A new series that I'm so glad I started from one of my all time favorite authors , because when ever i just need to get lost into a book i know o can do just that with William W.Johnstone .

This would be my third western of William A. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone’s books. I have to say, I quite enjoy them. They have surprised me more than one, and on top of that, I get so immersed in this world that sometimes I don’t want to leave.

Buck Trammel is one interesting character-one I really would like to fall in love with since he’s tall (Tall men + Brittany=Brittany Bait). But he is traveling with a man named Adam Hagen, which I’ve kept an eye on because one, there’s something about him that I don’t like. Yes, he’s a drunk and a gambler, but behind all of that is a schemer. I don’t know what it is about Adam Hagen that I don’t like, but I just...don’t...like...him.

And on top of that, the Bowman gang is coming after the both of them after Trammel killed two of their kin (which sucks, by the by). I understand you want revenge on the men who killed your family, but come on now. It is NOT that bloody serious (I mean, two people dying, yes. Getting revenge? Stupid as hell. At least, on my side of things). And they’re trying to make new lives in Laramie-Adam’s a hotelier and Trammel’s a sheriff after the other one just up and left and died after swearing him in.

I do like the characters in the story-Buck, Adam, Emily (I actually ship them). But my favorite parts have to be when we stay alone in Trammel’s mind and him trying to figure out if he wanted to stay being the law after being a Pinkerton man, then being in The Golden Lilly in Witchita as the bodyguard. I found those parts interesting, almost as character development because he’s trying to figure out if he wanted to stay being the law, or settle down somewhere, get married, have a couple kids. But with the Bowman gang after him, he didn’t think that he would, though I wish he did because he deserves everything (Adam doesn’t, but that’s another story for another time).

My least favorite would have to be Madame Peachtree (ha ha) and her men, because she wanted Trammel to look the other away while she did what she wanted to do (opium, her saloon), but he arrested her and her men, but then he found her leger that only Adam and Emily can read...oh BOY that’s all I have to say. OH BOY. That’s when I have to keep my eye on Adam, because it seems like the Bowman gang is in the background, and he’s working his own plans in the front of the story.

And boy, was I right-when they came into Laramie, and Lefty showed up to try and kill Buck, Adam went to talk to Lucien Clay, striking up a deal with him (and basically using Buck was a bargaining chip) which he didn’t like in the end. There was a gunfight between Buck and Lefty and his men, and he killed them all in self-defense. Then the end, when Hagen told him what he wanted to do in Blacktown (turn it into a Opium den) in which Buck downright refused to let happen.

I did enjoy this book so much and I want to read more! In! This! Series!

North of Laramie is yet another read by William W Johnston that does not disappoint. It gets four and a half stars from me.

When you pick up a Johnstone western, you know you have a great read in your hands. Any Johnstone series is descended from a hard working man who has faced danger many times. From the western Jensen family to the mountain man Preacher family, the stories are so well written you get a "visual" of these characters and their supporting casts.
NORTH OF LARAMIE starts a new series featuring Buck Trammel, a man with a well traveled history who lands as a bouncer at a saloon. Fate once again has Buck in the crosshairs, so he must leave town quickly in the company of a gambler whose life he saved in a shootout. These two will join fortunes to face some desperate situations while staying true to the western way of life.
Anyone who loves westerns or is looking for a new series should try the Johnstone books. You are guaranteed a great story, characters that you'll care about and an adventure in a time when a man made his own history.

An unusual partnership of necessity that develops into a friendship, of sorts, is the underlying storyline. One partner is a physically big man with little formal education who has often gotten into trouble in former jobs that included being a saloon bouncer, a policeman and a Pinkerton detective is really strong and often does not know the power in his fists. His buddy, a much smaller man, is a dandy with a card shark mentality who received strong schooling.

There are many underlying storylines in this novel, “North of Laramie” by William and J. A. Johnstone that end up in a little town that is north of Laramie. One might expect the smaller man, Hagen, to be the one on the receiving end of the largesse of the bigger one, Trammel—but one would be wrong. Each of the “partners” are giving and taking in the partnership. But it is an unusual partnership.

Travels from Wichita and then across the plains into Wyoming are fraught with adventures – horseback rides, saving damsels in distress, being attacked by various criminal bands, train trips. There is lots of times when the partnership could be strained but it is holding until Hagen gets to where his estranged father controls a huge ranch and owns many of the local townsfolk in Blackstone. Trammel stands up for his smaller friend with his father and earns the grudging respect of King Charles, as Hagen’s father is called.

Trammel parlays his former experience as a lawman into being named the deputy of the small town. This rapidly morphs into the being the Sherriff and the former sheriff runs out to be found murdered shortly after he left. As in any small town in the old west, there are undercurrents that are going on. The power in the town is not as it at first seems and the partners need to adjust to the new reality. Powerplays are a constant but just because Trammel is a big man and not one with lots of formal education, he is very wise to the way of the criminal enterprise. He takes his job seriously and this creates some interesting alliances and antagonisms.

The book is an easy read and one that is so exciting that once a reader begins, it is hard to stop before the ending. The character development is stronger than a lot of western novels that just take the tack of good guys versus bad guys then confusion and finally good guys win. The partnership of Trammel and Hagen, Hagen’s cattle baron father, to previously injured criminals wanting revenge, to an opium-dealing female, etc. These characters make the story better with some diversions form the western formula and yields a lot of richness for the reader.

The Johnstone ecosystem of western heroes is vast, deep, and ever growing. I’ve read quite a few of the standalone and series but here is another new one. North of Laramie (Pinnacle 2020), first in the Buck Trammel Westerns series promises to be an excellent addition. Buck Trammel is a down in his luck former New York cop, former Pinkerton detective who ends up a bouncer at a small-time saloon called the Gilded Lilly. That changes when he defends a gambler accused of cheating and ends up killing two sons of a local big shot rancher. To this enraged father, it doesn't matter that the gambler wasn't cheating or that his sons pulled their guns first or that Trammel just defended himself. He just wants revenge. Trammel flees town, taking the gambler with him--otherwise, he would be killed. The two form an unlikely partnership that works well enough that they survive and make a fresh start. Well, at least for a while.

Another great story from the clever minds of the Johnstone crew. Keep em coming.

What a great set of new characters in this the first book about Buck Trammel. This is not the usual good guys and bad guys western. I really look forward to the next book to see what will happen. I seldom get so surprised with a western story. Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington Books and Pinnacle for giving me the pleasure of reading this new adventure from William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone called North of Laramie. If you like westerns then you should try this.

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

"Buck Trammel was a Pinkerton agent with a promising future. But after a tragic incident in a case gone wrong, he struck out for the wide-open spaces of Wichita, Kansas. "

First in series, this was a great romping ride to get to know Buck Trammel. Lots of action, personality and being kept off guard because you didn't always know who to trust. Enjoyable story with an easy reading flow. The book ended with a natural set up for Book 2 and I look forward to it.

4 stars