LAST STAGE TO HELL JUNCTION by Mickey Spillane, Max Collins is the 4th book in the “Caleb York” series based on a legendary gunfighter named Caleb York who arrived in the town of Trinidad as a stranger & has remained in town as the Sheriff, even though it had been his intention to move on after ridding the town of the outlaw gang that terrorized it, and it seems one thing or another something always comes up that makes him decide to remain in town, including the lovely Willa Cullen who Caleb has strong feelings for.

Willa is one of two women that have caught Caleb’s attention in the past, with the other being the beautiful Rita Filley who is the owner of the Victory Saloon, and Caleb is forced into action again in this story when the pair and town doctor Doc Miller are abducted as a result of a stage robbery, then taken to be held hostage in a ghost town formerly known as Hell Junction.

Caleb goes undercover in this one, and relies on his detective skills learned in his previous employment as a detective for Wells Fargo, something that serves him well in pursuing the outlaw gang known as the “Hargrave Bunch”.

Blaine Hargrave is the leader of the gang, and is an interesting character who was previously a stage actor in Shakespearean plays until he turns to a life of crime after his actions result in his fleeing from justice.

Will Caleb be able to locate the gang to save lives of the two women (and others), and if so can he successfully infiltrate the gang without detection by the leader who being an actor himself might be able to see through Caleb’s disguise and catch him in the act?

Max Allan Collins has been entrusted by the widow of the late Mickey Spillane to take unfinished stories by the author to see through to completion, and the Caleb York series has grown into a series with several novels now, and the books in the series are enjoyable reads with familiar storylines and characters, but still are able to avoid being clichés as a result of the quality of the writing.

Recommended to all fans of western novels, and suitable for a general audience, or at worst PG-13.

4 stars.

Max Allan Collins is an undeniably talented writer. He's prolific, writes genre spanning series with aplomb, and is generally just top-shelf. Mickey Spillane was a prolific writer of crime and screenplays and if some of his tropes seem slightly dated to today's audiences, it's because he -invented- the twists that writers are still using today. This is a posthumous collaboration, written by M.A.C. around notes left by Spillane prior to his death in 2006. This is the 4th book which features Sheriff Caleb York and includes several characters from previous books in the series. The plot is self contained, and the book doesn't suffer from being read as a standalone.

Released 28th May by Kensington, Last Stage to Hell Junction is a fast paced 240 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

It's increasingly difficult to find westerns these days. There are a few series being written currently, but the quality varies immensely. This series is very well written, gritty and face paced with solid characters and a taut plot driven narrative. Bullets fly and bad guys wind up under boot hill. It's a completely escapist read and perfect for the summertime TBR list.

The language is rough. There's some on-page sexual assault (an attempted rape of a young black girl) and a fair bit of racism in context (not glorified, just the opposite). The denouement is satisfying and exciting.

Worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, the first book in this series is included in the KU subscription.

I enjoyed this one. It will definitely appeal to western lovers, or in a pinch, lovers of gritty noir (change the setting and re-costume the players and it could be any mean street in any big city with fedora wearing punks being hauled in by a squinting tough guy PI).

4 stars. Well worth a read.

A good western is really hard to find. As the average age of the writers and readers of western fiction advances, there are fewer and fewer new titles released. As a long time reader of westerns, this really saddens me. I was glad to see a new title in Sheriff Caleb's series. As always, the writing of Max Allan Collins takes the reader into the action, you see and feel what the characters do. This one sees our hero looking to rescue some familiar characters and gives another look into the life of a Sheriff when the law was just a suggestion for most folks. Love the book, love the characters, looking forward to the next one.

I wanted to read this book because I was intrigued by the author co-writing with Mickey Spillane. The writing is very accomplished - the characters keenly drawn, and the plot was brisk. I enjoyed the Western setting and the overall tone of the writing and the story.
I provided an honest review in exchange for a free advance reader's copy.

Mickey Spillane writes westerns? Well ... yes and no. Max Allan Collins writes westerns based on Mickey Spillane characters. That makes a little more sense.

A stage coach, bound for Denver never arrives. Aboard the coach are two women and a wealthy banker. A dead stagecoach driver, riddled with bullets is the only clue. Sheriff Caleb York has a vested interest in tracking the coach down as both women have been dating York, each trying to get him to commit. The banker also has a connection to York - he is a prime investor in Trinidad, New Mexico ... York's territory.

York gets a tip on what happened to the stagecoach when he hauls a man in to jail after a poker game dispute. Now York will have to go face to face with a den of thieves in order to see if there is anyone left alive to rescue.

As one might expect with a Spillane character, our hero here is a tough as nails and in many ways this book reads more like a hard-boiled mystery rather than a classic western - it just happens to take place in the old west.

The action moves swiftly as one might expect of a hard-boiled western.

The character of Caleb York is a bit stereotypical - tough, no-nonsense, macho without much background to really identify himself. None of the other characters have much to identify themselves, either. They are stock characters used to drive a plot.

Of the books I've read through "Western Week" on my blog, representing three different authors, this one is probably the weakest. It relies more on common tropes and stereotypes. The mystery, at least, holds some interest.

Looking for a good book? <em>Last Stage to Hell Junction</em> by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins is a moderately fair mystery in a western setting but if you are looking for a more classic style western, there are better choices.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Last Stage to Hell Junction is the fourth installment from the A Caleb York Western series. I liked it and give it four stars.