Matt Jensen: The Last Mountain Man

Matt Jensen: The Last Mountain Man #1

by William W. Johnstone

Matt Cavanaugh was nine years old when a band of outlaws slaughtered his family...Now Matt is 18, honed by hardship, steeped in survival and carrying the last name of the man who raised Smoke Jensen. With Smoke's wisdom, his own courage and just enough money to start a life, Matt Jensen begins a relentless hunt for the outlaws, led by the deadly Winston Pugh, who murdered his family in cold blood. Pugh won't be hard to find; his scarred face gives him away. But Matt soon discovers there's a lot more to vengeance than hunting down a man - and that in a clash of guns and guile, true justice is waiting just beyond a town called Perdition...

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Drama, Adventure, Historical Fiction

269 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

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

[Jim A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story. Matt is on the trail of the outlaws who killed his parents and sister. First of this particular series.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first novel in a series that features Matt Jensen (actually Cavanaugh, but he decided to take Kirby's (Smoke) moniker), confusingly called the last mountain man, who's the adopted son of Smoke Jensen. Smoke stars in Johnstone's most popular and very long-running Western series, which is called the last mountain man, and they were sure as heck not going to go back and re-name it the "next-to-last". Smoke was mentored by Preacher, AKA the first mountain man, just as Matt was mentored by Smoke; the Jensen series books are all connected and the Johnstone brand is extremely prolific. In this origin tale, Matt's family is massacred by a band of outlaws when he's nine years old. He vows vengeance, meets Smoke and grows up, and then sets out to fulfil that vow. In between, he spent time in an orphanage, but he escaped and has a series of standard Johnstone brand Western adventures in his quest to find the evil Winston Pugh and his minions. The settings are pretty well described, and it's an engaging story, except for the poor female characters who are either schoolteachers or housewives or prostitutes and seem to catch flying lead more frequently than the males. In short, it's a standard Johnstone-brand Western adventure. Saddle up!

[Bill Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Johnstone revenge storyline. Matt’s family is killed by a gang of outlaws and as a 9 year old he swears vengeance. In is travels he comes across Smoke Jensen (great way to cash in on Johnstone’s cash cow) and is trained by the legend himself. Adopting Smoke’s last name he sets out to finished mission of bringing justice to his family’s killers.

[Already Overbooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick Draw McGraw

[Exanimis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic western, more of a modern "Clint Eastwood" than an actual realistic western.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A limping dog walks into a bar and says, "I'm lookin for the man who shot my paw!"

That's our story. Young Matt Jensen sees his family brutally murdered as they cross the plains and chases down the killers when he's older. There were some highlights here. I always enjoy a straight-talking, no nonsense western hero. But our heroes (there are a couple) are the only people in this book that don't end up full of bullet holes. And woe be to any female characters. From school marm to town floozy (those seem to be the only life-options available to you) - if you're female in this world, it's only a matter of time before getting your brains blown out (after devoting your "heart of gold" to our hero, naturally).

So, I guess I'm saying it was a bit thin on supporting characters and world building. But ain't nobody got time for that when there's bad dudes who need to be put down!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this series as a break from something slow and dragging...
This was on a completely different level and more reminiscent of books I read as a kid.
Shallow, quick moving, brutal plot (with more corn than Indiana!) that follows the old western formula. While wintering with a gunfighter our hero picks up 'the secret' of being a gunfighter and from that point on can outdraw and outshoot any number of villains. He makes his way without caution or concern through a country where people are dropping like flies but he has the absolute best luck for always bending over at the right time to avoid being shot. Every woman he meets is more beautiful than the last and they all throw themselves at him shamelessly. Things were getting a little repetitive by the time I hit book 10 so I stuck a pin in it there.

[RICHARD STENTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Jensen is a character you will want to follow along with Smoke and Preacher. This introduction to Matt is wonderful and starts out fast with the killing of his whole family in a brutal manner after his father has just arrived back at his ranch after the Civil War. Matt gets taken in as a Orphan and his escape from the Orphanage leads to his meeting Smoke and living in the wild for three years. In the wild under the mentoring of Smoke he becomes very competent in the wester way of life and fast and accurate with both the knife and the gun. He leaves Smoke after the three years and sets out to avenge the killing of his family. His adventures along the way and the final meeting of his killers is a page turner you do not want to miss.

