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.

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 Fire of Blackstone'' it checks off every box, as to what you would want in Western Lawman yarn.

It's the fourth novel in the Buck Trammel, written by a Ghostwriter for the estate of William W. Johnstone. It's not a standalone novel, you'll have to read the three other books in the series, for the best reading experience and to better understand the storyline.

Trammel is a former bouncer, who is the Sheriff in the town of Blackstone, which is run by a man who forged his late father signature, takes over his entire estate or so that's what the rest of his sibling's say and Trammel finds himself trying to keep the piece between both sides. Don't want to give too much away, but sure I'll reread it after I get myself caught up in the series and will edit this review.

Buck Trammel is back trying to keep the peace in Blackstone in The Fires of Blackstone by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone. The whole clan of Hagen is gathering for a court hearing about the will that gave Adam all his fathers holdings. Buck is trying his hardest to balance right and wrong but he is offered a new job in Laramie and if he takes it hell will descend on the little town. This is a great little western with both action and humor. I must thank @kensingtonbooks @netgalley and #Pinnacle that gave me this advance copy and @williamw.j.a.johnstone for writing it. #NetGalley #Kensington #FiresOfBlackstone #BuckTrammel #WilliamWJohnstone #JAJohnstone

Picking up the Buck Trammel series novel “The Fires of Blackstone” by the Johnstone family trust, led to about what was expected in this next installment. If you haven’t read any of the series this is the latest installment of a NYC copy, cum Pinkerton, cum a sheriff in the Wyoming town of Blackstone. He has befriended a most unlikely “partner” named Adam Hagen.

Without giving this plot away, let it be said that these two have a most unusual relationship but one which has seen them save each other’s lives although there is not a lot of love lost over some aspects of the other partner. It could be said that they disagree without being too disagreeable.

In this installment there are Hagen family troubles stemming from earlier events and Adam is considered a real outsider in the family. Lots of money is at stake as well as the family power base. As you might expect there are some nefarious characters who want to use force to create their own storyline. Trammel gets involved in Blackstone as well as nearby Laramie.

An interesting read to see how the long time pards get along and on which side the Sheriff lands. Is law stronger than friendship or can they be compatible? Read this novel to see which wins out and to find out about the “fires” mentioned in the title.

I enjoyed reading the fourth book from the Buck Trammel by William W Johnstone and JA Johnstone, The Fires of Blackstone. I am giving it four and a half stars.