Many thanks to NetGalley, Brett Riley, and Imbrifex Books for a chance to review this book. I was given this book for free in exchange for my fair and honest opinion. I have not felt compelled, in any way, by the author, the publisher, or NetGalley to alter my sincerest thoughts on this book. Every word of this review is solely and completely mine.
Comanche is a modern murder mystery steeped in an old west mythology and ghost story. The prior evil occurs in 1887 near Comanche, Texas when a posse goes after the Piney Woods Kid and the frontier justice mindset causes them to not just shoot the desperado but hack him to pieces.
In the present, when all the surviving family members of that long ago posse come together and reunite in Comanche for a photo op, the apparent ghost of the Piney Woods Kid is agitated enough by the commemoration that he returns to seek vengeance on the heirs that have grown Comanche into a small but respectable town. The supernatural elements are handled well. Good writing. Excellent descriptions of the settings. Super character development. I’m not really fond of supernatural, but I did find the story gripping and scary.

Old West, meets New West in this thriller/ghost story.

There is someone that is terrorizing and murdering people in the small town of Comanche, TX. A private investigator, who is a relative of one of the townsfolk, is recruited to investigate the crimes.

What follows is a gripping story that begs for a series.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Comanche was an enjoyable piece of fiction intertwining a historical event, the death of a vigilante over 100 years ago with a modern day crime. The setting was wonderful and I felt myself right in the action in the deep south of the USA with the humidity, the heat and the uncomfortable sweating. Riley's characterisations could hve been a little better researched as at times the smallest details were missing, and I often would have liked to know more about some of the individuals I encountered. Mystery and suspense were maintained throughout however, and possibly because I was unaware of some of the details of some characters. It was a fun read linking it in with ghosts and tall tales, and it's a book that I would recommend as a light read, not too taxing, and fun also.

This is not my usual type of read but wanted to try it out. Brett Riley is a very skilled writer and this being his first novel I am confident he will succeed with others. The story, though far fetched - even the characters didn't want to believe what was happening, was interesting. I believe his skill at writing was a factor in my completing the book. I had to find out how it ended. You can feel the pain and agony of loss, and the hard rehab from deep despair, that could cripple you emotionally and destroy your future and determined strength. The seeking of revenge that traveled over a hundred years. The story is about a possible ghost that was set out to revenge his own murder that happened over a hundred years prior. He is after the descendants of the men who killed him and desecrated his body. They of course don't believe in ghosts. P.I. Raymond Turner and his partner are asked to stop whomever or whatever is killing towns folk. I think if you want to read something different for a change it's worth your time. My rating of four stars shows his excellent writing ability. You knew the writer understood the characters and I liked it had humor in it also. Thank you NetGalley, Brett Riley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC this is my honest opinion.

I want to start off by saying thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book, it was a very good read easy to follow along with storyline and characters. This was a new author for me but I very much enjoyed it, thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to reading more by this author again. I highly recommend this book to everybody.

This is pretty good, not great. It's a little uneven, but mostly held my attention. It has some decent action, and an imaginative plot. It doesn't have the polish of a more experienced author, but shows promise.

Thanks very much for the copy for review!!

Review by 2shay..........🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟.....

Many years ago I was enrolled at Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas, just 34 miles from Comanche. I’m very familiar with the area, so I had to have this book. The majority of authors who write about Texas get it wrong, so my expectations were muted. I was very pleasantly surprised. Raised in Arkansas and making his home in Nevada, the author, Brett Riley, has either spent a lot of time in Texas or he does remarkable research. Either way, I felt like I had been transported back to my college days.

Mr. Riley chose to forego the use of quotation marks for dialog, a technique I’ve seen a few times with varied reactions. I’m not sure quite how to describe the difference I felt with this book. Mr. Riley’s transitions between prose and dialog is seamless. I don’t want to sound pretentious, which would be pointless anyway, but it added an increase in the flow of consciousness, an awareness of the subtlety of emotion or fear. Very nicely done.

This book begins in 1887 with a short prologue detailing the events that are the precursor to the main story. We then move on to New Orleans in 2013, and meet the main character, Raymond Taylor. Raymond has been battling the bottle since the death of his wife. Marie. His grief and despair has derailed his life until his business partner, Darrell LeBlanc, steps in and helps Raymond pull himself back together.

The two men own the Turner Agency, mostly following cheating husbands and other private detective jobs. Then Raymond gets summoned to Comanche by his sister who lives there with her husband, the local mayor. There have been two strange murders on the grounds of a local diner, a new business that just happens to be owned by the mayor. The witnesses say the killer was dressed like a cowboy in an old western movie.

