William W. Johnstone's second installment from the Red Ryan series, The Backstabbers, was a good read. I really liked it and give it four stars.

When the authors last name is Johnstone, you know before you even open the book that you are in for an exciting, entertaining, authentic story that will make you forget what you had to get done the rest of the day. The Johnstone's write original stories with unique characters. Each series bleeds into the others. You will find some of your favorite characters joining their fellow trail blazers to fight the bad guys. This series features a stage coach driver who specializes in unusual cargo...this time a coffin, corpse included. How this delivery eventually finds our heroes searching for gold with a group of reformed saloon girls makes for a great story. But that's what you expect and what you get from a Johnstone book.

In the Johnstone's The Backstabbers (Pinnacle 2020), Book 2 in the Red Ryan Western series, Red Ryan and Patrick "Buttons" Muldoon are on a stagecoach run for the Abe Patterson & Son Stage and Express Company to pick up a customer in a small town. They do this sort of thing occasionally to add to their company’s revenue but this time, when they show up at the assigned location, the town is deserted. Almost. After much searching, they find a man who leads them to their passenger--which turns out to be a coffin. They will be paid an exorbitant fee to take the coffin to a distant ranch. Then, they get their money and leave. Trouble is, outlaws try to steal the coffin on the way and are only prevented from doing so by a female shootist who is aggressive, a great shot, and arrives in the nick of time. She leads them to the ranch--operated entirely by women--and they are asked (for a bigger fee) to now take the ranch owner to another distant location.

From that point on, nothing is normal and Red and Buttons wonder if they'll survive long enough to spend all the money they just earned.

Why 5/5? Besides being the usual great writing from the Johnstone authors, the originality of the story, the authenticity of the characters and setting, I haven't read many Westerns about a stagecoach driver. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
--review to be published on my blog, WordDreams in 2020

My though

Would I recommend it? Yas

Would I read more of this series ? Yes

Would I read more of this author? Yes

When it comes to a William W.Johnstone book they never lete down , I know as soon as I start reading them I'm going to enjoy it from start to finish and that I'm going to want to read more of the series as well as the authors.Thier books always seem to reminde of the old black and white movies especially their westerns.Their my go to when I'm feeling like I just need to get lost in a story and the characters , because no matter what type of story it is the characters come to live and that's what happened in this one.So with that said I want to thank Nett for letting me read and review it.

I’ve always been a fan of westerns, from John Ford movies to Clint Eastwood. This book didn’t let me down to make me feel like I was in the middle of everything that had been happening. Even though I felt like I was losing track of the story, I still thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. Thank you to Kensington Books, Pinnacle, NetGalley, and to William W. Johnstone for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Westerns are always relaxing to read, you know what you get. This had some odd characters in it but all good. Or bad? I have to give thanks to #Netgalley #Pinnacle and #KensingtonBooks for letting me read this the second book about Red Ryan by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone.

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

Book 2 in series. Stagecoach guard Red Ryan and his driver Buttons Muldoon have ridden shotgun on some pretty valuable cargo in their day. But they’re about to learn—the hard way—that the most dangerous cargo of all is human.

This book had a ton more action and excitement than the first book had, but it was kind of all over the place and I kept losing track of the story. But, I would recommend this series/book to those who enjoy a good romping western.

3☆