The Loner

The Loner #1

by J.A. Johnstone

Most people have no idea that successful young businessman Conrad Browning is the son of legendary gunfighter Frank Morgan. And that's one secret he plans to keep--until his beautiful wife, Rebel, was kidnapped by a group of deadly bandits.

Like Father--Deadly
Like Son--Deadlier

When Conrad Browning's wife disappears in the untamed frontier, Conrad finds himself assuming the identity of his famous gunslinging father, Frank Morgan, to find her. But his hopes of rescuing Rebel are swiftly shattered--and now he's burning for vengeance, the old-fashioned way. So he fakes his own death and starts calling himself The Loner, becoming the deadliest gunfighter this side of his own father--ready to settle the score in blood and bullets. . .

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Audiobook, Adult Fiction, Novels

316 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

J.A. Johnstone learned to write from the master himself, Uncle William W. Johnstone, who began tutoring J.A. at an early age. After-school hours were often spent retyping manuscripts or researching his massive American Western History library as well as the more modern wars and conflicts. J.A. worked hard and learned, later going on to become the co-author of William W. Johnstone’s many bestselling westerns and thrillers. J.A. Johnstone lives on a ranch in Tennessee and more information is at WilliamJohnstone.net

Reviews

[Malum]

Conrad Browning was always a sniveling little whiner whenever he showed up in The Last Gunfighter series. Now that he has his own series, however, he goes from punkass to badass. Bonus points for fun cameos and nods to other Johnstone series'.

[Jeff Tankersley]

Conrad Browning's wife Rebel is kidnapped by a gang of outlaws working with Conrad's own trusted accountant. The accountant and outlaws know she'll bring a hefty ransom from her rich father. This accountant, though, has his own secret designs to "rescue" the woman from the outlaws himself so that she will fall in love with him instead of his boss Conrad, who is a world-class gunman. This fella doesn't know that the outlaws he's partnered with have a double-cross of their own in mind.

As the tale moves along, we get a standard western vengeance fantasy tale with a lot of the same tropes you get from Johnstone's stuff. "The Loner" is the first novel in a newer series.

Verdict: I actually enjoyed the pacing and story in "The Loner" (2009). An entertaining read.

Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[PulpMonkey (Chompa)]

My favorite book of all time is Lonesome Dove, but I rarely read westerns. Western series tend to be very pulpy, which in and of itself is not bad, but when I hold a pulp up against Lonesome Dove it doesn't even compare.

J.A. Johnstone is the nephew of William Johnstone who wrote quite a few books in his life and an author I've enjoyed. J.A. is a decent enough writer and the story is okay. We've got a guy who is the son of a famous gunslinger, Frank Morgan. This guy is a business man raised out East and using his stepfather's name. Someone (unrevealed mystery man) decides to target this guy and kidnap his wife. Wife is killed, business man decides to fake his death and seek revenge posing as a gunfighter called "Kid Morgan".

The book was decent. It was a very quick read (just one day) and filled my craving for a western. I might try the next out as it seems this is a full series of books.

[Éric Kasprak]

The Loner by the Johnstone clan could be the poster boy for the modern Shoot' em up western. It's what I would call a paint-by-the-numbers novel, but that's not at all a bad thing mind you. The story is actually pretty good and the writing is easy-to-read and always in the service of moving the story along. The action is well describe and frequent with enough pathos for it to mean something. In the end, I like what I read and if you are in the mood for a modern formula western, The Loner is a prime example.

[Kendra]

First book in the series. Man's wife is killed in a hostage situation, purposely. Guy takes up being a gunslinger like his father was and hunts them down. Fast paced little western, took me about an hour and a half to get through it.

I've read book by the author's uncle, William Johnstone, and thoroughly enjoyed his westerns and non-westerns as well, so was pleased that the nephew is an enjoyable as the uncle.

[Brody Anderson]

A good story for anyone to read. Although fictional, it gives you the feeling of what any person would want to do if/when a loved one is taken wrongfully from them. The author does a great job in describing just how horrible some of the villains are in this story. Not only do you pull for the hero to get vengeance for his lost love, you also want them brought to justice for the horrific crimes they commit on the trail. Easy to read and easy to pick up and enjoy from page 1 on.

