Dewey MacKenzie ends up in trouble with a rider who works for the man who runs the town, afterwards, he needs a place to stay and recover he is taken in by a brother and sister who own a ranch outside of town. when they decide to take their cattle to market he goes along as the cook on the wagon train. he is also expecting trouble and is wanting to help and protect. A good story.

I love the thought of Western books and movies but I rarely find one that I actually enjoy. I’m not sure what the disconnect is for me, still trying to figure that out.

Jumping into this story, being in the middle of a series, probably wasn’t the wisest decision but here we are.

This was just an ok read but what I loved about this story was that this is exactly the kind of western my Dad loved!

There is no such thing as a bad Johnstone western. Each series is built around main characters whose belief in the law and family is absolute, even if they've had to be reformed to get there. From Preacher, the original mountain man to the Jensen family to Perly Gates, to.....well, you get the point. Many times, characters from one series will show up in another as supporting hands. The communities are true to the era, clothing, guns, food and troubles are all what you'd find if you looked them up in the history books. No two stories are the same, each character or set of characters is unique and so are their stories. The writing is skillful, readers are pulled into the story and you will laugh and cry right along with the characters. I made the mistake of picking up a Johnstone western my uncle was reading. Ive been hooked ever since. Now I share them with my reading family and will continue as long as new Johnstones are released.

Biscuits and Gravy
by William W. Johnstone; J.A Johnstone
Pub Date: December 28, 2021
Pinnacle Books
* western
Chuckwagon Trail #4
Westerns are very popular at our library and I have read very few so I was drawn to this one. Biscuits and Gravy is part of the Chuckwagon Trail series that I haven't read before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But it was Johnstone, so I had some idea of what I might find within its pages--a kind of "ah shucks" Western that leaves a good feeling behind. I can see why our readers enjoy these books.
Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for letting me try out a new genre for me.
4 stars

Biscuits and Gravy is part of the Chuckwagon Trail series, by William W. Johnstone. I thought it was good. I am giving it four stars.

Not my usual genre and I'd not read any of the preceding books but I enjoyed this for what It was- a character study combined with a chase. Mac is on the run, hiding in plain sight as a cook on a chuckwagon but he can't stop himself from helping others. The bad guys are after him, he's got to evade them. It's atmospheric and engaging. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm betting Johnstone's fans are really going to like this one.

Biscuits and Gravy by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is another great western with Mac Mackenzie in the lead. Once again he gets involved in a cattle trail and has to avoid getting caught up with the troubles that started in New Orleans. This adventure has all the parts that make up a traditional western, good guys and bad guys and shootouts. What I found good in this series is the weight on the chuckwagon driver. It is always great when a new angle on the old west is presented. As always I must thank @kensingtonbooks @netgalley #Pinnacle for giving me this advance copy and @williamw.j.a.johnstone for writing it. #NetGalley #Kensington #BiscuitsAndGravy #WilliamWJohnstone #JAJohnstone #Western #aChuckwagonTrail

Biscuits and Gravy, A Chuckwagon Trail Western
by William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone
Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 978-0-7860-4426-9
The story starts in a bar in Harcourt City, Montana. Dewey Mackenzie, or Mac, who is just passing through town, is at the local bar. He hears the crack as the barmaid, Becky Lewis slaps an abusive drunk, Jerry Lee, for his perverted actions. When he attempts to retaliate, it leads to a confrontation with Mac. That night Jerry Lee and his two cohorts attack and beat Mac in his hotel room. Becky takes Mac to her ranch to heal, but along the way, they are again attacked by Jerry Lee. To save the Standing L, Lewis's ranch, Becky and her brother decide to have a cattle drive to some miners they know will pay top dollar. Mac, with his experience as a chuckwagon cook, will help them.

But more is going on. Mac is a hunted man, accused of murder by the man who committed the crime. This accusation has stirred up interest by sheriff departments, and Mac even has a detective agency tracking him. Also, Oscar Harcourt wants control of Harcourt City and the surrounding area, the city his father helped establish. He does not want the Lewises to succeed. This all spells trouble along the way as adventure and danger follow the cattle drive.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Keningston Publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are a fan of western stories this one is for you. It has it all the handsome cowboys, the beautiful damsel in distress, the roundup and of course the villains. All of these are the recipe for a really enjoyable story. It was predictable but I really enjoyed the scenario. It kept me engaged until the very end and I believe that western readers will love it. This is the latest book in the Chuck Wagon Trail series and it does not disappoint.

I was looking for a different genre to read and chose this one. This was a new to me author and I enjoyed being drawn into the western scenes complete with chuck wagons and cattle drives.

I understand this book is a part of a series by this author and will have to look for his other books. I feel the book is great for a person who wants to become a part of the western genre.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest opinion and review.

