab Behind the Iron is the second in a series of western historical novels by William W. Johnstone featuring Harry Fallon. This is one of those novels not yet completed at the death of William W. Johnstone, and was finished and prepared for publication by J. A. Johnstone. It is an excellent novel, with up to the minute changes in western technology to fit the timeframe of the story. I have been really enjoying these westerns, and am grateful to the family for adding to the legacy of W. W. He will be sorely missed.
Fallon is an ex-US Marshal and paroled prisoner who has done ten years time in the Illinois State Penitentiary and undercover time in Joliet in Yuma, AZ, and will be entering the Jefferson City Missouri jail undercover at the behest of the American Detective Agency, despite the fact that several of the men Fallon caught and saw prosecuted and sent to this pen would most likely recognize him. But if he is to learn the identity of the person or persons responsible for the death of his wife and daughter while he was doing time in Illinois, he feels it necessary to cater to the MacGregor's at ADA who have this information, and will share it if they have Fallon's help as they attempt to rise to the reputation of the Pinkerton's.
A very interesting look at Chicago in the 1890's, also the pace of the advancement of the medical field and penal professionals.
I received a free electronic copy of this western historical novel from Netgalley, the Johnstone Family, and Pinnacle Books in exchange for an honesty review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.
Pub date Oct 30, 2018
Fallon is an ex-US Marshal and paroled prisoner who has done ten years time in the Illinois State Penitentiary and undercover time in Joliet in Yuma, AZ, and will be entering the Jefferson City Missouri jail undercover at the behest of the American Detective Agency, despite the fact that several of the men Fallon caught and saw prosecuted and sent to this pen would most likely recognize him. But if he is to learn the identity of the person or persons responsible for the death of his wife and daughter while he was doing time in Illinois, he feels it necessary to cater to the MacGregor's at ADA who have this information, and will share it if they have Fallon's help as they attempt to rise to the reputation of the Pinkerton's.
A very interesting look at Chicago in the 1890's, also the pace of the advancement of the medical field and penal professionals.
I received a free electronic copy of this western historical novel from Netgalley, the Johnstone Family, and Pinnacle Books in exchange for an honesty review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.
Pub date Oct 30, 2018
October 7, 2018
In William Johnstone's Behind the Iron (Penguin Random House 2018), Harry 'Hank' Fallon, former deputy US Marshall and paroled prisoner, has a difficult background that is complicated by a rich mix of law and disorder. He was released from prison early for saving the lives of several guards and ended up working for the American Detective Agency, a wannabe Pinkerton Detective Agency who would never live up to that sort of stellar reputation. He knows they're using him but it doesn't bother him much, because he's using them, too.
Harry Fallon had been at the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet, saving the lives of a few guards during a bloody riot, and that act of bravery, kindness, humanity—just a spur-of-the-moment decision, truthfully—had led to a parole for Harry Fallon, former deputy United States marshal for Judge Isaac Parker’s court in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fallon had been given a job at Werner’s Wheelwright in Chicago and a place to live at Missus Ketchum’s Boarding House near Lake Michigan. And then this small man had changed Fallon’s life.
While he was in prison, his family was killed. Now, he will take any job that allows him to find the killers and bring justice to them, even if it's of the Wild West variety. Luckily, he is well-suited for fighting bad guys. He is a fast thinker, quick with his guns, and about as powerful as anyone he might run into. Like most westerns, things don’t go quite as planned, but as a reader, that only makes it more exciting.
The story is set in the late 1800's with a well-developed plot peopled by vibrant and busy characters. While it’s not the typical Wild West with small towns, horses, range wars, and untamed people who went West for freedom, it's definitely a look into a long-gone era where the rule of law meant something only if enforced with a gun.
This is the second in the Hank Fallon Westerns series. I couldn't be happier. BTW, the tagline is right. It is quite violent.
