Title: Journey of the Mountain Man (Mountain Man #5)
Author: William W. Johnstone
E-book length: 228 pages
Year: 2013
Publisher: Pinnacle
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Smoke Jensen receives a letter from a cousin in another state soon after the birth of his two children, Denise and Louis. Sally encourages her husband to answer the call for help and so Smoke saddles up and rides. On the way to Montana, Smoke meets men he knows and those he doesn’t, some are friendly most are foes.
When he arrives in the town near his cousin’s ranch, he sees quickly that it may be a bloody range war with all those gun hawks riding for one of the two brands fighting. Smoke isn’t bothered by being outnumbered’ he is used to that. He is just hoping to find a way to end this before the town runs red with blood.
Fae Jensen is the one who runs the ranch. She is feisty and plain spoken. Her brother, Parnell, is the schoolteacher and pretty much a dandy who Smoke figures won’t be much help when the lead starts flying. Smoke tries to talk to both ranch bosses and soon learns that one isn’t playing with a full deck; he has lost all reason. There are some old salty characters that hear of what Smoke has become embroiled in and they join up with him to lend a hand.
In one of the best western books, readers will enjoy the action, danger, mystery, romance and intrigue set in Montana, where life is precarious enough without two men trying to become king of the hill! Even when the trouble is taken care of and Smoke is on his way back to his family, it seems he still must face those bent on gaining a reputation as the one who took Smoke Jensen down. But Smoke was taught the ways of living life in the mountains and fighting those who won’t just leave him be, such may not see the sunrise another day.
Visit the author’s website to see what other Smoke Jensen books are available as well as the other characters that inhabit Johnstone country. https://williamjohnstonebooks.com
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. ( )