Hang on to your hats! Part western, part ghost story, part cop drama, you are in for a thrilling, action packed whirlwind that would make an incredible movie. The possible special effects alone would be worth the price of admission. Needless to say, I loved this book and recommend it to everyone! Grab a copy as soon as possible and...

Enjoy! ARC graciously provided by Inbrifex Books and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

In his debut novel, Comanche, Brett Riley gives us an intriguing hybrid novel. Part thriller, part ghost story, part old western. The opening chapter chronicling the violent history of the small town of Comanche and the men who not only executed, but also desecrated the body of an outlaw called the Piney Woods Kid is a great hook. Over 100 years later, the old death house sits empty. It doesn’t stay that way long though, as the enterprising new mayor seeks to breath new life into the town by building a brand new diner with good food, and historic interest that he hopes to attract new tourists into the area. Life seems to be going pretty well for everyone until two town residents are killed mysteriously. Both having suffered traumatic injuries without a weapon used. Witnesses claim that both people were shot by a mysterious man dressed in a cowboy outfit and colored a bland shade of grey. Still in recovery from the death of his wife, Raymond and his partner come into the investigation ready to nab a killer and put the idea of death by ghost to rest. They certainly get more than they bargained for. Overall this is fun story that reads quickly. It is written well and is a strong debut showing. Review posted to Goodreads

I loved this book. From the very beginning, I was immediately hooked. Stayed up all night to finish it and am glad I did!

This was a nice little ghost story. It kinda reminded me of something Preston& Child might write. I enjoyed the story but at times found it a bit confusing. Maybe there were too many characters, I had a hard time keeping them straight
The way he wrote their dialogue was a bit different too.
Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy

Comanche is like no other book. The Piney Woods Kid is vicious outlaw in the old west. When the local posse finally catch him, they are not satisfied with just killing him. They butcher him.

Decades go by. Another century has come and gone. The citizens of Comanche are preparing for a pow wow. Suddenly people dying from mysterious causes. It almost seems like they were shot, but no visible gunshot wounds appear on the outside. Then, the witnesses talk about seeing a ghost.

I had no idea what to expect when I began reading this book. It even took my quite a few chapters before I truly go into the story line. Once I did, I was hooked. The mystery of all mysteries...how to stop a murderer if he is already dead?

Raymond is a perfectly flawed hero. A recovering alcoholic trying to find his way through his grief. He is forced to face his demons while trying to save what is left of his family. He best friend and partner always there to support and save him.

I love the strong powerful women. Women who are willing to fight and be strong. Rennie willing to face her husband, her town and her brother to protect those she loves. Johnson willing to fight to protect her friends. Becky, the medium, falling in love and learning to use her gift as a weapon.

The only complaint I had was the dialogue was not properly marked with quotations marks. It sounds silly but I had a hard time realizing when the characters were thinking or speaking. I am assuming this will be changed when the book comes out officially.

Fell for the blurb thinking this could be interesting only to find the villain is a ghost that can only be taken out by shooting it with salt. Go figure. From there I finished the book thinking that this could work without the ghost and have a real person on a vendetta.
If you are into paranormal then you will probably enjoy this story.
An independent review thanks to NetGalley

This is a great murder mystery. I enjoyed the way Riley mixed the historical with the current time period. The book has a fast paced plot, that is riveting.

Not my normal genre but something about this book caught my eye. I really liked this mystery and the book was very easy to get immersed in.

I received an ARC from netgalley for my honest review.

This is not your typical ghost story. Which is exactly why you won't be able to put this book down once you start. It is a refreshing change from the standard unsuspecting resident moving into a haunted house tale.

The book opens in 1887 Comanche, Texas with the emergence of a recently deceased outlaw named 'The Piney Woods Kid' and detailing the back story of his capture. Followed by a very gruesome death and disrespectful method of burial. Once the Author captivates you with the tale of our newly risen ghost he catapults us into the present and passionately plucks at our heartstrings. Taking us down the grief-stricken life of Raymond Turner. Raymond is on a self-destructive drunken path to nowhere fast after the death of his wife Marie. His business partner and best friend Darrell LeBlanc is doing his best to keep the business going and Raymond from being lost to the abyss of despair when Raymond's sister calls them down to Comanche to investigate some murders at her new diner. Skeptical of the tales she's hearing from witnesses at the diner when these murders occur and desperate to see the killer stopped before their small town loses the tourism income it relies on, she goes against her husband, the Mayor's, wishes to bring in her brother and his private investigation team.