Harry Fallon had been at the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet, saving the lives of a few guards during a bloody riot, and that act of bravery, kindness, humanity—just a spur-of-the-moment decision, truthfully—had led to a parole for Harry Fallon, former deputy United States marshal for Judge Isaac Parker’s court in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fallon had been given a job at Werner’s Wheelwright in Chicago and a place to live at Missus Ketchum’s Boarding House near Lake Michigan. And then this small man had changed Fallon’s life.
While he was in prison, his family was killed. Now, he will take any job that allows him to find the killers and bring justice to them, even if it's of the Wild West variety. Luckily, he is well-suited for fighting bad guys. He is a fast thinker, quick with his guns, and about as powerful as anyone he might run into. Like most westerns, things don’t go quite as planned, but as a reader, that only makes it more exciting.
The story is set in the late 1800's with a well-developed plot peopled by vibrant and busy characters. While it’s not the typical Wild West with small towns, horses, range wars, and untamed people who went West for freedom, it's definitely a look into a long-gone era where the rule of law meant something only if enforced with a gun.
This is the second in the Hank Fallon Westerns series. I couldn't be happier. BTW, the tagline is right. It is quite violent.
March 28, 2024
Liked the book, will have to look for more books with this main character Hank Fallon in his story lines. Who plays a former sheriff who has been sent to prison as a inside investigator to expose a corrupt Prison Warden and his cronies.
December 10, 2018
PRISONER WITHOUT A CELL
Hank Fallon, ex-Deputy United States Marshal who was just released from Joliet Prison where he was sentenced for trumped-up murder charges. He was framed, by whom I guess we'll find out in another assignment for Hank Fallon. For now he works for American Detective Agency, a competitor of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, whom Sean MacGregor, owner/President who seems to have Hank Fallon by the short hairs. Hank Fallon had spent ten years in Joliet, he's thirty three years old, so that means he was twenty three years old when he was sentenced.
While he was in prison someone murdered his wife and baby girl. When Hank got the news he Al mms o st l o st it, but he held on, because he was determined to find out who was responsible for this horrific murder. Hank was given a pardon because he saved the lives of prison guards during a riot, but actually he's gone from prison to another, his freedom is still in the hands of Sean MacGregor who could easily have him sent back to Joliet. This is truly a rough blood letting story of how men and women are treated once they've been sentenced to prison. This story exposes the inhumane treatment of prisoners by the guards and convicts on each other. Graft, bribes are well known and used by the wardens of these HELL holes. Inadequate medical treatments, food not fit for a dog to eat malnutrition rampant, community related tuberculosis, no treatment for the sick nor isolation for healthier convicts. Reporters interviewing wardens and prisoners about the horrific conditions are you found dead in their hotel rooms with their throats cut. Hank Fallon survived all of these hardships, but Hank isn't finished until he finds out who had it in for him.
This is a good series, realistic hardships, maligned
wardens and guards..and realistic because it's true regarding how prisons are managed. There are more prisons now, but the ones mentioned here are scary, it's similar to the mental institutions such as the English picture "The Snake Pit," I say I don't know how Hank isn't suffering brain damage or migraine headaches considering how often he was beaten about the head...you'll get mad at how cruel the prisoners are treated.
Hank Fallon, ex-Deputy United States Marshal who was just released from Joliet Prison where he was sentenced for trumped-up murder charges. He was framed, by whom I guess we'll find out in another assignment for Hank Fallon. For now he works for American Detective Agency, a competitor of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, whom Sean MacGregor, owner/President who seems to have Hank Fallon by the short hairs. Hank Fallon had spent ten years in Joliet, he's thirty three years old, so that means he was twenty three years old when he was sentenced.
While he was in prison someone murdered his wife and baby girl. When Hank got the news he Al mms o st l o st it, but he held on, because he was determined to find out who was responsible for this horrific murder. Hank was given a pardon because he saved the lives of prison guards during a riot, but actually he's gone from prison to another, his freedom is still in the hands of Sean MacGregor who could easily have him sent back to Joliet. This is truly a rough blood letting story of how men and women are treated once they've been sentenced to prison. This story exposes the inhumane treatment of prisoners by the guards and convicts on each other. Graft, bribes are well known and used by the wardens of these HELL holes. Inadequate medical treatments, food not fit for a dog to eat malnutrition rampant, community related tuberculosis, no treatment for the sick nor isolation for healthier convicts. Reporters interviewing wardens and prisoners about the horrific conditions are you found dead in their hotel rooms with their throats cut. Hank Fallon survived all of these hardships, but Hank isn't finished until he finds out who had it in for him.
