John Holt has cleaned up Devil‘s gulch since he has become the sheriff business is booming and the citizens are much happier or at least most of them. Tony Cassidy and John Coleman not so happy Pullman is sentenced to life in prison and because of that Tony Cassidy the owner of the blue bottle saloon has lost most of his extra income. not to mention the mayor he had he thought in his pocket is now dead thanks to Joe and his wife has taken over as mayor and intends to help the sheriff keep the streets of Devils Gulch clean. The sheriff gets a new sidekick when the US Marshalls cooks wagon throws a wheel and despite the sheriffs warnings the Marshall leaves without the old Cook name Dan who stays at the jail with the sheriff He is happy Dan is there however because he’s young deputy Jack open laugh without warning. As a matter of a fact it will be young jack who comes upon direct patty wagon in the dead Marshall While investigating the wreck he gets way laid by the now freed prisoners but thanks to his smarts he gets away in saved by the Family the prisoners were planning on invading. Soon Jack and the sheriff will be reunited in Joe and his fellow convicts will be on their way to Joe’s house outside of Devils Gulch. Joe believes no one knows they have a scape yet and he has a plan for the sheriff but when he arrives back home his wife has a surprise for him that changes Joe’s plan to include the judge the head banker and even the governor of Montana. I love these books they are like a western soap opera I think John Holt has the right attitude he is a great balance of kindness and stoicism I am so happy he is dating the owner of the Creole restaurant she seems so loving but more than that I love the gun fights the smart ways they get out of sticky situations that is a trademark to the Johnstone westerns. I want to think Kensington books and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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 NEW Johnstone series....it must be my birthday because it's definitely feels like a present to me! Meet John Holt, a man who fits right in with the rest of the Johnstone family. The town of Devil's Gulch will never be the same.

Shooting Iron by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone or whoever now writes these series is not the best bokk in this series, it took me forever to get into but then it was a quick read. I do love westerns but I don't think it's a good idea to produce so many every year. Still it had some great scenes and a few surprises. I must thank Pinnacle and Netgalley for letting me read this book.

This was a great book with wonderful characters and an engaging plot. I loved how the book played out and I would recommend it to others

Gripping and intense Western full of all that makes a good western. Good Cowboys and bad Cowboys, shootouts and lots of twists and turns that keep you hooked until the end. Good read.

This 2nd entry in the 'Devil's Gulch' series, is a bit of a drop from the first. The story is good and plotted out well. Unfortunately, there is a lot of repetitive narrative and dialogue that drags the book. A tighter approach would've made a great book.

The plot and story is a very good one. The characters very good. There are returning characters and new ones. The Henderson character was a good addition and added a layer that well aided the story.
The writing, setting aside the excess, is well done.

This book is a continuation of the first. However, a reader doesn't have to read the first to follow the story.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out of ten points.
I had access to this book via the NetGalley.com site.

Shooting Iron, William Johnstone's next in the Devil's Gulch series, continues the story of Sheriff John Holt's ongoing efforts to tame what at first blush seemed to be the untamable town of Devil's Gulch. Holt managed to arrest and convict the town leader, Mullen, in the prior book, but in this one, Mullen escapes with a gang of murderous thugs, intent on taking back what was stolen from him while getting revenge against not just Holt but the wife who turned on him.

Holt is a great character, moral and hard working, always sure of what he must do, which makes him almost predictable in what he'll do to stop the enemy. The story is full of action with lots of twists, but suffers in the area of plot pacing. It is often interrupted with backstory, internal thoughts, and emotional reactions. I wanted to hurry through those parts to see how the sizzling action would be resolved. I think with just a little less of that introspection, it would be a solid 5/5 story. Still though, others may not mind getting to know the characters in that way better, so I recommend it to those who love atmospheric westerns written by the master in the genre.

It was exciting to find there was another installment for Johnstone's The Devil's Gulch series,. Shooting Iron does not disappoint and a perfect addition to the series. Five stars.

I'm sure some will like this novel, but I cannot count myself among them. Of course, all the opinion expressed are mine as an avid reader and not meant to be what everyone might think.

First the story began very slowly and seemed, to me, to be disjointed. Finally the story seemed to level out and there were several good characters introduced. Some characters were unexpected when their backgrounds were described, like Bob the cook.

Once the story got going, it was not bad at all, but just as the ending was coming, the authors seemed to decide to leave the story incomplete and unfinished with a cliffhanger-like ending reminiscent of a serial book. I did not like this mode as I prefer an actual ending and not an implied one. Perhaps this works in an ongoing series but I don't like this method in Westrerns.

I normally really like the books coming out from the Johnstone group, but this is definitely not one of them.