Thrilling story with a plot that kept me turning the pages, really well written with great characters. Highly recommend to everyone who is a fan of this genre.

Sawbones by William Johnstone (Pinnacle 2018) is the often sad but not uncommon tale of a Confederate soldier returning after the Civil War to a Union-controlled South in search of the life he left behind. Instead, he finds his wife remarried, his house absconded by carpetbaggers, and his town cowed into submission. Before the war, he was a well-respected surgeon. He took those skills to the battlefield but was captured and lived out the war in a Union prison. When the war ended, his captors released in Georgia, forcing him to walk back to Texas (he wasn't given a horse, train ticket, or any money). Each step, he lost weight and hope. In his desperation to simply survive, he got on the wrong side of both the law and the cavalry, and ended up joining a gang of similar former Confederate soldiers as their doctor. It was there he discovered two things about himself. One, he was a crack shot, few faster, and two, he didn't like the outlaw life.

In typical Johnstone fashion, this story is filled with details about Yankee prisons, the South after the Civil War, and life in western towns. It's a fascinating read where the facts are exquisitely woven into the plot and characters. This is highly recommended not just for those who love Westerns but for those who are interested in survival against all odds.

--To be posted on my blog, WordDreams Feb. 4, 2019

I have enjoyed every Johnstone book I've read...and I've read many. This story starts the tales of Dr Samuel Knight, the "Sawbones" in the title. A returning Confederate POW who finds his Texas home n longer his and his wife married to another man, Sawbones must decide how he will live the rest of his life. The journeys he undertakes form the background of the story, setting him up to fight for what is his and eventually move west, starting over as a new man with new goals. It will be interesting to see how this character develops as Johnstone weaves him into the fabric of his many characters and families.

This is not a Smoke Jensen book but that does not stop you from falling in love with Dr. Knight! He is a total badass and this is definitely a great book. I can’t wait to see more Dr. Knight novels.

This was my first book written by this author. I liked it, but didn't love it. First, it was nice to read a book where the Confederates were not treated as the bad guys. I think it was a fairly realistic look at Reconstruction and the carpetbagger politics. What I didn't like was the number of miracle escapes gifted to the main character. One or maybe two, OK, but there had to have been six or more. The main character was Dr. Samuel Knight, a former Confederate surgeon returning to his home in Texas after being freed from the horrors of Elmira prison in New York. He arrives home to find that everything has changed. The town is being run by carpetbaggers and the force of Federal troops. His wife, believing him dead, has married one of the carpetbaggers. After a number of miraculous escapes from custody Dr. Knight is forced to join a band of outlaws lead by a man that he had spent time with in Elmira. But all he really wants to do is head west and start a new life and return to his profession. The story of his time with the outlaws is interesting, especially when they battle Comanches, but I found his skill with a pistol be be a bit unbelievable, especially with no experience and almost no practice. Once I got into the book I did enjoy it, but was disappointed in the ending.

We have a great love for Johnstone books in my house. This one was ok. I think the books are suffering since he has passed and they added a writer. They just aren’t the same

Sawbones is the first book from the Sawbones series. I enjoyed this book and recommend it. I give it four and a half stars.

The Johnstone legacy continues in the book “Sawbones”, an ‘affectionate’ term for doctors in the Old West. When (Dr.) Samuel Knight returns home from a Civil War POW camp, he finds his life turned upside-down, inside-out and in every way messed up. His wife has remarried a Yankee Carpetbagger who has taken control of the town. Driven out, Knight finds himself throwing with a ragtag group of outlaws where he discovers his uncanny abilities with a handgun and rifle. Conflicts with the “Bluecoats”, the local law, and even his own gang lead the doctor to leave, head farther west, and find a new life. But the past won’t leave him alone.