While the majority of what I read falls more in the thriller/ mystery genre, I can never pass up a good western. And any western written by the Johnstones is a good one. They have several different characters that each carry their own series, each set in a different part of the emerging civilization of the wild, wild west. From the mountain men that settled the northwest territories to the pioneers bringing everything they own westward to live in harsh conditions while building their own dynasties to our local lawmen, just trying to keep the peace and protect their towns and citizens, Johnstone on the cover means an excellent read inside.

Bury the Hatchet continues the Buck Trammel series. Buck is a highly qualified sheriff in Blackstone, Wyoming, a town trying to escape their past and build a better future. But as always, there are those that would keep the town from this brighter future....aka, the bad guys. This book can definitely be read as a stand alone and enjoyed. Buck's varied back story is fed into the book as the action heats up and the lead starts flying. His logic and opinions will lead you to believe he can change Blackstone's future all by himself, but he does need just a little help.

These series all are so well written that you'll see these towns and their citizens, both good and bad, as they make history come alive. I wasn't always a western fan, a friend recommended a Johnstone book many years ago and I've been hooked ever since. Read this book, it may very well be the "hook" for you too.

I enjoyed getting to know Buck Trammel in Bury the Hatchet. I am hoping to read more of his stories in the future. Five stars.

Bury the Hatchet is the second in a new series ghost-written under the Johnstone name. I had not read the first in the series, but the book unfolded in such a way as to summarize necessary events without being drawn out or slowing down the plot of the current novel. The lead characters were quite interesting. The friendship between the two leads feels a lot like the relationship of the two leads in the TV show Justified. Ultimately, while not ground breaking in any way, this was a fun read.

Very good book by William Johnston!Held my attention from the beginning to the end.Lots of action,and characters in the story!q

One ok western with William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstones latest character Buck Trammel. Most of the story is typical western stuff with good guys and bad guys but the characters are not the usual suspects. I really enjoy this series and it gives me a couple of hours flight from reality. I must thank #Pinnacle #KensingtonBooks and #Netgalley for giving me this arc.

Bury the Hatchet by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is a continuation of the story started in North of Laramie of Buck Trammel and Adam Hagen. Trammel has continued his job as sheriff and continues to have issues with Hagen’s father. The real issue in this novel is the Pinkerton Agency has been hired to bring these two men in “dead or alive” and when a Pinkerton is after you there is much danger as Trammel knows being a former Pink himself.

There is the normal intrigue of drug dealing, prostitution, and other political shenanigans to keep the reader entertained. This book like the first is a gripping story of what might have happened in the small Western frontier town of Blackstone.

The friendship of Hagen and Trammel, which began in the first novel continues into this story although it gets strained on occasion as Hagen is a bit of ne’er-do-well. But solving the dangerous situation not only of the Pinkertons but also a bounty a disgruntled man has also put on their heads is exciting.

While this book is the continuation of the Trammel story, it can be read as a stand alone but having read the first builds a much better vision of the characters involved in this story. It is a book worth reading and because of the fast-paced action is a quick read.

Johnstone's Bury the Hatchet (Pinnacle 2020), second in the Buck Trammel Westerns series, picks up where the last left off. Buck, West Point graduate, former Pinkerton agent, former bouncer in a saloon, is ow Sheriff in the town "owned" by his ex-best-friend's father. He sets out to do the job right and bring order and justice to a town sadly lacking in both. Unfortunately, that crosses legal paths with is former friend, Adam Hagen, now boss of the town's illicit opium den. Trammel is furious and forswears him as a friend until their mutual past comes back to threaten their present. A wealthy man, father to a son Trammel and Hagen killed in a fair fight before arriving at this town decides to seek revenge for the boy's death. He hires the Pinkerton Agency where Trammel used to work to bring the boy justice by killing Trammel and Hagen.

An interesting part of this book beyond the clever characters and the tricky plot is the erudite wisdom that Trammel relies on to guide his actions. Look at these:

"Without knowledge, skill cannot be focused. Without skill, strength cannot be brought to bear. And without strength, knowledge cannot be applied.”
,,
“Heaven will not brook two suns, nor the earth two masters.”

"...when modern answers fail us, a wise man must turn to antiquity for guidance.”

As an armchair philosopher, I loved these.

Despite continuing the plot laid out earlier in the series, the book can be read as a standalone without losing anything. As usual, it is drenched in the old west, giving readers a feel for how life was lived over a hundred years ago.

--to be published on my blog Sept. 2020

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"When Ben Savage travels to Buzzard's Bluff, Texas, to check out his inheritance, he meets the saloon's lovely manager, Rachel Baskin. Live Free. Read Hard."

First in the Ben Savage series, the story starts with lots of action and ends on the same note. The good guys are really good, and the bad guys are really bad. Fantastic new story from the Johnstones. I look forward to reading more in the series.

4☆