[William Richardson]

A very good western, good story line and characters. I Have always liked westerns, and it's nice to sit back and read one.

[Randy]

First in the new series about Conrad Browning, son of Frank Morgan, The Drifter, whose beloved wife, Rebel, is kidnapped for a ransom, then when Browning comes to pay she is brutally murdered. After recovering from gunshot wounds, he takes up the trail of the gang and with the help of a new Indian friend hones his skills with a gun.

[Casey]

Love the characters in this one

I think I shall be devouring this series. Johnstone nailed it again. I've not been crazy about all of them but I can hardly wait to start the next one in this series.

[Sue]

Too much dialogue.

[J.B. Sisam]

The Loner was a decent book of a man who goes on a conquest to avenge his wife's murder. This was a great start to a sequel series by J. A. Johnston. William Johnstone started the Morgan series with The Drifter.

I enjoyed the book, and am excited to read the next installment. I am a fan of the western genre, and this doesn't disappoint. A side note - I did get confused, as usual with Johnstone books, on the constant head-hopping that takes place in the same scene. I'd much rather have a new scene begin with a clear denotation that we are changing character perspective.

Maybe that's because I'm an author and work hard at separating the character perspectives when I write.

The book gets a little long in the mouth where the action kind of suspends as he's healing, and it slows down. I would have liked to see some wrap up with a few of the characters, instead of a one-line mention of their condition after the events of the climax of the story.

The falling action could be drawn out a bit, but I understand that they want the reader to continue reading into the next installment of the series. So, that didn't bother me all that much.

Overall, great story, and I look forward to book 2!

[Barbara Lee Wood]

"REBEL"

As good cowboy old west stories go this isn't bad at all. Frank Morgan's son, Conrad Browning wife has been "KIDNAPPED"by a gang of rift raft, trashy back stabbing bushwackers. Lots of intrigue, a real who is the person behind this"KIDNAPPING", whose pulling the strings and why?? They murdered his wife, shot her as they threw her off the high cliff where she was found by Conrad, her husband. REVENGE, REVENGE is all Conrad can think about. This is a great adventure has a lot of shoot outs, ambushes near death events. Fast moving lots of characters, great descriptions of the topography. And this author, J.A. Johnstone reads like a man of true life experiences, similar to Zane Grey, another great western writer...

[Reading For Pleasure]

Overall a solid Western Novel with some flaws which reduced it to be a good than one of the best of its categories. Action and story fairly standard. Conrad running on the trail of the outlaws who kidnapped & killed his wife for revenge. But from Conrad Drawning to Kid Morgan transition a bit out of touch. Although in the story it was described that he got some good lesson from his famous father Frank Morgan, however, the lessons and practice of Bearpaw a few days practically cannot make a man perfect, let alone to face the fiercest outlaws. That is why I rate as four star. Otherwise everything is ok.

[B.J. Burgess]

I was already invested in Conrad and Rebel from Ambush Valley, making Rebel’s death a bitter pill to swallow. I didn’t see a red herring coming: the revelation that someone orchestrated Rebel’s murder just to inflict suffering on Conrad. The identity of this sinister mastermind is left a mystery, leaving me eager for the next installment, The Devil's Badland. Nothing like a cliffhanger to get the blood pumping!

All in all, The Loner was a riveting read; darkly thrilling and impossible to put down. ╌★★★★★

Find my full review at https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/....

[Mahay]

Okay so this book was fairly entertaining. I've given these westerns low expectations because they're not my favorite cup of tea, but this storyline was pretty decent. Businessman Conrad Browning watches his wife be murdered by a gang of kidnapping bandits. In cold-blooded revenge, he fakes his death to become a fearsome gun fighter by the name of Kid Morgan. Dressed in black and armed with a Winchester, he hunts down and kills every piece of scum involved in his wife's kidnapping and murder. It's pretty ruthless.

[E. Franmklin]

Like son, like father

A new gunfighter arose out of sadness and want for revenge. Johnstone carries the legacy of a writer and a new series begins. His readers must be as thankful as I am. A well written tale filled with action and heart. The new protagonist begins a new, powerful life. I wish the new carrier of the Morgan tale the best of luck. He has a new follower.