[David Burnworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt was nine years old when he witness his family being killed. He grabbed his father's rifle and ran and hid by the time he got to a point where he could see the killers, he shot one who was fixin' to rape one of the two females they had killed, so Matt shot and killed him. After spotting Matt one of the killers tried to get to him but got stuck, so Matt killed him.

The story gets good from there with Matt being placed in a so-called orphanage after three years he runs away with the aid of one of the young girls who are also there. Matt gets away when the girl basically gives herself up. Later near death Matt is found and saved by the famous Smoke Jensen.

Smoke heals Matt and trains him. From there... Well you will have to get the book to find out.

[Jim Bartlett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is as good as it gets ‘Western’ genre . The narrative is predictable but yet has a unique simplicity and honesty that makes it a “good yarn”. I dip into Westerns , pretty much. Louis L’Amor , for the homespun stories of good winning over evil, the goodies against the baddies, the hero with. The white hat and the villains in black. In a. AI driven world of distrust and fake, the Western genre does heroically exaggerate that American west era but there is much truth in the ultimate goodness of people. I have not read any previous William Johnstone novels and so without any prior knowledge this was an unexpected treat

[Calvin Daniels · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit better than a two, but not by a lot.

The writing seemed too simplistic, even for a trashy western.

The book veered away from Smoke Jensen as the lead and that was a fail for me. It seemed like at the time the author wasn't sure where he'd take the series and it showed.

Book three in this series,my first hooked me. Had I read this one first I would likely have passed on series, so book two will tell the tale.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirby (Smoke) Jensen and Matt Cavanaugh are two orphaned young men, Smoke elder by eight years. Their paths cross when Smoke finds Matt dying of hypothermia and nurses him back to life. The two establish a mentor-pupil relationship that develops into a deep and lasting friendship. They share wilderness survivalist skills, gun play, gold panning, mutual caring and support. Both young men are quick draw artists bent on avenging the deaths of their families. Be prepared for gun violence.

[Rodger Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say what is it with the Mountain Man series and women not really having much choice but having positions where they tend to either be house wives, soiled doves, or teachers. That ending was not cool. Tamara dying was not cool. Especially since it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In her case she was just about to hop into bed with Matt. That was just like a "Really WTF! moment"

[Don Story · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointing. It had all the makings of a good story and yet was soiled by gratuitous sex and profanity. I have read plenty of westerns that showed high respect for women and their treatment in the old west. I was saddened to find that the author included the same needless smut and low morals for even the main character. It certainly didn’t make the book better for me, it ruined it.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a lot of William W. Johnstone (and his ghostwriters since he passed away) and I can honestly say that if you have read one Johnstone Western, you have read them all.
You don't pick up a Johnstone novel to be surprised, however. You pick them up for a pulp Western full of people getting the crap shot and stabbed out of them, and this one certainly follows that formula.

[Phil Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story-telling as usually with Johnstone

Johnstone’s stories rival any of the classical Western writers. The Mountain Man stories portray the raw lawless West in its infancy. Life was harsh and the good guys don’t always come out on top. The women had to be tough as the men they loved.

[Chad Dillon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️ The book was fine. It’s a story of revenge, which was nothing new, but it was still enjoyable. There were times I was rooting for the protagonist and other times I disliked him greatly. Definitely a flawed character, but his growth saved him. As the first book in the Jensen arc, it set the world up well.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Western Story Telling Perfection!!!

As always the amazing team of William W. And J.A. Johnstone delivers the best in western story telling perfection. When it comes to literary western/action it absolutely gets no better guranteed.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first western I've ever read. It was pretty good.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure I've read this one before. It was a fun read. I liked getting to know Matt better.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale probably close to what the real west really was. A good read.

[Joshua Bunnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how the combined Smoke's and Matt's origin stories into meeting up. A great Jensen story like always. Any Jensen book never disappoints.

[Dave Hay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never tried a western before, and it did not surprise me much. Simple, easy and a little predictable.

[Ted Cartier]

Another series by William Johnstone. Good fun with a lot of action. Will read more in this series.

[KEITH AVILA · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last Mountain Man

Love this book. Hope to read it more than once. Smoke Jenson is my kind of guy Hope to read all the books you write

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay read. A little slow in some areas. Not an overly fast paced story.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great western story well told.

[Tyler Richter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed. A good read.

[Bob Prol · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reminds me of Louis Lamour’s novels, with less romance. A quick read.

[Lowell Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

all of the mountain man series are great