DIAMONDBACK

John Hardin #2

by Phil Bowie

Before soldiers drove the Cherokees out of the Great Smoky Mountains to the Oklahoma reservation in 1838, the Indians hid their gold mines. Many died on that infamous Trail of Tears, and their secrets died with them. Now, more than a century and a half later, solitary prospector Moses Kyle discovers one of the fabulous lost gold mines. And disappears. Hot shot pilot John Hardin and beautiful Cherokee biker Kitty Birdsong try to find Moses. But also on the hunt in the misty folds of the Smokies is a murderous family clan rooted in the worst kind of evil, along with a group of cult members led by a fanatical snake-handling preacher. When naked greed erupts into violence, John and Kitty find they must fight for their lives.

387 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2007

About the author

Phil is a lifelong freelance writer with 300 articles published in national magazines over the years, including Reader's Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, Harper's, Troika, Yankee, Grit, Heartland USA, and AOPA Pilot.
He's a licensed boat captain, a licensed pilot, a fiddler, a motorcycle rider, and an avid reader of everything.
He lives in eastern North Carolina on a shore of the wide Neuse River.
His suspense novels have been endorsed by top best-selling authors Lee Child, Ridley Pearson, and Stephen Coonts, and his debut novel, GUNS, won honorable mention at the London Book Festival. His short story collection, Dagger and other tales, includes his award-winning version of a yarn begun by Stephen King.
Check out my NEW blog, with random thoughts in general and some tips on writing: http://www.philbowie.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Fran Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great thriller

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced thriller. Phil Howie weaves a story that grabs your attention and doesn't let you go! Can't wait to read the next John Hardin book!

[Jim A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Two of the Hardin series by Phil Bowie. While Book One, Guns, took place on the coast of North Carolina, this one moves to the Ashville area and the surrounding mountains.

This book centers around the search for a Cherokee gold mine near the Great Smokey Mountains with the requisite greedy locals killing, or trying to kill anyone who gets in their way.

To me, a good thriller author is one who makes good use of the filler that all novels have. Some authors use that space for additional back story and others fill the book with interesting trivia. Bowie does that very well. In this novel he gives the basics of panning for gold, the basics of flying a plane, and a couple of Cherokee legends, all interspersed in his story.

All in all a fast paced, good read. To anyone looking to read this, I do think reading Guns first is pretty important. There is a lot of Hardin’s (the protag.) back story in Book One that will be a help in understanding his character’s motivation.