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.

A Hard Road to Vengeance was another fantastic read! The third in a series, I enjoyed this book as much as the others. The plot was great and kept me interested in the story.

Third in the series, that I accessed through NetGalley.com and the Johnstone Clan are clunking along with this series. I really like the combination of characters and the setting. Very strong characters I'd like to know more about. There's just something bugging me that this is written as if the reader is far more familiar with the series than we could be. This done by cobbling the tales of the characters as if there is a near irrational closeness that just doesn't add up in such a short time of involvement, as written. Sure, folks can get close quickly. But all of them?

This is also done with a brand new character that tags with 2 of the characters. Instead of questioning this character and wondering if all said is the truth, the character is treated like another sibling. A bit much. Especially with suspicions that everybody is gunning for "Stoneface".

The story and plot are a welcome diversion of so many Johnstone tales I've read. Search for a daughter into a very dodgy situation that split up the characters and further complications arise. Quite different from most Johnstone books. I like the pacing, too.

The dialogue is, as usual, lacking. This time more than most with all spouting Valley Girl lines at one time or other. Passive aggressiveness was hard to find in the U.S. wilds in the late 1800s. Prevalent in this book.

The series could be really great. It just needs a really good writer.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out of ten points.

Hard Road to Vengeance by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is another western in the series about ex Pinkerton Stoneface Finnegan. This series is a little repetetive about all the bad men after the bounty on Finnegans head. But it still presents some new twists to the old west stories. This time Rollie and Pops has to go to Deadwood and sort some things out and they sure don't use silk gloves. I must thank @kensingtonbooks @netgalley and #Pinnacle that gave me this advance copy and @williamw.j.a.johnstone for writing it. #NetGalley #Kensington #HardRoadToVengeance #StonefaceFinnegan

Johnstone's Hard Road to Vengeance is a fabulous addition to A Stoneface Finnegan Western series. Five stars.