Sunday 15 October 2017

Hell Hath No Fury

JOHN HAWK #1
By Charles G. West
Pinnacle, November 2017

To make a new life, Jamie Pratt and his young bride join a westward wagon train bound for the Rocky Mountains. They get as far as Helena when their unscrupulous wagon master deserts them, leaving them as good as dead in a godforsaken, blood-scorched land. Even still, the other settlers agree to set stakes where they are, but Jamie and his bride press on towards the Bitterroot Valley, deep into Sioux territory.

They never come out the other side.

Jamie’s brother Monroe enlists the legendary scout John Hawk to find them. A hardened veteran of the range, Hawk is living off the land in a little cabin on the Boulder River when Monroe comes begging for his help. To rescue Jamie and his bride, Hawk – and his guns – will come out fighting, riding fast and fierce into deadly odds. For any other man, it’s a suicide mission, for Hawk, delivering justice is what he was born to do… 

Charles G. West starts this first book in a new series by introducing his readers to Hawk and a number of other characters that will have major roles to play as the story develops. These people include another scout, some soldiers and some Lakota and Blackfoot warriors. It’s after this that Monroe arrives and the search for his missing brother and his bride begins.

The hunt for Jamie and Rachel is actually just a small part of this story but the author links all the events in this tale by more than just Hawk, to say more would have to include major spoilers so I won’t add anything else about this here.

Later, when Hawk finds himself trying to solve the mystery of some cattle rustling, we meet the character that I believe the title of the book comes from, and what a terrific adversary she proves to be. The action content of the story really picks up when her family enter the tale.

Fans of Charles G. West’s many other books should enjoy this, as I did, and like me be left looking forward to the second John Hawk novel, No Justice in Hell, which has a publication date of May. If you’ve never read any of Mr. West’s work then Hell Hath No Fury could be the ideal place to discover his excellent ability to write terrific westerns. 


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