Preacher's Carnage

The First Mountain Man #27

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

In the bloody aftermath of a wagon ambush, a suspect flees, a woman disappears, and a mountain man searches for truth, justice, and revenge. They call him Preacher...

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. STOP BY AND SAY HOWDY.

Preacher is no hired killer. When a wagon train is brutally ambushed on the Sante Fe Trail though, he can't say no to the St. Louis businessman willing to pay him for justice. It's not the stolen gold that's convinced Preacher to take the job And it's not the missing body of one of the wagon train's crew, a prime suspect who may have plotted the ambush and taken off with the gold. No, it's the suspect's lovely fiance, Alita Montez. She believes her boyfriend is innocent--and has run off to find him. Preacher can't abide the idea of a young woman alone on the Sante Fe Trail. If the Comanche don't get her, the coyotes will. And Preacher can't have that.

But to save the girl and get the gold, the legendary mountain man will have to forge a path that's as twisted as a nest of rattlers, face off with trigger-happy kidnappers, backstabbers, and bounty-hunters--and match wits with Styles Mallory, the biggest baddest frontiersman of them all . . .
Live Free. Read Hard.

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published December 29, 2020

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

[Jacqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preacher (no last name and this one assigned by the Indians) is one of the famed American mountain men who lived off the land in the American Rockies during the early 1800s. Preacher's name is known to Indians and settlers alike as a man of physical and mental power with a deep well of determination, and one who is almost impossible to kill. The mountain man, though, has a trait I don’t often see in mountain men: He realizes money has a purpose in his life. In this book, Preacher's Carnage (Pinnacle 2020), Book 27 of the Preacher/The First Mountain Man series, Preacher agrees to retrieve a shipment of gold from thieves partly because of the reward but also because a young woman is in trouble.

As always with Johnstone books, this one includes great authentic phrases that put you right there:

“I was fixin’ to light a shuck for the mountains pretty soon."

"...don’t cotton much to bein’ crowded.”

". . . if this was his day to die . . . he (Preacher) could think of no better way to leave this world than with his loyal friend (his dog) at his side and those bloody blades in his hands..."

I enjoy all of this author's books, none more than the venerable Preacher series, sharing his long ago life in the mountains and off the land.

[Laur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preacher’s Carnage, another amazing gritty tale of the mountain man known as “Preacher”, this time on assignment to tract down and save a lovely señorita, who seeks to find her lost fiancé and prove his innocence, after he goes missing with a wagon train and a shipment of gold coins. Of course it’s not the money he’s interested in, but the damsel in distress, and burning desire to find the truth....what happened to the fiancé? Did he double-cross his employer, and the lovely woman to steal the gold? Is he dead?

So starts the journey for truth and justice - mountain man style accompanied by his partner, a wolf-dog, named “Dog”.. There is plenty of adventure here, trust and distrust, some new friends, enemies, bands of Indians, brutally savage Comanches, and violent Mexican bandits - Yep, I’d say Preacher has his hands full - seems like he doesn’t have a prayer........

Historical Notes at the end of book were interesting. Some parts of the story use the names of authentic and known characters of history.

[Donald Paulsrud · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a number of books in the "Preacher" series by Johnstone. They are quick, easy reads. Preacher is basically a superman like mountain man. There is nothing he cannot do or overcome. He overcomes all odds and never loses! He also has the ethics of superman and always does the right thing and always fights for right. The only problem with this series is that every book follows the same basic formula. Preacher will get into at least 3 fistfights (and win them all), he will be captured by Indians (and escape unharmed) and Horse and Dog will always be there to help him out. He will never miss a shot (he always double loads his flintlock pistols) and he always hits his target in the chest. When he uses his tomahawk he will always hit his target in the head and he will always win every knife fight as well. If you like westerns I recommend you read a few of the books in this series, but after about 3 of them the formula gets old.

