The Violent Storm

Will Tanner #7

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

Johnstone Country. Forecast: Deadly.

Will Tanner is no ordinary lawman. He’s a force of nature. But when he’s outnumbered by rustlers, outgunned by outlaws—and stalked by a killer fresh out of jail—he’s in for the fight of his life . . .

THE VIOLENT STORM

There’s a storm brewing in Oklahoma Territory, and this time, it’s deadly serious. Local cattle ranches are being targeted by Texas rustlers—and the only man who can keep it from turning into a bloodbath is U.S. Deputy Marshal Will Tanner. The newly married lawman hates to leave his beautiful bride Sophie, but duty calls—for better or worse. In Tanner’s experience, it’s usually worse.

An unexpected confrontation with outlaws is just the bloody beginning. Then an escaped convict catches wind of the fact that Tanner killed his brother. Now Will’s really in the crosshairs.

Tanner knows he’s riding straight into a perfect storm of vengeance and slaughter, with only one way to end it—a hailstorm of hot lead.

Live Free. Read Hard.

Genres: Westerns

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 22, 2022

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

[Laur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic western with the good guy(s) verses the bad outlaws. Plenty of varments breaking the law and U.S. Deputy Marshal Will Tanner, has his hands full - especially being a newly married man. Plenty of action.

Audiobook narration (on it’s own merit) earns a 3 out 5 Stars.

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Tanner US deputy marshal is back in The Violent Storm by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone. This one is one of the better ones in the series, it has been a little up and down through the adventures. Still it's a western and I like those. The storyline in this book has many strange twists and that makes it entertaining to read. There are all kinds of crime going on in the territories and Will has to go back and forth to fight evil. At the same time he has to deal with the fact that he's newly married and she doesn't like to be left alone. He also have the opportunity to leave the service and go back to his ranch but is unvilling to do so. This has most of the ingredients you want in a good western and I thank @kensingtonbooks @netgalley and #Pinnacle for giving me this advance copy and @williamw.j.a.johnstone for writing it. #NetGalley #Kensington #TheViolentStorm #WilliamWJohnstone #JAJohnstone #Western #WillTanner

[HornFan2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to netgalley.com and Kensington Publishing for the advance ARC copy for my honest review.

One of my favorite niches in the Western genre is the lawman novels, with 'The Violent Storm' it checks off every box, as to what you would want in Western Lawman yarn.

Arguably, the seven book Will Tanner series, is the best of the new series published by the William W. Johnstone's estate. It helps although it's ghost written, the spur winning writer has left his finger prints all over the writing, you can't hide his writing style, being a fan of his, got every release either in my library or on my Kindle and well done Chucky.

Will Tanner a rancher, he came to the aid of a U.S. Deputy Marshall, that's how he became one, he's unassuming, tough, honest, cunning, you don't want him on your trail and he works out of Fort Smith, for Judge Parker "The Hanging Judge".

In 'The Violent Storm', he travels into Indian Territory with the help of Tribal Police, he shuts down illegal whiskey sales, investigates cattle rustling eliminating the problem, even the border of Texas won't stop him from arresting outlaws he pursues, he's cunning aiding him to outsmart a hired killer and like he's married to Sophie.

Definitely do read this one, it's great escapism in what's going on in todays World and check out Spur Award Author Charles G. West's books. If you haven't yet.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I really liked it." - 4 out of 5 star rating.

Quite possibly the best book in the seven series spread. Which I will say, is quite abnormal for the final entry coming in this strong. Ending a book series is tough and more than likely no matter what you do, some readers are going to be unhappy. From my saddle, I'll say Johnstone nailed it and I have zero complaints.

More 'Thrawn-like' vibes going on here, a story of justice where you are really rooting for the good guys in win, the bad guys to get what's comin' to 'em, and just overall very well done writing and pace for this book has it coming in as a much deserved 4/5.

Over these 7 books... I've read more about coffee and biscuits ever in my life. I am not even kidding that I am actually craving biscuits now and you know... while I am at it, might as well go brew a pot of coffee.

This book series as a whole is really a ton of fun and really glad I stumbled upon them. William Johnstone writes damn good westerns and has an impressive list of published books. I will absolutely be checking out more of his work.

[Derrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was not GA as well, so I was used to the voice actor and this one felt a lot better. Good story and I remember the storyline, etc... It did still feel like a lot of small stories strung together, but I really enjoy the character of Will. I wonder if there will be any more of these written as he's an enjoyable character.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've mostly enjoyed the "Will Tanner" series, of which this is the seventh installment. They're fairly uncomplicated Westerns, entertaining without trying to be anything more profound, which is fine with me. The protagonist, Tanner, is a Deputy U.S. Marshal operating primarily in the "Indian Territory" of the mid-to-late 19th century. What I enjoy most about the novels is that Tanner is portrayed as being a successful Marshal as much due to the fact that he's always very polite and reasonable initially, that's his first instinct, as it is to his skill with firearms. (which to be honest is a bit much...he's portrayed as successfully "shooting to wound", which veers close to the silliness of The Lone Ranger shooting guns out of people's hands) He won't hesitate to kill someone in an instant if they get violent, but he himself views violence as a last resort, which is refreshing in action-oriented fiction. He's also shown to know full well that a sympathetic populace always makes a law enforcement officer's job much easier, and is shown being friendly and polite to just about everyone, embodying the old saying about getting more flies with honey than with vinegar. It's a nice level of emotional intelligence to portray in what could easily be a cliche "tough frontier" character.
That said, this is the weakest book in the series, due to the fact that it's not so much a novel as a collection of short stories, a series of largely unrelated episodes that involve Tanner. So much so that I wonder that it wasn't just billed as that, a collection of stories. Taken as a novel, it meanders with no real narrative linking all the events together aside from Tanner's involvement, and there's no larger "plot" to follow at all.
I also feel that I need to point out, since I'm bothering to write a review, that William W. Johnstone has been dead for twenty years, and J. A. Johnstone, a niece, "manages his estate", and as far as I can determine never wrote a novel in her life. She employs ghost writers who, as usual in such cases, are forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. Anything published since about 2004, then, is in fact written by "Anonymous", a work-for-hire uncredited writer like in the Pulps of the 1930s. The Johnstone names on the cover are most definitely NOT the authors...at this point, that's just a brand name for churned-out fiction. This sort of thing doesn't bother me too much in other cases, like "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six" NOTE THE APOSTROPHE "S", or "Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt", same note. That indicates an author's name being turned into a brand and ghost written material, but the fact that J.A. Johnstone both includes her own name, and her long-dead uncle's, without even an apostrophe to indicate that they aren't the authors, gets under my skin.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an oddity out of the Johnstone Corral. After reading some 200 Johnstone books, this one has two distinctions: Slim characters and plodding writing. It's not awful, but boring is not far from description. There's far too much, "Hello, how are you?" and "What's for supper?". The action is near an afterthought. A shooting here and there. Brief. On to more, "Hello, how are you?".

The writing is OK. Plotting is not a focus in this one. This meanders from the previous book, I haven't read, and, I guess, will meander to the next installment. The meandering is written rather flatly, very unusual for a Johnstone book. There is no spark here for the character or much else. The book is not a dismal disaster. Just a plain story of a lawman and some encounters along the way. This does read more of a western taking into account current mindsets of lessened violence and more touchy-feely interactions - with some typical western lingo included.

The book wasn't to my liking and I hope more in the series strays back into the solid Johnstone characterizations and plotting. I've continued on to 'Dead River', in the Jackals series, and in a few pages read the Johnstone touch this one is missing.
I realize I may not like it, but others may, as it's not a terrible book and I may have read too many Johnstones to have me judge this beyond other approaches to westerns.

Bottom line: I don't recommend the book for me, but others may like it (first time I've written a bottom line like that). 5 out of 5 points.
Also, this was read via the NetGalley site.

[Denice Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no such thing as a bad Johnstone western. Each series is built around main characters whose belief in the law and family is absolute, even if they've had to be reformed to get there. From Preacher, the original mountain man to the Jensen family to Perly Gates, to.....well, you get the point. Many times, characters from one series will show up in another as supporting hands. The communities are true to the era, clothing, guns, food and troubles are all what you'd find if you looked them up in the history books. No two stories are the same, each character or set of characters is unique and so are their stories. The writing is skillful, readers are pulled into the story and you will laugh and cry right along with the characters. I made the mistake of picking up a Johnstone western my uncle was reading. Ive been hooked ever since. Now I share them with my reading family and will continue as long as new Johnstones are released.

[Gerald Matzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

U.S. Deputy Marshall Will Tanner faces a series of threats on his life in this exciting Western tale. The title is somewhat mysterious because the only violent storm mentioned in the book is the possible attitude of Tanner’s bride when he has to be away on official business for weeks at a time. There is a recurring element of humor in this story as Tanner expresses his love for home-made biscuits to anyone who prepares a meal for him. Through it all he makes quick work of the threats on his life and uses his wits to outsmart even the biggest and toughest criminals. The book is generally fast paced and the reader is kept on edge as Tanner carries out his calling even when he sometimes bends the rules.

[Rosie Rizk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Tanner, Deputy US Marshal, when not hunting, arresting, or escorting prisoners, spends a good many hours putting illegal whiskey sellers out of business. In this book, Will discovers a store illegally selling liquor to Indians. After further investigation with his friend, and after a small battle, Will burns the illicit liquor store to ashes as an example.

Later, upon arriving at his home office, he's given the task of escorting a prisoner. But as usual, not all is as it seems, and Will is dragged into playing detective to prove the prisoner innocent.

This book was very interesting, and I look forward to reading further adventures of Will Tanner.

[Terry L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Tanner Adventure

The Will Tanner series is one of my favorites by J. A & William A. Johnstone. Will is one good US Deputy Marshall who will uphold the law at all cost. A fantastic series.

[Karrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I love a good WWJ book it never lets you
down. Always full of great action, suspense and characters to fall in love with. Will Tanner is just one of many of my ultimate favorites.

[Dirk Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good read

I really enjoyed reading this book. Lots and lots of action. I would recommend this book to everyone. It's worth the read.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Tanner, US Deputy Marshall. Not really a main story to the book, more of in the life of Will Tanner and what he does day to day. Kind of different, but I liked it.

[Chester M. Hinman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Viomlent Storm review

Like the previous novels of this series, I liked Book 7 the best and as usual, It was hard to put down.if

[Sean Furey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun one. Will Tanner chases down brothers Reese and Frank, while being pursued by a hired killer named Jack Coffey.