A new series with a US Marshall who takes his job seriously. True to an era where guns and violence often ruled the law, this story has enough action to keep even die hard western lovers turning those pages.

Terrence McCauley is up there with the rest of the great authors of the wild west. He gives you unique characters along with a unique storyline. Jeremiah Halstead is a deputy United States marshal of mixed parentage. His father is white while his mother is Mexican, giving him the dark complection of a "breed". Which, in the times of the wild west, was a target to be discriminated against. Having to live and survive in the wild west with dark skin has made Halstead into a tough fighter, and because of that, he is tasked with bringing in the leader of the Hudson gang, John Hudson. With an angry gang after him on his way to the town of Helena, Halstead stops at the town of Silver Cloud for an overnight stay, using the jail as a base. Unfortunate, this brings him head to head with the sheriff, Boddington, and his bully deputies, who give him a hard time about his skin color. After having to break a few bones, Deputy Marshal Halstead and Sheriff Boddington must work together to survive a siege by the Hudson gang, and to bring John Hudson back alive to stand trial for his crimes. This isn't so simple, because Ed Zimmerman, "who was just as bad as John Hudson himself," has taken his boss' place as head of the gang.

Terrence McCauley has created a unique character in US Deputy Marshal Jeremiah Halstead. In a time where racial discrimination is a hot topic, Terrence McCauley has brought us a character who fights for his rights and works an honorable job in a time where being dark skinned was not an asset. I liked reading this book and look forward to reading more about deputy Halstead's adventures.(4+ stars)

Blood on the Trail by Terrence McCauley
Jeremiah Halstead #1

Having read and five-starred a previous book by this author, I was more than willing to read this one next. I did see a few names from that previous book but they did not play a big part in this one. I have to say this story took time to warm up to and left me with questions I would like to have answered about the main character, where he came from, his past, why he was in prison, how he could become a Deputy Marshall if he had been in prison and those questions made me wonder if he was introduced in a previous book that I had not read. And yet, this is book one in Jeremiah Halstead’s series so what book did I miss?

The story starts out on the run, literally, with Halstead and the bad guy he was tasked with bringing in tide over a saddle. Shortly there after there is a standoff with shooting and death and then some more riding. When Halstead gets to Silver Cloud, his orders change and he finds himself stuck in town for reasons unknown, people out to get him, a murder to solve, bigots and braggarts to deal with, the gang trying to free the man he is taking to justice, and a whole lot more going on.

As with most Westerns, you will find the gambler, saloon, ladies of the night, a man who thinks he owns the town, peace keepers that are not always on the side of the law, and a man who stands out in the crowd due to his fast guns, mighty fists, and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done.

There is violence, blood, bigotry, and more. I wasn’t sure that I actually would warm up to the character or his story but by the end of the book I came away feeling I might give the second book in the series a try as I still do want to know more about Jeremiah and what he was doing in prison for three years.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington – Pinnacle Westerns for the ARC – this is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

I wanted to love this, I REALLY did, but I just didn't. Slow and dry, I struggled with the prose and pace both.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.
Terrence McCauley started out writing thrillers, but has now made a name for himself writing Westerns.
Blood on the Trail is the first book in a new series starring Deputy Marshal Jeremiah Halstead.
This book begins with Halstead being chased by the band of outlaws whose leader he has just captured. Things move quickly from there.
McCauley has a way with characters. He can make them come off the page. It seemed to me that every character had a distinct personality.
I enjoy kicking back with a Western and losing myself in a gunfight or two.
In that regard McCauley doesn’t disappoint. There were several gunfights.
With the Aaron Mackey series, the author started off strong. Here with the new Jeremiah Halstead series, I think he is going to shine.
If you like Westerns in general or gunfights in your books, then giving this series a chance would worth your time.

In Terrence McCauley's Blood on the Trail (Pinnacle Books 2022), first in the Jeremiah Halstead Western series, young Jeremiah Halstead is a new Deputy United States Marshall, tasked with bringing in the ten-member+ Hudson Gang, a brutal determined band of stone-cold killers who has been terrorizing citizens across Montana and farther. As the son of famed Sin Halstead, known for his grit, determination, and sense of justice, Jeremiah's reputation precedes him everywhere he goes. In a violent shootout between the gang and Jeremiah, he kills three of them and captures the leader. He plans to take him to the US Marshal HQ in Helena, but stops in the small town of Silver Cloud where he is told by his boss, the US Marshall, to wait for instructions. Waiting turns into a vicious battle where Halstead isn't sure who is on his side or against him.

This is a well-told story with excellent characters I look forward to enjoying in future stories. Highly recommended

Blood on the Trail is a fantastic story that combines many traditional western plot aspects in an unique and refreshing way. With a strong and interesting lead character in Jeremiah Halstead, this is going to be a series to watch.

Terrence McCauley deserves all the praise he's surely going to receive for this book.

Title: Blood on the Trail
Series: A Jeremiah Halstead Western, Book 1 of 2
Author: Terrence McCauley
Genre: Western
Publisher: Kensington Books, Pinnacle
Release Date: March 29, 2022
Format: Kindle (read), Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 311
Source: NetGalley
Cover: Well done. Catches the eye. Easy to read even in a thumbnail.