After protecting a young woman’s honor at the local watering hole, Mac gets bushwhacked in his hotel room and ends up on the wrong side of a powerful man.

Harcourt is after the land owned by the rescued woman’s brother, and he won’t quit until he gets it. Surrounded by his band of no-good thugs, and with the town in his pocket, the siblings have no choice but to raise funds with a cattle drive. They ask Mac to come along, and soon the trio are fighting more than the heat and sweat of the ride.

This was an engaging read. I would have liked the settings to be described with more depth, and some of the dialogue felt contrived, but overall, a good read!

Biscuits and Gravy is part of the Chuckwagon Trail series that I haven't read before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But it was Johnstone, so I had some idea of what I might find within its pages--a kind of "ah shucks" Western that leaves a good feeling behind, even though it doesn't move any Western boundaries forward. And that's what I found. This is an enjoyable, if somewhat predictable story that moves its primary character a little farther west on his quest to reach California. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys this particular subset of the Western genre.

Interesting bit of work is this one. I'm not typically a "mystery" in my western fan, but this was pretty wonderful. I'm enjoying Dusty and the chuckwagon aspect of the story. I will be sharing this one with some of my favorite patrons for sure!

The main character of William Johnstone's Chuck Wagon Trail series, Dewey 'Mac' MacKenzie, drifts from town to Western town trying to escape charges for a crime he didn’t commit. He works what jobs he can find and is pretty good as the chuckwagon cook for trail drives. He is between jobs, having a beer in a western bar owned by an Irishman while he tries to figure what to do next when he rescues a barmaid about to be clocked by a drunk patron. The patron doesn't like being interrupted and attacks Mac later with several of his buddies, leaving Mac severely Injured. The barmaid--Becky, and also the owner of a local ranch--takes him to her ranch and nurses him back to health. As a thank you, Mac agrees to run her chuck wagon on her first-ever cattle drive. But his past is chasing him as is the present. He must take care of his obligations as cook while avoiding the men chasing him. Mac is always clever in how he solves problems which makes for an interesting story with lots of old west mixed in. 

The only part that annoyed me was the high volume of introspection on the part of the characters, constantly pondering their ideas, examining decisions, evaluating choices. They’re interesting but in this case, so frequent they slowed the action down. Still, I'd recommend it to those who enjoy good ol' Western stories.

The Johnstone organization have another hit on their hands in the book entitled "Biscuits and Gravy." This one introduces a new character named Dewey (Mac) MacKenzie, at least new to this reader, . Mac seems at first like a regular drifting cowhand. But there are things lurking in his past including being wanted for murder in New Orleans.

His introduction comes after stopping in a saloon in Harcourt City for a drink and then stepping in to keep a very pretty girl, Becky, from getting punched by a ne'er-do-well local cowboy/tough. This leads to a fight and a confrontation with the law. Things happen as might be expected in any western novel. Good guys and bad guys, but in this case is the supposed good guy also a murderer?

After some revenge-taking by the local toughs, Mac is helped back to health by the aforesaid young woman and her brother, Marcus, who own a ranch and he ends up helping them organize a cattle drive. Cattle drives are notoriously hard and this one is no exception and is filled with adventures. Mac is a heck of a chuck wagon cook and keeps the crew in good eats.

But other things intervene including a detective out to arrest Mac on murder charges. When it seems as if things might be settling down the "big dog" in the little town where Mac started -Oscar Harcourt--makes a play to take over the herd, ranch, and pretty Miss Becky..

A good character for the Johnstone conglomerate to focus more on in future stories. The adventure is first rate and made for a very enjoyable read.

“Mac” MacKenzie, lover of justice, but himself, is just a drifter on the run, being falsely accused of a murder he didn’t commit.

After shortly arriving in a new town, Mac saves a Becky (A woman working in a saloon) one afternoon from being mishandled and beaten, only to find himself later ambushed and severely beaten by hidden thugs waiting in his hotel room. Thus starts a chain of events that includes Mac, Becky, Marcus (Becky’s brother), and a handful of their friends, verses a very corrupt and greedy individual (Oscar Harcourt) who throws his pompous reputation around, and can pay lots of cash for a tirade of thugs to cause extreme trouble. At the end of the hard working cattle drive, a plot to take over the entire herd of cattle is hatched by Harcourt, and he intends to scoop up all the cash generated from the sale.

The cattle drive will be momentous, and Mac, along with the few in the chuck wagon party, will be serving up a heck of a lot more than biscuits and gravy, with a couple of surprises and an ending I didn’t quite expect.

As a side note: I love the cover choice for this book!

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - highly recommended to those who enjoy the Western genre.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mild-mannered cook or elite gunslinger? The Johnston legacy continues with a great western tale with a rich bad guy and his thugs trying to have their way and take land away from hard-working, honest settlers.