First book in a very good western series. US Marshall "Trusty" Dawson is introduced in this well written western. Trusty will serve as witness in the hanging of two brothers, then accompany the judge to his next court. Along the way, an ambush will leave the judge dead and Trusty on the trail of the murderers. Sweazy does an excellent job of bringing the characters and the background alive in an era of violence and justice at the end of a rope. He stays true to the era. This is the beginning of an excellent series that has already earned a space on my library shelf of westerns.

"Cowboy" books are not usually my genre, but this author could change my mind. Compelling and memorable characters and a fast-movie story left me with a desire for MORE. Good thing this is the first in a new series.

Thanks to netgalley.com, Kensington Publishing and the author Larry D. Sweazy for the advance ARC copy for my honest review.

It was the late author Bill Crider, with his 'Outrage at Blanco' novel that made me love revenge stories so much and in away revenge stories for me will always be a tribute to him.

One of my favorite niches in the Western genre are the U.S. Marshall yarns and 'Lost Mountain Pass' checks off that box. Do wish that this one would have been a 100 pages longer. So a couple of the intertwining storylines, where more realistic verse having the easy button pushed to check them off.

You have an intertwining storyline, that involves U.S. Deputy Marshall Trusty Dawson with his youth, his relationship with Jessica Marberry and Military. With this being the first book in a new series, it's no brainer that you'd get backstory on Trusty, but mix in Rancher Calhoun, Amelia and Michael Darby, set in Indian Territory mostly, the Guardsmen and you get a pretty entertaining read.

Must say that U.S. Marshal Trusty Dawson is a real likable character, you get to see he's human, relatable for the reader and don't want to give too much away!

Although I do think that up to the last 100 pages you got a gem of a read, then the author kind of kills it by pushing the easy button and you get another piece into the puzzle of whose one of the ghost writers for the Johnstone estate.

The first in a new series. As the first in a new series, I will be interested in the next book. I'm not sure how I feel about the main character or his backstory, but the next book may increase my interest.

Read in September.

I'm finding that I'm in the midst of another mini-reading binge of books set in the American West, and one of the best authors to read is Spur Award-winning Larry D. Sweazy. This first Trusty Dawson book, Lost Mountain Pass, takes us from 1860s St. Louis and Trusty's youth to 1880s Indian Territory where U.S. Marshall Sam Dawson has earned the nickname everyone calls him by being utterly trustworthy and dependable.

Sweazy's setting has you slapping off the trail dust, hearing the jingle of spurs, and knowing that your life may very well depend on how observant you are of people and your surroundings. There's more going on than a simple manhunt to put Trusty's life in danger, and as his backstory is woven into the story, the danger he's in becomes palpable. There are two very dangerous men after Dawson, and the shadowy Michael Darby with his reluctance to talk makes you wonder if there's a third. And as far as characters are concerned, Sweazy introduces a female Apache scout named Woman's Clothes that I definitely would love to see more of.

With its fast pace, authentic setting, very real sense of danger, and amusing turns of phrase ("...took to wearing suits like a lizard dancing on ice" and "...face that looked like it had been used to rake gravel"), Lost Mountain Pass is an extremely satisfying read. In the next book in the series, Trusty will be heading to North Dakota, and I think I'll just mosey right along with him.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

U. S. DeputyMarshal Sam “Trusty” Dawson is assigned to bring Judge Gordon Hadesworth home after the outlaw Darby brothers have been "hanged until dead".

Good story, lots of action and excitement. I like the way Dawson is written and characterized, a believable character just trying to live his life the best way that he can. I look forward to the next in series.

4☆

in Larry Sweazy's Book One of the Trusty Dawson US Deputy Marshall series, Lost Mountain Pass, Trusty Dawson is a US Deputy Marshall with a long history of law enforcement prior to the US Marshalls. He’s good with his guns and always trusted with the most challenging jobs. One of his claims is that he's never lost someone he was guarding. But this last one, guarding the judge who convicted three villainous brothers to hang, might be the one that changes all that (no spoilers). Not only does Trusty end up ferrying the hated daughter of these three brothers to a new beginning but unknown to him, someone who hates him more than they love justice has placed a bounty on his head that is attracting a passel of bounty hunters:

"Don't matter who set the bounty. You stirred up a twister of hate for one reason or another."

I won't tell you much more because you need a few surprises in this Western saga but there were some items that bothered me. One: In most westerns, the cowboys love their horses, consider them a best friend. Not Trusty. He recognizes the importance of a horse to his livelihood as a Marshall but that’s it. To him, a good horse is replaceable with another good horse. This is not a problem with the story. It’s simply my disappointment with the main character who I had hoped to love. Where I had a problem with the story was the second item: Sweazy adds a lot of review to the story, reminding me what happened and why, which slows the action. Westerns are known for their bias for action and non-stop excitement. All this reflection made me want to jump ahead. That’s where it lost a star.

Overall, a good enough story but I'm not sure I'll read Book 2.

FINALLY! A fresh new voice, and a fresh story for Westerns! THANK you Larry - this was not only a riveting read, but one I'm going to look forward to following for hopefully a LONG time!

"Lost Mountain Pass" by Larry Sweazy is a book destined to hold your attention from the first paragraph. It has a device that some like and others abhor – using separate story lines to connect characters and even times. To maintain a connection, it is necessary that the reader checks the beginning note at each chapter.
There are at least four storylines and three timelines that you need to follow to make most sense of the book. As you might expect, they eventually do get wound together in an interesting story.
The story follows a kid through first love to becoming a man in Army to becoming a Deputy US Marshal with many twists and turns along the way. There is love and betrayal at spots along with several unexpected twists and turns in the plotline including murder of a judge and a family of three Darby brothers who get hung. Lots of happenings to keep the reader’s interest.
There is a surprising ending that leaves open the next volume in the series…but it is good for the many readers who have gotten to the end and will want to know what’s next for Deputy Marshal Sam “Trusty” Dawson.

A captivating story!

The first in a brand new series, Lost Mountain Pass is about finding justice. Shortly after the outlaw Darby brothers are hung, Trusty takes back the sister of the hung brothers and Judge Hadesworth. However, things are not as you would imagine when they are ambushed. Was it a trap? Who was involved? Trusty must find answers and soon.

With the help of Father Darby, Trusty takes on the quest to find Amelia who may have been the mastermind behind the ambush. Their journey turns deadlier when Trusty begins to doubt Father Darby's real intentions for joining the party.

Very well crated characters and overall interesting plot.