Description:
Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeremiah Halstead is taking the leader of the Hudson Gang for trial. But the gang is in pursuit. Surviving a shoot-out, Halstead holds up in Silver Cloud, Montana with his prisoner. The one-night stay stretches into several. And the Sheriff does not seem to be on the law’s side. For that matter, neither does the town? Why does his boss in Helena tell him to stay in Silver Cloud? Is he going to have to stand alone against the gang?

Review:
Gritty. That’s the one word that describes Blood on the Trail. This is not a ‘western romance’ — it’s a gritty Western with really bad guys and one known good guy. Some not so bad but none of them appear at first to be on Jeremiah Halstead’s side.

His job — find and bring in John Hudson, the leader of the notorious Hudson Gang. That job is Halstead’s first “official assignment as a deputy“. No pressure. Be aware, there is a lot more to learn about Jeremiah than being a Deputy U.S. Marshall.

This is a healthy-sized book as Jeremiah’s history is made known. But not all at once. Pieces are brought forth as the action moves. Even his pappy and grand-pappy are mentioned more than once.

When it says blood in the book title, be prepared as this wasn’t the days when rights were read. If you drew your gun, you better be faster than the other guy or be ready to meet your maker. Each member of the gang is met individually. The author, Terrence McCauley, does the same with all the characters. You find out more about them as the story moves along.

The pacing for this reviewer was a bit slow. However, the pace made it easy to keep the various characters straight.

I was hoping to REALLY like this author’s writing style but for this reviewer, there was just too much blood. It did fit the story. Just not right for me. If you like gritty Westerns, you will enjoy this well-developed book.

I received a complimentary e-ARC copy of Blood on the Trail via NetGalley from the publisher, Kensington Books, Pinnacle. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

#BloodOnTheTrail #NetGalley #TerrenceMcCauley

Blood on the Trail by Terrence McCauley is a brand new series about the new and young deputy marshal Jeremiah Halstead. He has moved from Texas to Montana and is bringing the leader of an outlaw gang to justice when trouble starts. I was surprised by the pace in this western and pleasantly so. I also fell in love withg the characters that McCauley has invented. In Jeremiah he has built a character that is good for many books and I would love to read more of them, there is already a second book announced. We also get some of his earlier character Aaron Mackey who happens to be Jeremiahs boss. I believe that some of the stuff referenced in the book is stories we can read about in the Aaron Mackey series. This is a well written western that I am fortunate to read and will definitely follow this series. I also love the attention to detail in this work. If you like me like westerns this is one I truly recommend that you try. I thank @kensingtonbooks @netgalley and #Pinnacle for giving me this advance copy and @terrencepmccauley for writing it. #NetGalley #Kensington #BloodOnTheTrail #TerrencMcCauley

Thanks to net galley.com and Kensington Publishing for an advance ARC copy for my honest review.

This was my first read from Terrence McCauley, really like his writing style a lot, definitely will check out his other writing and can't wait for the next Jeremiah Halstead novel. One of my favorite niches in the Western genre are the lawman ones, this one definitely checks off all the books you would want with that theme and then some.

You can't help but like Deputy U.S. Marshall Jeremiah Halstead, he's tough, damaged, smart, good with his guns and when he gets on your trail, your in trouble.

Enjoyed the setting of Montana, it has several twists and turns, an intertwining storyline in the sense that Jeremiah seems to keep running into characters that knew his father and add a good element to Blood on the Trail.

Due to the reader, gets a little back ground into him, made him more likable for me and it's a element by the author that makes this such a great read.

You have Deputy Marshal Halstead bring a gang leader back to Helena to be tried and hung, gets attacked by the gang, kills two of them, ends up holing up in the mining town of Silver Cloud, can't forget Cassie a prostitute with a plan who gets killed, easily could have been a character continue in other novels in this series and to know more. You'll have to read this one.

Definitely give the author Terrence McCauley a try, he's my new favorite author and wouldn't be shock too learn that he has written some of the novels for the William W. Johnstone brand.

Great book, by an author I will read more of! Thrilling plot, great writing and brilliant characters. Highly recommend to others.

“Blood on the Trail” by Terrence McCauley features a new protagonist named Jeremiah Halstead as a deputy US Marshal working in Montana Territory. The story begins in a traditional western story way. But it goes down quickly from just capturing a bad guy gang leader, John Hudson, and running from his gang of 10 ruffians determined to free him.

After some long range shooting takes out the younger brother of the captive,the deputy’s mustangs just outrange the gang’s horses. He moved into a nearby town called Silver Cloud.

The reader might think this would be the solution to Deputy Marshal Halstead’s issues. Alas, not true because this town, perhaps like many, is an “owned” town by a wealthy miner. Everything is focused on making the mining owner happy and being the least inconvenienced.

Halstead has a temper and does not back down from anyone…including the “owned” town marshal. This is just the first of the confrontations he meets head on. There are numerous sub stories going on in Silver Cloud which present a growing conundrum for the deputy marshal.

The gang would like to have their leader back and indulges in a number of ploys to retrieve him. Eventually they plan to storm the town and here the fun begins. If a reader is squeamish this might not be the book for you; however, if you like some straight out of western fiction gunfights, you’ll enjoy the book.