SIX-GUN JUSTICE PODCAST EPISODE #209—WORLDWIDE WEST TOUR: ENGLAND PT 1

SIX-GUN JUSTICE PODCAST

EPISODE #209

WORLDWIDE WEST TOUR

ENGLAND PART 1

WITH SPECIAL GUEST

DAVID WHITEHEAD

Howdy, cowpokes... It's tea time on the range as the Six-Gun Justice Podcast returns to its Worldwide West Tour with a stop in Ol' Blighty... Join host Paul Bishop and his special guest David Whitehead (aka bestselling Western wordslinger Ben Bridges) as they face down a violent gang of Piccadilly Cowboys and then delve even further into the extensive history of the many indigenous Westerns spawned on British shores...

Available now on all major podcast streaming platforms or by clicking on the player below...

 

WESTERN NOVELS—THE GUNS OF LEGENDE #6: DIRTY DEEDS

WESTERN NOVELS

DIRTY DEEDS 

THE GUNS OF LEGENDE #6

BRODY WEATHERFORD 

REVIEWED BY TIM DEFOREST

The Society of Buckhorn and Bison is tasked with catching a con artist who is specializing in selling phony deeds to supposedly valuable land. Beautiful gambler Emily O'Connor is assigned to the case, which also involves solving a murder, rescuing a kidnapped woman who might actually be in cahoots with the bad guys and (on a personal level) recovering thousands of dollars in poker winnings that were stolen from her. 

Her ex-husband, whiskey peddler Frank Landry, is also put on the case, though at first they aren't working together. Frank teams up with a beautiful Italian countess, using her as window dressing as he tries to out-con the con man. He discovers, though, that the countess might have an agenda of her own. 

The story smoothly blends action and mystery, keeping it fast-paced and interesting. Frank and Emily , who have appeared in all but one of the books in the series so far, are strong protagonists. They handle themselves well in gun fights and other dangerous situations, but are also smart and able to think quickly when they need to.

The climax, which involves several characters getting trapped in a mine before the villains come to a satisfying comeuppance, is wonderfully handled. "Dirty Deeds" is yet another winner in the Guns of Legende series.

WESTERN NOVELS—SHADOW VALLEY

WESTERN NOVELS

SHADOW VALLEY

GORDON D SHIRREFFS

REVIEWED BY TIM DEFOREST

Holt Cooper inherits a ranch in Shadow Valley after his brother is murdered. Holt is determined to keep the ranch and even more determined to find his brother's killer. That won't be an easy job.

Shadow Valley is pretty much ringed in with violence. An unknown assassin has been bushwacking small ranch owners, including Holt's brother. In addition, the owner of the biggest ranch wants Holt's ranch for himself and is apparently willing to play rough to get it.

Holt's worries are increased when a woman who had run out on her brother shows up. She has just enough of a Femme Fatale vibe to make her untrustworthy, but its equally possible that she might turn out to be Holt's ally. More murders take place and Holt is accused of being the killer.

Pretty much everyone in the area is against him, while all he has on his side is "his own gun, a little peace-loving cowpoke wo drank medicine that was mostly alcohol, and a woman he didn't understand." 

All this is mixed together to form a plot that expertly combines action and mystery to make "Shadow Valley" a fast, fun read.

SIX-GUN JUSTICE PODCAST EPISODE #208—1876:THE YEAR OF THE GUN

SIX-GUN JUSTICE PODCAST

EPISODE #208

1876:THE YEAR OF THE GUN

WITH GUEST CO-HOST

STEVE WIEGAND

Get them spurs jangling, wranglers, 'cause today's episode is gonna take us back to the year 1876, when the West was truly wild and legends roamed the frontier. Join host Paul Bishop as he chats with Steve Wiegand, author of 1876: The Year of the Gun, about Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok, Custer and more...It's gonna be a rootin', shootin', good time...

 

Available now on all major podcast streaming platforms or by clicking on the player below...

