Death Rattle

The Guns of Samuel Pritchard #1

by Sean Lynch

From acclaimed author Sean Lynch comes the epic saga of Samuel Pritchard, a young man coming of age in the Civil War, riding tall with the Texas Rangers, and becoming one of the greatest gunfighters of his time . . .

THE LEGEND BEGINS

In 1863, a teenaged boy fled his home in Atherton, Missouri, to escape the power-hungry men who murdered his father and stole his family’s land. He joined the Confederacy under an assumed name and led guerilla raids in the Civil War. Then came a decade as a Texas Ranger. Now, after ten blood-soaked years, he is finally coming home. Finally using his real name. And finally getting revenge against the cold-hearted devils who destroyed his family and his life . . .

This is the story of Samuel Pritchard. Now a small town sheriff with a long history of violence, a deep sense of honor, and wild streak of justice as dangerous as the guns that made him famous . . .

“A riveting thriller that bristles with hard-boiled authenticity.”
—bestselling author Mark Greaney on Thy Partner’s Wife

“Sean Lynch spins a tale that is fast, fun and realistic.”
—Bestselling author James O. Born on Like Hell

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction

377 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published June 25, 2019

About the author

Sean Lynch served as an enlisted infantryman and spent three decades as a municipal police officer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Learn more at www.seanlynchbooks.com

Reviews

[Jacqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death Rattle (Penguin Random House 2019), Book 1 of The Guns of Samuel Pritchard series, introduces us to Samuel Pritchard and explains how he became the gifted killer of guilty men he becomes by the last page. We meet Pritchard as a teenager in post-Civil War South, where loyalties are divided within towns--and families--and the law is mostly who's wearing the badge. When he finds out his father has been killed by the town's lawmen, his family home burned down, instead of fighting for justice as his father taught him, he must leave the only town he's ever lived in or be killed.  Before he can come to terms with the truth that evil often wins even in a good world, he is left for dead more than once, his fiancée is killed in his arms by thugs with a grudge against him, and he discovers his God-given talent for killing. All this comes together to create a bigger than life Texas Ranger with a moral center that can’t be swayed and a soft spot for those who can’t take care of themselves. By the end of the book, Pritchard accepts that avenging evil and upholding justice is what he's meant to do with his life and to his surprise, it’s what he wants to do.

This is the start of a new series that promises to be powerful and satisfying, living up to all we expect of great Westerns. Highly recommended.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turning Western about the life and times of Samuel Pritchard AKA Smokin' Joe Atherton, a tough, resourceful young man forced to flee his Missouri hometown during the Civil War by corrupt law enforcement. I liked this book because unlike other Westerns I've read, the pace, characters, plot and prose are all outstanding. It may not be ' Lonesome Dove" but it's a tightly written, highly entertaining novel about courage and frontier justice.

[Sue Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing book

my first western for quite a while and my first from this author and hopefully not my last...

think north and south before the war...and how two boys went off hunting instead of school and then came home to find one dad hanged and their house burning... and his mom and sister were kept prisoners at the town hotel....

i found that i couldnt put this book down after the attempted murder and the life of those two boys who had to grow up quickly and how the war and becoming a texas ranger with a reputation of being a fast draw...

a fast and easy read that kept me glued to the end...wanting to find out how it went...loved the characters and cant wait for the next book in this series...

another author to add to my evergrowing collection of favourite authors

[Jeff Benham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I have read all year, regardless of genre. Samuel Pritchard is a teenager, who, along with his father, mother Dovie and sister Idelle run a prosperous lumber mill in Atherton. Burnell Shipley is the mayor and owns pretty much everyone and everything in it. He wants the mill and he wants Dovie. His hired thugs murder Samuel's pa and he kills them. This gets him arrested for murder even though it was a fair fight with witnesses. Shipley's witnesses. Pritchard is going to be hung, unless Dovie agrees to marry Shipley. What she doesn't know, and won't find out for years, is Samuel is going to be shot as soon as he is far enough away. He was shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave. But he is not dead and is saved by his friend Ditch. He can't go back because his mother and sister would be killed, so he and Ditch join a group of Rebels, and he becomes Smoking Joe Atherton. No mercy asked, no mercy given. They soon discover that these rebels are just as ruthless as the union renegades. Ditch and his brother Paul end up in Texas and become successful ranchers. Smoking Joe ends up a Texas Ranger. So begins the beginning of a legend. It would be 10 years before he made it make to Atherton to clean up the festering mess created by Shipley. Clear division between good and evil and page turning action in this one!

[Denice Langley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a diehard Western fan. I will read just about any author that contributes to the genre, at least once to see if they live up to my requirements for a "good" western. Sean Lynch has gained a space on my list of authors to track. He took the time to build this first book in a series to develop our hero and tell us his story. Building a backstory like this insures readers will feel as if they were in the story, sweating and swearing right along with our destines to be sheriff good guy. Death Rattle is an excellent start to a new family dynasty of Westerns.