This team of non-believers finds themselves face to face with the ghost of The Piney Woods Kid and questioning reality as they know it. Determined to think it is all some elaborate movie magic hoax they attempt to draw out the live culprit behind the murders. Scarcely living to tell the tale of their gaffe. Recruiting the help of an erudite acquaintance Prof Frost they learn what they need to confront a ghost. Accomplishing their goal will prove more perilous than everyone imagines. As the body count rises their courage wanes. Will they save the town of Comanche?

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Comanche by Brett Riely is a novel following a team investigating murders in Comanche, Texas. Mr. Riley is an award winning writer, who teaches literature, creative writing, and composition at the College of Southern Nevada, this is his debut novel.

The people of Comanche, Texas managed to capture and kill The Piney Woods Kid, a murderer that has been the dredge of the town. They did not let up after his death though, and grimly chopped him up.

In 2016, multiple murders occur around the old “death house” and the community in in shambles. A group of investigators from New Orleans come to see if they can free the town from The Kid’s legacy.

This book was a lot of fun, a mix of many genres which don’t seem like they should work together. Comanche by Brett Riely starts in the violent Wild West, and turns into a gothic horror story, and somewhere along the way it becomes a tense and gripping drama.

I don’t know how, but the author managed to create a big, interesting cast of characters without losing the narrative, pace, or storyline. The narrative is crisp and clean, right to the point, and doesn’t waste the reader’s time superfluous descriptions.

There is lots of good banter, sometimes you can’t tell if the character is saying, thinking, or just gesturing (oh, you) but the author gets the feeling across efficiently and quickly which makes the reading much more pleasurable.

The noir in the west type of story worked wonderfully in this instance, especially when the investigators from New Orleans show up, dealing with their own issues as well as the town’s. Each character had their own good motivation to act the way they do and their interaction with the rest of the cast in the novel.

Ghost stories are really not my genre, but this is a solid book that delivers a good yarn. I found the novel to be very entertaining, full of action, and best of all, very well written.

A ghost seeking revenge, a man trying to reclaim his life and the descendants of the people who humiliated the ghost in the 1800 all converge on the depot. This is one of those books I caution you to not start an hour before bedtime or you may find yourself spending the night awake reading. A well-written action packed tale of a revenge that will not quit. Great read.

This was such a fun read. It's been ages since I read a good ghost story. I loved the setting of Comanche although I'm not sure I'd like to live there. It was well drawn with it's heat, humidity, and lots of delicious iced tea. I loved the characters - the two main ones Darrell and Raymond, who are best friends and private investigators from New Orleans; and spiritualist Betsy and professor Jake who go along to help solve a murder and a mystery and get more than they bargained for.
As I said, this was fun to read. The author doesn't use speech punctuation marks and it took me a couple of pages to settle into this way of reading, but I did and it wasn't a problem. I could really hear the characters talking with their Southern accents.

When selecting this book, I hadn't appreciated that it was a supernatural thriller, which is not normally a go-to genre for me. However, this book was well-written with a good dose of suspense and action/adventure such that I actually questioned whether it was a ghost story of not.

Despite my initial reaction, I really enjoyed the story and would happily read further books based on the agency characters.

Like a good gumbo, COMANCHE, Brett Riley’s debut novel, is a wonderful mix of ingredients. It’s a throwback to violent, strange westerns like High Plains Drifter, it’s a southern gothic horror dripping with tension and grit and it’s a compelling drama driven by a sprawling cast of characters that would make Stephen King proud.

The small Texas town Comanche is rocked by a double murder outside of a newly built Diner. Witnesses say the killer was dressed as a gunslinger. Some say it’s the ghost of The Piney Woods Killer, a bandit from the 18th century, back for revenge, disturbed by the new building over his death site. But is this true or is something else at play?

COMANCHE had me at ghosts and grit, small towns and outsiders, murder and mystery but what really works here is Brett Riley’s prose. I really enjoyed the execution of the story. Sometimes you get a novel that’s wordier then it needs to be or one that drags its feet to set up characters and events- Riley’s style is all thriller, no filler. It’s lean and mean and to the point. Not a word is wasted in the breath-taking fast pace. Some points - moods, character descriptions, are repeated a bit here or there or plain strange even from a POV, but other than this, it’s economic storytelling.

Its a breezy read, speeding by set-piece by set-piece, and while it doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the genre, it establishes itself as being a solid genre piece that delivers on the thrills and violence that could satiate a horror fan.

Given its sprawling cast, I do wish that there was more time spent with some characters so that the stakes felt a bit higher. As it is, a death, say, doesn’t have much of an impact on me because I don’t particularly feel any ties to the characters. I’m more along for the ride, which delivers on its fun.

That being said, COMANCHE is a tasty southern dish that goes down nicely and sets up Brett Riley as one to watch.

3.5 stars