.

[Derrick]

I've read other ones, so it was nice to finally have the initial story. Started off a bit rough since I've been listening to Blood Bond Series. Definitely not as funny, but I still enjoyed it and will keep listening to the series to see where it takes me. The one American Indian side character was really cool, so I'm hoping he shows up in more of the series.

[Chad McCauley]

Quick, easy and fun read.
I enjoyed the character development and pace of the plot.

I deducted a star because sometimes I get tired of repetitive fight scenes. For example, knocking someone unconscious with the butt of the revolver. I get there are multiple fighting scenes in this book, but with that occurring at least three times alone…I got a little disappointed/bored with those scenes.

[Nai Wang]

I binge read the series in one month, 12 books. That makes my 2nd western in one year and I loved it. This one takes place during the Wild Wild West and it was such a great adventure that I loved every minute of it. I recommend this to anyone who likes a fun adventure in the West .

[Ron]

Decent spin of from the Frank Morgan series.

This is a standard western story of revenge. After his wife is murdered, the son of One of the most well known gunfighters follows in his father's footsteps and seeks justice - frontier style.

[larry brashear]

Outstanding!

This is a great written about a time when a person stomped their own snakes. This was in a time when ever evil people did not get by with just a slap on the wrist.

[Ross]

Great Read

[Ed]

Took awhile, but very good start to a series.

[Ishtiaque Alam Russel]

More twists would have been great. Still a good one.

[Joe Deertay]

1st western book I've read and loved every moment of it. The characters are awesome (go bearpaw!). Give it a read. It's an easy read and easy to understand! Do it now

[Margean S.]

Excellent

[Todd]

The Best In Western Story Telling!!!

Once again J.A. Johnstone delivers the absolute best in western literature. In "The Loner" J.A. Johnstone delivers all of the gritty goods one expects from a western with the legendary Johnstone name on the cover.

[MK]

Good story. Looking forward to reading more in this series.

[Miranda]

Conrad Browning's life is going great. He owns a very successful business and is very in love with his wonderful wife. Everything is perfect, or as perfect as it can be in a small town in the Nevada west. That is, until a group of rowdies are hired to kidnap his wife and hold her for a $50,000 ransom. Conrad will do anything to get her back safely, so he collects the funds and heads out into the desert to make the swap. That's when things go from bad to worse. His wife is murdered before his eyes, and he is horribly injured in the shootout that ensues. His only thought is to survive so that he can bring down all of the men involved in the murder.

After faking his own death, he sets off for the unknown, aiming to recreate his identity and track down the killers. He takes on his father's name, Morgan, and becomes Kid Morgan, a quick-shooter with some serious shooting skills. But is it enough to get the revenge he desires?

This book was full of horrible cliches and over-the-top terms found in most westerns. It was almost too much for me to really believe as I was rolling my eyes so many times while reading. Not a fantastic read, as I felt the dialogue and most of the descriptions were stilted and forced, but not an awful book either. I'm sure fans of this genre enjoy it and other books by this author regularly. It's just not my favorite thing to read.

[Jennifer]

This was a fun, not very challenging read. A traditional western revenge fantasy, Johnstone hits all the points that make up a good gunslinger yarn without losing momentum or detouring too deeply into cliche.

Mostly it's a story about how Conrad Browning loses everything, then fights to avenge himself while making a new identity as a gunslinger. I didn't feel like I was missing anything from not being familiar with William Johnstone's Loner books, although the protagonist from that series is mentioned several times and makes an appearance at the end. It did feel a bit like it was setting up future adventures, but I knew going in it was going to be a series, and I'm weirdly okay with the fact that they didn't clear up one of the overarching mysteries of the plot. The main thrust of the inciting incident was dealt with, as was Conrad's changing personality and morality (although not on any deep, meaningful level), and in the end, everyone we'd had set up as "bad guys" was dealt with (and dead).

Part of what I love about Westerns is that they're morality tales and fairy tales wrapped up in the myth of the Cowboy and the American West. The Loner was no exception to this rule, and while it didn't take me long at all to finish, it was enjoyable and well paced.