Another good book this time with different characters for me. Will Tanner wants to work on his ranch and be with his wife Sophie, but he is called by a judge to go into Indian territory to arrest and stop the illegal sales of whiskey. the man he is going after it turns out is the brother of the man he killed, which makes this all just a better story. A very good book.

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.

Just another great work based on the past writings of William W Johnstone. While I find many of these pale with his original work, this one is exceptional! Thank you!

Will Tanner, Deputy US Marshal, when not hunting, arresting, or escorting prisoners, spends a good many hours putting illegal whiskey sellers out of business. In this book, Will discovers a store illegally selling liquor to Indians. After further investigation with his friend, and after a small battle, Will burns the illicit liquor store to ashes as an example.

Later, upon arriving at his home office, he's given the task of escorting a prisoner. But as usual, not all is as it seems, and Will is dragged into playing detective to prove the prisoner innocent.

This book was very interesting, and I look forward to reading further adventures of Will Tanner.

Thanks to netgalley.com and Kensington Publishing for the advance ARC copy for my honest review.

One of my favorite niches in the Western genre is the lawman novels, with 'The Violent Storm' it checks off every box, as to what you would want in Western Lawman yarn.

Arguably, the seven book Will Tanner series, is the best of the new series published by the William W. Johnstone's estate. It helps although it's ghost written, the spur winning writer has left his finger prints all over the writing, you can't hide his writing style, being a fan of his, got every release either in my library or on my Kindle and well done Chucky.

Will Tanner a rancher, he came to the aid of a U.S. Deputy Marshall, that's how he became one, he's unassuming, tough, honest, cunning, you don't want him on your trail and he works out of Fort Smith, for Judge Parker "The Hanging Judge".

In 'The Violent Storm', he travels into Indian Territory with the help of Tribal Police, he shuts down illegal whiskey sales, investigates cattle rustling eliminating the problem, even the border of Texas won't stop him from arresting outlaws he pursues, he's cunning aiding him to outsmart a hired killer and like he's married to Sophie.

Definitely do read this one, it's great escapism in what's going on in todays World and check out Spur Award Author Charles G. West's books. If you haven't yet.

This is an oddity out of the Johnstone Corral. After reading some 200 Johnstone books, this one has two distinctions: Slim characters and plodding writing. It's not awful, but boring is not far from description. There's far too much, "Hello, how are you?" and "What's for supper?". The action is near an afterthought. A shooting here and there. Brief. On to more, "Hello, how are you?".

The writing is OK. Plotting is not a focus in this one. This meanders from the previous book, I haven't read, and, I guess, will meander to the next installment. The meandering is written rather flatly, very unusual for a Johnstone book. There is no spark here for the character or much else. The book is not a dismal disaster. Just a plain story of a lawman and some encounters along the way. This does read more of a western taking into account current mindsets of lessened violence and more touchy-feely interactions - with some typical western lingo included.

The book wasn't to my liking and I hope more in the series strays back into the solid Johnstone characterizations and plotting. I've continued on to 'Dead River', in the Jackals series, and in a few pages read the Johnstone touch this one is missing.
I realize I may not like it, but others may, as it's not a terrible book and I may have read too many Johnstones to have me judge this beyond other approaches to westerns.

Bottom line: I don't recommend the book for me, but others may like it (first time I've written a bottom line like that). 5 out of 5 points.

The Violent Storm is a great addition to Johnstone's Will Tanner series. I really liked it and am giving it four and a half stars.

Will Tanner US deputy marshal is back in The Violent Storm by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone. This one is one of the better ones in the series it has been a little up and down through the adventures. Still it's a western and I like those. The storyline in this book has many strange twists and that makes it entertaining to read. There are all kinds of crime going on in the territories and Will has to go back and forth to fight evil. At the same time he has to deal with the fact that he's newly married and she doesn't like to be left alone. He also have the opportunity to leave the service and go back to his ranch but is unvilling to do so. This has most of the ingredients you want in a good western and I thank @kensingtonbooks @netgalley and #Pinnacle for giving me this advance copy and @williamw.j.a.johnstone for writing it. #NetGalley #Kensington #TheViolentStorm #WilliamWJohnstone #JAJohnstone #Western #WillTanner

US Deputy Marshall, Will Tanner gets involved in another adventure that starts in Oklahoma Territory, called the Indian Nations, in this new novel named “The Violent Storm” by the Johnstone Conglomerate (William and J.A.). The action starts with the capture of a felon who is illegally distributing liquor to natives of the Choctaw nation. Selling alcohol in the Indian Nation area is not allowed.

The capture of Resse Painter is only the beginning of the adventures in this book. The other action packed activities include capturing an escaped prisoner, thwarting some cattle rustling, arresting numerous prisoners, and discovering that not all witnesses tell the truth.

Tanner is a good Deputy US Marshal who has recently gotten married and his wife is not totally in favor of his being gone for long periods. This causes him some concern in his job. His boss tries to keep him assigned closer to Fort Smith, AR where judge Roy Parker, aka “the Hanging Judge” presides.

Lots of typical Western adventures in this book that will hook any avid Western aficionado. Definitely recommend it but it is not for a reader who doesn’t like a good amount of death and crime although the good guys come out on top.