The Hanging Party is the first book in the new Texas Lightning book series by William W Johnstone and J a Johnstone. After Jonathan Gage gets in a fistfight with a drunk father he goes to town to drink it off and while joking with a stranger he gets called out by him and finds his self in a gun fight. This is how gauge turns in to Texas Lightning because what Gage didn’t know was that this man was a gunslinger and a well-known one at that. Gauge is told to leave town and it seems gossip and legend travel further than Gage‘s horse because his reputation only grows until the day he gets in a show down with a small man despite Gages protest the man refuses to yield and after the fight he learns the person he killed is a woman. This affects gauge in the worst way because despite being competent and a man who can take care of his self he is also intelligent with a sensitive side that cannot take the notion he harmed a female. He throws his guns down and continues traveling but ultimately doesn’t care what happens to him. That is until he travels to the town of Newel and gets a job with a rattlesnake named Delano. A short pudgy piglet of a man who talks to everyone is it there his employees he is unscrupulous with no sense of humanity or care for anyone but himself and his wealth. Gauge mind his own business until he sees Delanos only two other employees beating up an old scrappy guy name Mr. Cooley who works for the only other freight company in town and this is win Gage decides to get involved. It doesn’t take long for Gage to quit his employment with Delano to go and work for free with Mr. Cooley and his boss Miss Molly. It is on the first freight trip that they learn Delano has hired killers after him and Mr. Cooley. Will Jake once again pick up the gun to defend him self or will Delano be the one on top in the end? Anyone who reads the Johnstone novels knows the answer to those questions. I really liked this book but what I didn’t like is the tentative attraction with an air to possible romance between Gage and Miss Molly only for it to end the way it did. Also there weren’t that many gun fights in the book it’s mainly about the story but it was definitely a great story there were still those moments where you think how is he going to get out of this… And then the great way he gets out. I do want to say I have no idea why it’s titled the hanging party because there’s not a party or hanging anywhere in the book. I love Johnstone westerns and this was a great one I say that all the time because it’s true. No one can beat a Johnstone western with great men to route four I definitely recommend this book it’s an awesome western about the wild wild West. #NetGalley, #KensingtonBooks, #WilliamWJohnstone,#J a Johnstone, #Texas lightning, #the hanging party,

The Johnstone group has another good series going with this one about Jon Gage aka Texas Lightening. He grew up in a trying situation living with an alcoholic father after his mother had gone. He was a sensitive boy and not one that his father understood. One of the things that Gage got good at was wielding a gun.

It wasn't that he liked doing it but it seemed to come his way even when he tried to avoid it. He developed a wide-ranging reputation as the Texas Lightening, which is where he hailed from. After being on his own he got rid of the family farm since there was little equity left in it and moved on. But that pesky reputation followed him and there was always someone who thought they were faster on the draw...not!!

It came to a head in one of the dusty trail towns when once again he was called out and then after he was the faster draw he was forced into a killing to save his own life. The set Jon on a different path and he tried to hid form his past as he never wanted to kill again.

Enter a drying up mining town, a crooked freighter, some hired guns, and an evil wanna-be business tycoon and you find Jon in the next chapter of his life. He has been successful in not wearing or drawing a gun for several years but here the evil was so strong and he was determined to help right some wrongs. This is the thrust of this story: the clash of his desire to help versus his self-imposed restrictions on using his gun. Which part of Jon will win and what will be the consequences for whichever course of action he takes? Herein lies the story and it is a good onw and one I definitely recommend very highly. I look forward to reading more about Jon Gage and he struggles with his past and his future.

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.

This new series from Johnstone, Texas Lightning, features Jon Gage, a reluctant gunslinger whose reputation grows almost against his will. He has a difficult childhood with an alcoholic father that lays the foundation for so much of what he becomes. In this Book 1, The Hanging Party (Pinnacle 2024), we see what built the shootist's reputation, how he lives off of his name while trying to avoid gunfights despite being forced into them by those who wish to claim credit for killing him, the best of the best, and others enraged because he killed someone they loved. Then, we find out which fight made him unbuckle his guns and lose himself as a saddle tramp and bum, intent on getting through life with occasional jobs and no relationships, always fleeing when people figure out who he used to be. That changes in the town of Newel. At first, he takes a job to make enough money to survive, move on, but his new boss is a crook. He wants to ignore that, take his money and move on, but he's already bonded somewhat with the good folks of Newell. No matter that he wants to leave them to their fate, he can't. The ending will surprise you.

This is a good story, but a bit slow, somewhat dour, and leans toward dark. Still I was never tempted to stop reading. It's not the typical Western so definitely recommended for those who like to read outside the lines.

Jon Gage is a new character in this new series from William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone called Texas Lightning. It is an ok western but I don't think I will follow it since I felt it wasn't all there. The concept is great with the main character and it can be a great series but how many times can he pick up a gun to save the day? I thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this advance copy.