[Jim A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well written western from Sean Lynch. Instead of taking place in the San Francisco Bay Area, this one takes place in Missouri, Texas, and New Mexico (mostly) just before and just after the civil war. Being a Lynch novel the reader can expect more than the routine number of shoot outs. High body count is there for the action junkies.

Not a Kindle Unlimited offering but well worth the price of the entertainment.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story! I know the war was awful between the North and the South, but to hear that they did raids etc on people and killed so many makes you feel like Samuel did- neither side was good people. This young boy was skipping school with his best friend when he sees his home burned down and his father hung. As he approaches, he realizes the men who killed his father were hired by another wealthy man in the town who aspired to have it all. Samuel escapes and starts to find a life of killing- joins the Texas Rangers and hunts down many bad criminals. Even though he kills a lot of men, he does it for the betterment of others and to right wrongs that are being made. He is quite the formidable man and this story was very good. I am on a snow day today, so it was wonderful to have a good story to read.

[Tome Addiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining jaunt but rambled on too much. This western had less story then just a young mans journey that went full circle. I started to lose interest as the middle rambled on too much.

A young man has to go on the run during the civil war, travels across country with his best friend, has many different encounters goes to war, becomes a Marshall, travels home to resolve the issues that started it all. The middle starts about page 50 and goes on through the majority of the book.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

X-rated for torture, violence. Series top for shootist. Sam fights on the side of right, whether with Clemson brothers "Ditch" Dave, Paul, Reb guerrillas, Texas Rangers, or Apaches who see "Death Shadow" darkening his soul with evil. Could have been the title. Sometimes good suffer, die.

Pacing revs up tension, even at a standstill. Sam gives 'em a chance if he can. Dialogue varies with person, chief Ranger more 'eddicated' than Dave. Girls hostages, cleaner words.

[Diana Lazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death Rattle

Its been a long time since I read a true western, I really enjoyed this book. From its descriptive writing to the gun fighting I thought it was a great great read. I also thought the character development of all the main characters was perfect. Smoking Joe and his death shoud was totally believable. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read but definitely to anyone who enjoys westerns.

[Mbsuther · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different western

I have been trying to find a new western to get excited about. I was enthused about reading this after seeing its ratings. It was a well done story and had lots of nice action. The story movies briskly and had many unique back stories. I give it a 4.4 out of 5. Definitely need to read the next in the series.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death Rattle is a fast paced western that was an easy read as well. I liked the character Samuel Pritchard and his sense of justice. I can admit this was the first time I've read a western, but it will not be the last, as I want to read the rest of the series.

[Rory Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Western that benefits greatly from its historical grounding in the Civil War. Plenty of action, and if you're not a gun nut, it doesn't go overboard in that area either despite a liberal dose of that stuff (as the series name suggests).

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining read with a great amount of character development, and a good understanding of history. It can be rather brutal in parts, and was a little too sexualized for my taste. That being said, it was a very entertaining book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Death Rattle. I have not read anything by this author before. I think he has earned himself a new fan. Four stars.

[Randy Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and fast paced story.
Good character development.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent story, well written , couldn't put the book down, read it in one day. Five stars for sure.....

[William E. Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read.

This was engaging and had interesting characters that would make a good movie. Only negative was it was a bit predictable.

[Ted Cartier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Good story and action. Looking forward to reading more.

[Maryann · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNS. Way too hokey.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash

[Linda Kelso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read to many westerns and this one is great! I want to read more of Samuel Pritchard.

[Lewis Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great "Shoot'em up, bang, bang" western novel. I'll definitely have to red some more Sean Lynch books!!

[Marcus McCollom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read, entertaining action packed western. I can’t wait to read the others

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Samuel pritchard is an amazing character can't wait for the next book!

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kind of author.
Says much in few words.
The definition of a page turner.
The story moved along swiftly and kept me interested.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked up this book on a whim not realizing it was a western till I got home, however I am so enjoying it. I actually had to buy the second book in this series since local library doesn’t offer it. This is a very good story about Texas Rangers.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jeff Book Review #37
Death Rattle, Sean Lynch (western)

I'm utilizing a friend's "100-page rule" to drop this one after 102 pages of hokey, stupid, trope-heavy nonsense. This is a new western series, and "Death Rattle" was written in 2018. I think you can just ignore it and move on.

[John Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hellofa tale by a damn good author!

Lunch may be new at the writing game but he knows how to develop characters and spin a good tail!

[Dale Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

06.08.2025: a second Western novel I found while looking for another recommended book (which was not available); this author seems highly rated, at least this new series is...; 12.19.2025: western novels appear to be romance novels disguised with guns; fascinating, fast passed, not at all realistic (not once, but twice, the main character is shot in the head and/or multiple other body parts and lived!!!)…who cares, it was a great read; 2019 LT hardcover via Madison County Public Library, Berea, 443 LT pgs.