Disturbing the Peace by Terrence McCauley
Jeremiah Halstead Western #2

Jeremiah Halstead may be a Territorial Deputy Marshall who brings in bad guys with bounties on their heads but as the story begins, he has more men trying to kill him than he needs, and it is all due to a wanted man putting a bounty on the lawman. Having to kill men is not his preferred activity but it beats dying. Will he survive? Will he be able to bring the bad guy in that put him in the crosshairs of so many guns? Or perhaps not?

What I liked:
* Jeremiah: young but seasoned, has a backstory that still has not been entirely revealed, is a sure shot, upholds the law, has a bit of a temper, follows the rules…even when he doesn’t want to, meets Abby who might be a future romantic interest
* Joshua: younger than Jeremiah, Deputy Marshall, works with Jeremiah, cautious, aware, capable, a nice counterbalance to Jeremiah, would like to know more about him
* The writing, setting, and plot
* McBride: Sheriff of Battle Brook, West Point graduate, capable, enjoys quiet, a good man
* Abigail: wealthy, young, educator, attractive and attracted to Jeremiah
* That it felt true to the era
* That it was twisted, dark, and gritty
* That there is the potential for what has gone wrong to come right in future books in the series
* Being invested in the story
* Knowing that there is another book to look forward to

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like – the bad guys were despicable, and I really want them thwarted

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing-Pinnacle – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

Thanks to netgalley.com and Kensington Publishing for an advance ARC copy for my honest review and I purchased also purchased it from amazon.com.

One of my favorite niches in the Western genre are the lawman ones, this one definitely checks off all the boxes 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.

'Disturbing The Peace', is set in Montana close to the territory becoming a state, has Jeremiah partnered with Deputy US Marshall Jerry Sandborne, they follow a lead in the hunt for outlaw Ed Zimmerman and head out for Battle Brook, a new mining town near Hard Scrabble.

Mix in winter, a wily town Marshall McBride, a pretty Lady, a clever scheme by Zimmerman, then outlaw Rob Brunet and his gang, add a lawyer, banker, mix in suspense, add a few twist and turns, a bunch of mine payroll robberies, a inside bank robbery job and it leads to one bizarre conclusion. Or the perfect set-up for 'The Revengers', the forthcoming 3rd book in the Jeremiah Halstead series.

The Author Terrence McCauley, is one of my favorite Western authors. If you're itching to give the genre a try, you can't go wrong starting with him and you get another piece into the puzzle of whose one of the ghost writers for the Johnstone estate.

I've been a fan of the western genre since my uncles started reading them to me as a child. I didn't get Disney stories, I got Louis LAmour. In the tradition of most of the great western authors, Terrence McCauly builds an entire community and populates it with characters that you'd find in an Old West town. This series is centered on Deputy US Marshal Jeremiah Halstead and his determination to bring the bad guys to justice. It's easy to picture the town of Battle Brook and I definitely got lost in the gun battles and chases that entailed. McCauley definitely earned his 5 stars with this one.

Disturbing the Peace is a sensational sequel in the Jeremiah Halstead series. With a character driven narrative, descriptive writing, and fantastic pacing… anyone who is a fan of drama and action should pick this book up immediately. McCauley definitely caught me off guard with the final twist and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeremiah Halstead is not a man accustomed to danger and gunplay. Though usually he’s dealing with criminals and outlaws. After the unfortunate events in Silver Cloud, Halstead finds himself swapping lead with everyday people looking to collect on an irresistible bounty put on the Deputy’s head. If keeping the peace wasn’t a hard enough occupation in the best of times, Halstead definitely has his hands full as he is ordered out to the edge of the territory to the town of Battle Brook where the local sheriff needs assistance handling a new group of criminals raising hell in the surrounding hills. The Deputy’s next fight will require every bit of brain as it will brawn if he is to survive.

Every good book needs a great villain and McCauley has crafted one of my favorites in Ed Zimmerman. Ruthlessness, cunning, and creative thinking in an outlaw is a deadly combination. Zimmerman helps push the story every bit as much as the protagonist. Half of the fun is seeing what traps and pitfalls Ed can come up with for Jeremiah. This book ends with an eye opening development and leaves one hell of a scenario going into book #3. I can only hope that McCauley writes as quickly as Halstead can draw his pistols.

I’ve read all the Westerns by Terrence McCauley.
I can definitely say that I’ve enjoyed all of them for various reasons.
Disturbing the Peace is the second book in the Jeremiah Halstead series.
This book has a bit of a slow start. I was afraid that it would fall victim to the dreaded Sophomore Slump. At least to my mind. That’s not saying it didn’t have its moments, it just took a while to find its stride.
Once it started moving, it was a freight train.
I’m sorry that I doubted Mr. McCauley’s ability to craft a good tale.
This book is definitely worth the read.

Terrence McCauley has gotten a good novel on his hands in "Disturbing the Peace." The novel pits US Deputy Marshal Halstead against a rather intelligent outlaw named Zimmerman. The interchange and planning that goes on between these two educated men is played out in the wilds of Montana. Like any good Western there is gun-play and deaths which occur...to be expected.

The novel is well written and the character development done to keep the reader engrossed in what is going to happen next. There are a few side plots like training a new deputy marshal named Sandborne and a love interest for Halstead,

The climax comes when a well-planned and executed robbery beings new life to a washed-up Montana town and its bank. Enter some nepotism and shady lawyer work and the scene is set for the conclusion of this novel and the writing of another in the series.

Good reading and had to put down.

In Terrence McCauley's second of the Jeremiah Halstead Western series, Disturbing the Peace, (Pinnacle 2022), Deputy US Marshal Jeremiah Halstead is sent by US Marshall Aaron Mackey to the Territory of Montana on another almost-impossible job of keeping the peace in post-Civil War US. The outlaw Ed Zimmerman is a man Halstead thought he'd killed, wished he had because he is one of the smartest, most conniving outlaws he's faced in his short career in law enforcement (Halstead is only 25ish). Zimmerman and his crew of about twelves lawless outlaws is robbing banks and using the money for a much bigger goal than just women and booze. Halstead has only his partner and a town sheriff to combat this group and he's pretty sure that won't be enough.

I know from reading Book 1 in this series, the Sheriff Aaron Mackey series, and several other of McCauley's Westerns that this author has the exemplary ability to weave multiple plot lines together and never lose sight of the story goal. Have you ever read a book and wondered what Plot X has to do with Plot Y and how the heck do they matter to the main Plot Z? You won’t say that with the Jeremiah Halstead series. It is fully featured and believable. I'm rooting for Halstead no matter his mistakes or problems. The only hiccup was a rather unsatisfying ending (no spoilers). It left me angry, but I hope it will be resolved in the sequel. Darn.

While I'm sure this is going to be a great series, there's not enough backstory to help THIS one make sense if you've not read the prior books, so I ended up feeling a bit lost though much of it.

Disturbing the Peace by Terrence McCauley is the second book in the new series with Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeremiah Halstead as the main character. This series is somewhat connected to the one about Aaron Mackey. Both good westerns but in this second book in this new series it felt a little lacking in the telling of the story. The first one was really great and I expected more from this one but still, it is a good western and we do like those. I find myself wanting to go back and read the other books related to the characters because it sounds like one hell of a story happened in the past that explains alot of the state of mind of young Halstead. I will without a doubt continue reading this series and thank #Netgalley #Pinnacle and #KensingtonBooks for giving me this advance copy of #DisturbingThePeace and #TerrenceMcCauley for having the fantasy to make this stuff up.