[RICHARD STENTON · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading a number of the books and series by this author I decided to start on seeing what the beginnings of his books held with the exploration of Preacher. He is one of the characters I have been involved with as a side note in the other series of stories. This was a pretty straight forward story about Preacher being hired to track down a robbery and stolen gold for one of the business partners. This leads to fights with Indians and a joining forces with the newly formed Texas Rangers which were not formally called this at the time but would later morph into this elite group of law enforcement. Lots of historical information and fun battles makes this a great read.

[Abibliofob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best in the series but I found it entertaining that Bigfoot Wallace and John Coffey Hays was a part of the story as well as the introduction of the Paterson Colt. I always enjoy a western don't know why? Maybe it's the inner child or something. The best part of the Preacher books is that he is able through a long wandering life to meet all kinds of people and trouble. As usual I have to thank #Pinnacle #KensingtonBooks and #Netgalley for letting me read this book by the Johnstones.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twenty-seventh book of the character Preacher. The story is somewhere around 1836 or so. Interesting about the Colt Paterson pistol. Checked it out more on YouTube. Way better than the flintlock pistols but still could have some issues with it. Bigfoot Wallace and John Coffey Hays was a part of the story. Although some parts of the book were far from being believable, I still enjoyed it.

[Cindy Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep em come'n!!!

Man, I LOVE reading Your books! Reckon Preacher has gotta be my favorite! It's hard to pick. You two are Fantastic writers! Thank You both! Y'all are sure helping me get thru this winter! Here in Arkansas we are snowed in right now, with a layer of Ice under neith. Thank You again!!!!!!! God Bless!!! 😃🙋✍💖🐎🐎🐎🐎🐴! PS... I LOVE Horses!!!😍😊

[JoyceCharbonneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johnstone & Johnstone continue to produce exciting western reading

Our grandmother read western s. Mother subscribed to Zane Grey book a month. Following that tradition my sister and cousins read them n Louis L'Amour, too. What a delight to find Johnstone, an author in the genre who is just as spellbinding. If you long for a Traditional Western, here they are!

[David Burnworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preacher decides to take a job to find a beautiful lady and to see if he can find out who robbed and killed a wagon train and killed all of the crew. There is also hope he can find the one survivor and prove he is behind the killing or that he has been taken prisoner by those who are guilty. This one has all of the classic action, Indians, several battles, back stabbing, and a lot of killing.

[Al Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story

Liked the action and appreciate the storyline without the foul language so many authors feel they need to make a story "manly". Good job! My first book by this author. Opp Lmk

[matthew m mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frontier Rambo

Lightly entertaining, but really stretches the imagination. Preacher like Rambo is a one man killing machine that can't be brought down. The whole premise of the book is far fetched. The best thing I can say is it's an easy read and pretty entertaining.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s the tale of search and rescue; fighting Indians; and recovering gold. The adventure takes place in the Texas/New Mexico area that it is known today. The Sante Fe Trail had its losses in cargo, people and Comanche warriors fighting to the death. It's another great storyline by this author.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

At page 176, I just couldn't go on.

If you like your historical fiction to be nothing but gun- and fist-fights and not much plot, with some (admittedly period) casual racism scattered across every page, this may be a book for you to investigate.

It was definitely not the book for me.

[Shelby Coll · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. My first western did not disappoint. Engaging story and characters. Loved the fiction tying around the historical aspect with characters who were real people. Chapter layouts made the book hard to put down. Overall very enjoyable read.

[Donald]

Preacher & Texas Rangers

Johnstone has as usual provided us with an action-filled frontier yarn full of history, sociocultural revelations and more. Great read!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preacher's Carnage is another great read by the Johnstones. It is getting four stars from me.

[Cynthia Izon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story of Preacher's adventures. I really liked that Texas Rangers were included. It made me curious about the ones listed so I read more about them. Those were some tough men!

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple read and very enjoyable.

[Richard Guerrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, I did enjoy this one. They stepped up their game a little bit so I gave it the higher rating. This always has been one of my favorite series in regards to Western reads.