 

WESTERN NOVELS—KILLING SPREE

WESTERN NOVELS

KILLING SPREE

JOHN BENTEEN

REVIEWED BY 

TIM DEFOREST 

Killing Spree is arguably one of the most intense novels in the series, filled with brutal non-stop action from start to finish. 

Fargo has invested money in a gold mine and that investment is paying off--until four sadistic outlaws/brothers kill the prospector, kidnap his daughter and leave Fargo for dead. 

However, Fargo isn't quite dead, but he is alone in a ghost town, with his weapons and his boots taken. He's tightly tied up with rawhide and beaten badly enough to leave him with broken ribs and nearly no strength. 

But, then again...well, this is Fargo. Giving up isn't an option.  Driven perhaps more by pure hatred than by a desire to rescue the girl, he figures out a way to get free from the rawhide. 

Then, armed only with a lance made from a broomstick and a nail, carrying a few old whiskey bottles filled with water and meat taken from a coyote he beat to death with a piece of wood, Fargo sets out to kill the four brothers.

 

The brothers have separated, so Fargo eventually encounters each of them separately. Between these encounters, Fargo endures desert heat, pain from his injuries and--at one point--a sandstorm. 

Benteen adds ambiance to the book by spending just a page or two to give the brothers enough of a history (each fathered by a different wife of an apostate Mormon) to give them some uniqueness. 

He also gives each of Fargo's encounters with one of the brothers its own uniqueness, both in setting (a desert camp--a saloon--a ranchhouse--and a camp of Mexican revolutionaries) and in the weapons used. 

These include that broomstick/lance Fargo initially carries, then having him move up to pistols, dynamite, and finally a machine gun and a half-dozen hand grenades. 

Essentially, Fargo has access to more advanced weapons with each encounter, as well as gradually re-acquiring his personal weapons from the bad guys. 

From the moment Fargo is left for dead to when he finally rescues the girl, the story never stops to breath and effortlessly carries us along with it. It may be my favorite of the series.

WESTERN NOVELS—THREE CROSS

WESTERN NOVELS

THREE CROSS 

RAY HOGAN 

REVIEWED BY 

TIM DEFOREST 

Part of Hogan's Shawn Starbuck series, in which Shawn is searching the West for his long-lost brother. 

In this one, Shawn is running low on funds, so he takes a job as foreman at Three Cross ranch before continuing the search for his brother. 

But Three Cross is in trouble. Fires have been set, cattle has been shot and many of the hands have quit. So Shawn also takes on the job of finding out who is responisble for this trouble. 

There seems to be no reason for it. Rustlers, for instance, would steal cattle and not kill them. In order to properly do his job as foreman, Shawn has to solve a mystery. 

It's a pretty good mystery, though most attentive readers will realize who the villain is and even make a good guess as to the reason behind it all. But the overall plot is strong. 

Shawn is a capable and likeable protagonist who carries the story along nicely. Hogan is able to give real emotion to several character deaths. 

He also includes a number of excellent action scenes. These include an attempted stagecoach robbery that opens the book; Shawn stalking a pair of bushwackers through the woods; an attempt to head off stampeding cattle before they run off a cliff; and Shawn's very tense final confrontation with the bad guys.

SIX-GUN JUSTICE PODCAST EPISODE #207—STEVE HOLLAND: COWBOY

SIX-GUN JUSTICE PODCAST

EPISODE #207

STEVE HOLLAND: COWBOY

WITH GUEST MICHAEL STRADFORD

Boy, howdy, so many of those great vintage Western paperback we'd all run an Apache gauntlet to own and read had one thing in common—the likeness of action model Steve Holland on the covers...

Today, Six-Gun Justice Podcast, host Paul Bishop is joined by special guest Michael Stradford author of Steve Holland: Cowboy, a just released compendium featuring Steve Holland's influence on our conception of the heroic cowboy...

Available now on all major podcast streaming platforms or by clicking on the player below...