Sadly I DNF it at 17% ,just couldn't get into the story and there was something about the authors writing that just didn't pull me into the story ,with that said i want say thank you to Netgalley for letting me at least try this author work exchange for my honest opinion

Sheriff Byrnes must once again prove to everyone that anything worth having is worth fighting for. He sets out to build a stage coach route to help connect smaller ranchers together and build a stronger, safer way of life. But, there is always someone who has a different plan. Dusty Richards has done an excellent job of building background for his Byrne family stories and continues to build strong characters who advance a decent way of life, but he also gives us exciting stories to keep us coming back. Another 5 star winner.

In Dusty Richards' Rage for Vengeance (Pinnacle 2018), twelfth in the popular The Byrnes Family Ranch series, US Marshall Chet Byrnes has been hired to build a stageline from Gallup to the Colorado River. The story starts with Chet and his sidekick Cole being ambushed as they travel the roadway for the new stage. Someone wants them dead but at that point, they don’t know why.  Chet thinks it might be a competitor to the stageline, someone who could lose business or wants the business, but nothing is obvious. He tracks one of the would-be killers to a dandy gambler who is as clever with murder as he is with gambling. For those who have read the earlier stories in this series, they know Chet is not one to give up or run from a challenge and he doesn't here. He has promised the owner of the stageline that it will go through and nothing short of Chet's death will prevent that from happening.

This story as with other great Westerns I've read rings with authenticity about a time long gone when the West was untamed and law (as in Sheriffs and Marshalls) was simply a gleam in someone's eye. Everything about this one seemed genuine from the tools used to problems people faced and the steps they took to solve them. Besides that, Rage for Vengeance is a how-to on setting up a stageline. Who knew it was so complicated?

My only complaint with this book is the number of people introduced early in the story. Wow. I’d estimate a bazillion in the first 20% of the book. My head was spinning trying to figure out which names I should remember, who were recurring series characters, and who I could gloss over. Thank goodness I read this digitally because I could search characters who popped into scenes and see what I should have remembered from earlier parts of the story. In the book's defense, I assume that many of these are part of the ongoing cast of characters and will be well-known to those conversant in the prior eleven books. I did like most of the characters. They were real people with clever tie-ins to events. But probably what I like best is the authenticity of building the Old West.

One issue I wasn't sure of: Dusty Richards died in April 2018 so I’m not sure if he wrote this prior to his death or if it was written by a ghostwriter (as has become popular with successful series, like Hercule Poirot and Tom Clancy). Overall, highly recommended for those who love character-driven murder mysteries and tales of the old West.

To be reviewed on my blog, WordDreams in April 2019.

I thought Rage for Vengeance was a pretty good read. I would like to read other from A Byrnes Family Ranch series.
Four stars.