This is a good series, realistic hardships, maligned
wardens and guards..and realistic because it's true regarding how prisons are managed. There are more prisons now, but the ones mentioned here are scary, it's similar to the mental institutions such as the English picture "The Snake Pit," I say I don't know how Hank isn't suffering brain damage or migraine headaches considering how often he was beaten about the head...you'll get mad at how cruel the prisoners are treated.
November 1, 2021
This new series is getting better. I thought the first in the series was a little slow and predictable, but this one was much better and had more developed characters. It appears the entire series so far is based on Fallon going into various prisons on an undercover mission, all while trying to get closer to the truth about who killed his family and why. Each story gets him one step closer. Hope the momentum continues, but will be curious to see how the arch turns after he finds out the entire truth and where Fallon goes from there. For now, I'm enjoying these enough that I'll keep reading.
September 30, 2022
My first ever western and I must say not bad! I really liked all the action this book had to offer along with a couple interesting plots. This book would be nice to read out in a field on a hot dav. I will say some parts of this book didn't read like a western which may be because I'm not use to them but idk at the beginning there is a fight in an allie with a bat and that read more like a 1920's mob fight behind a bar but maybe I'm just crazy Overall not bad and I may just have to read more westerns.
July 29, 2020
Think the 1st one was better, it made more sense, but this one is an action packed western for sure. The characters are fun and of course the main character of Hank Fallon is done really well. As long as you dont think to much and just go with it then its a lot of fun. Thinking on it will open up some plot holes for sure.
Overall I would definitely recommend, it continues the Fallon character and it does get him closer to what happened to his family. Looking forward to the third book.
Overall I would definitely recommend, it continues the Fallon character and it does get him closer to what happened to his family. Looking forward to the third book.
August 2, 2020
Ex Federal Marshall Hank Fallon has found his niche, surviving the worst hell holes that the American prison system has to offer. Now on his second undercover assignment he will brave the Missouri State Penitentiary rescue a pregnant woman that may hold the secret to a stash of stolen money. If he survives the bloodthirsty guards, the cutthroat prisoners and violent riots he may also discover who is behind the killing of his wife and daughter.
October 24, 2022
I'm a big fan of William Johnstone for his fast-paced books that completely immerse you into a long ago time/place. Although I'm not usually a fan of books with a prison setting, as a fan of the author, I went ahead and gave it a read. It did not disappoint. This book has lots of twists and turns and will keep you entertained.
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January 1, 2020Review of "'Behind the Iron' written by W.W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone" by John Lietzke
This is the first book I have read concerning penitentiaries in western life after 1873. I thought this book was very interesting and educational. I rated this book with 4 stars.
This is the first book I have read concerning penitentiaries in western life after 1873. I thought this book was very interesting and educational. I rated this book with 4 stars.
September 13, 2022
Really enjoy these author’s books, especially the audiobook version with voices provided by a whole cast of performers. Usually clean, always exciting, and never a cliffhanger. The whole cast was terrific!
Some profanity and a lot of violence.
Some profanity and a lot of violence.
January 8, 2019
If the author's name is Johnstone, you can count on a great Western...or a great prison(?) book? This is most definitely not your typical Western, even though it takes place in the 1800's Wild West era. The second book in the Hank Fallon series, faithful Johnstone readers find Hank being pardoned from prison only to turn around and go back in undercover to find the cash from several bank robberies. His means and methods are typical Johnstone....exciting and entertaining...and set him up for the next chapter in his quest to find the men who killed his wife and daughter. Definitely a new story line for Johnstone, but he definitely knew what his readers like.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews