The Angry Land by William and J John stone is the sixth book in the SmokeJensen’s Siri‘s in the book smoke comes up with the grand plan to send their cattle on the new railroad as a pose to driving the steers all the way to Abilene and the other ranchers agree and vote him as the guy who will see them to their destination. Unfortunately while smoke is at the meeting Miss Sally injured herself on a Bucking Bronc and smoke knows if he goes on the train she will get up before the doctors recommendation and be injured for life, so he asks fellow rancher Mr. Dixon to go in his stead. Something Mr. Dixon feels honored to be asked he even lets Pinky go with him. Unfortunately while in route with the cattle the train is stopped in the cattle or taken something smoke doesn’t let go by the wayside. Unlike other ranchers he sets out to get their cattle back but first he’s going to have to find out who took them. It isn’t long after smoke starts investigating that someone tries to stop him and it takes even less time for them to realize there’s no stopping SmokeJensen’. Of course like all Johnstones books there’s much more to the story this book is a great example as to why I love the Smoke Jensen Siri‘s and all the books associated with it smoke is tenacious when he needs to be in loves just as fierce in both sides are shown in this great sixth book in the SmokeJensen’s series. If you love westerns then you should already be reading these books.#KensingtonBooks, #NetGalley,#William and Jay Johnstone, #TheAngryLand, #SmokeJensen’,

Another good Smoke Jensen book. Here he sets up to send his cattle along with some other ranchers in the area only for them to be stolen. After he hears about it he decides to go off and find the men who stole his and the other's cattle. He feels responsible for his friends losing their money. The story is fast-paced and has Smoke finding and joining the gang of rustlers. A really 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.

In William Johnstone's The Angry Land, (Pinnacle Books 2024) Book 6 of the Smoke Jensen series, Smoke Jensen, reformed outlaw and now respected rancher, is being squeezed by increasing costs for shipping his cattle to market. It's a problem all of the local ranchers are struggling with. Smoke comes up with a plan to merge the herds of several ranches in the Big Rock area and sell them as a group to get a better price from the buyers. He plans to ramrod the operation from negotiating the terms to getting the huge herd to market but his wife, Sally, is injured trying to tame a green horse and he passes the leadership mantle to a good friend and fellow rancher. Disaster strikes and the herd is stolen from the train, killing Smoke's friend, injuring one of his ranch cowhands, and a passel of innocents who happened to be on the train. Smoke takes it personally and follows the trail of the owlhoots to Abilene where he hopes to seek revenge for his friends and justice for his fellow ranchers.

Another excellent book in the Jensen family universe, as good as any in the Smoke Jensen series.

I have been a fan of the Smoke jensen series since I discovered it many years ago and although it has had it's ups and downs it is still an entertaining western. The Angry Land is all about cattle rustling and this time Smoke meets a couple of gents that has their own series, The Range Detectives. William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone keeps producing western series in a pace I no longer can keep up with so I wont even try to read them all. Some are good and some are great and some are just, why. This is one of the better and I thank Pinnacle Books Kensington and Netgalley for letting me read this advance copy.

A Smoke Jensen novel that has some of the most originality in it in a decade.

The book travels two roads with different characters. Each building the same story from different angles. As the trails converge, the elements mix and stirs a well written tale that has a mystery angle that doesn't occur in the 'Mountain Man' series.

This new series is a refreshing look at Smoke. He almost never has the opportunity of his monkey trick of a gun seeming to appear in thin air as the target is unerringly punched through. This book almost seems a non-Smoke book that was for another character.

The buddy-buddys could also be any of the various buddies in Johnstone Clan books. There are so many and thee two portrayed here have the Johnstone mark, but are forgettable. I'm finding that true as I bound into the newest 'Frontier Stagecoach' book and realize how much the various buddies are alike.

An odd note is that, though the book is all about an enormous amount of cattle, the cattle are nearly missing in the book, even when found.

Still this volume does well with it's mix of characters, mystery and gun play. The plotting is well done as so many pieces and parts are strewn and then put together. Well worth the reading.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 out of ten points.
This book made available via NetGalley.com.

Following Smoke Jensen and his exploits is always fun. In this particular episode, Smoke convinces his fellow ranchers to band together and ship their cattle rather than driving them to Abilene. This will be less expensive, faster, and safer. Plus it will earn the ranchers more per head of cattle.

What the ranchers do not count on is a bunch of train robbers who decide to waylay the train and steal the cattle and then drive them to the Dakota Black Hills where there is a very high demand for beeves...plus the wherewithal to pay for it! As it turns out this is not the first time this has occurred and some of the Cattlemen's Association in Texas are on the case.

The men that Smoke and the other ranchers sent to be their spokesmen/negotiators come under fire as the train rustlers take over the combined herds. Two of the men are killed and the third is badly wounded. Smoke is not about to allow this to go unanswered.

So off he goes to Abilene and here begins the adventures of him, railroad superintendent Red Winters, and the Cattlemen's Association detectives versus the outlaws and maybe an inside person supplying the information for the rustlers! High adventures happen and not everything goes according to plan.

Questions abound: Will Smoke and crew prevail without further loss of life or cattle? Will they be able to avenge the dead men? How will they deal with the large band of rustlers and how will they uncover the inside agent? All of these are good questions and if you are interested you will have to read this very entertaining and fast-paced story. I definitely recommend it.