Leaving Independence is the third book in the Go West Young Man series by William .A. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, Virgil is once again leading a group of travelers to the west i’m not gonna lie. This is my least favorite Johnstone series, but I did like the story of Clay and Matt. I felt bad for Anne, who was married to the alcoholic but all in all it’s still a Johnstone novel and still one I definitely recommend. #NetGalley, #KensingtonBooks,#WilliamJohnstone, #JAJohnstone, #GoWestYoungMan, #LeavingIndependence,

As some reviewers mention about promising titles, I really wanted to like this newest book with the Johnstones listed as authors. While the book explains, this book was written by somewhat of a "ghost" author, using notes and outlines on file in William Johstone's files written before his death.

Unlike the majority of Johnstone's work, this story focuses on a modest-sized group of settlers who traverse the Oregon Trail in search of the promised land. As the story progresses, readers do discover some hardships of the journey, with most being related to the trials and travails of crossing the many rivers along the Oregon Trail.

I would have enjoyed reading more varied accounts of the primary characters fighting with other aspects of the trip that took travelers more than 2,000 miles to complete. I could not help but believe that William Johnstone would have ramped up the danger aspects of these pilgrims. Yes, there was some evidence of lawlessness taking place, but there was little about disease or other accidents that were a part of the challenging route. Also, the ending of this book struck me as somewhat contrived, with all details wrapping up in a neat Western bow.

Typically, William Johnstone titles are highly sought after for advanced reviews. I was very pleased to be selected to receive this ARC and appreciate the publisher providing the opportunity for me to read more of the fictional tales of the west.

A pretty average book out of the corral of the Johnstone Clan. A couple of very good characters mixed in with a slew of others on still another wagon train story. Seems to me the Johnstone Clan should relegate wagon train stories to this series and not tack such similar tales to other Johnstone series. Such a storm of such tales in the past year has me expecting more.

The writing is fine, if not overdone. The characters are good, but not all up to Johnstone levels.
The settings are very well written. Plotting it pretty typical of a wagon train story and tamer than most.

As Johnstone westerns average above most westerns written, this one is average.

One very good nugget in the book involves disposal of bodies that i've not read before and found very practical and creative.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out of ten points.
Access to pre-review this book was via Natgalley.com, which i highly recommend.

The American Civil war was just over in 1865. A number of settlers were traveling Westwood to settle in new area called Oregon. A new a new life was what everyone was looking to find. The same is true for brothers, Matt, and Clay one of which was a farmer and the other was a newly mustered-out Lieutenant from the army.

As much as the war created problems, it also created a very capable young man named Clay, who was willing to meet the challenges of the cross country trip from independence, Missouri. Lots of things happened on a trail ride covering some 1800 miles from independence to Oregon city Oregon! The trip was a little unusual and that no one in this wagon train of about two dozen had any real problems, no lives were lost, no wagons were lost, or at least none were reported! This seems to be a very unusual occurrence because in a regular trip across the country, this was almost totally unheard of.

Perhaps it was due to Virgil Grissom, the wagon master, who was so good at his job that nothing happened. But that seems doubtful. But even so it was a great book, very enjoyable read and a very quick read learning about individualism as well as stick talkativeness about crossing the country. New people learning a new life thrust into a new environment that all is well, and Oregon city was naturally reached.

There were new friends they were new experiences. There were new ways that people looked at themselves. And all of this was good! I definitely recommend this bookas a good way to see the resilience of pioneers moving across our beautiful western states.

Go West Young Man by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is a nifty little series based on the wagon trains going across the country to Oregon. Leaving Independence is the third in this series and we get a great set of characters and a lot of difficulties on the way. It is apart from a couple of misstakes when it comes to weapons a good western, sadly it seems that most westerns deal with the same topic over and over again. I would love to see someone thinking outside the box. Still it has what you would expect and it's a couple of hours with entertaining reading. I must thank Netgalley and Pinnacle Books oh, and Kensington books as well for letting me read this advance copy. Out in stores in January.

William Johnstone's Leaving Independence (Pinnacle Books 2025) is another excellent old west story from the master of Westerns. This is Book 3 in the trilogy, Go West, Young Man, but easily stands alone as its own story (I hadn't read the earlier books and completely enjoyed this book, never felt lost). Leaving Independence is an excellent fictional account of the iconic 2,000 mile Oregon Trail journey taking by over 300,000 American settlers with lots of interesting detail and believable events beyond the de rigeur Indian attacks and food shortages. I've read many fictional stories set around the Oregon Trail, worried this would be repetitive--even boring. Absolutely not. Highly recommended to those who like this particular time in American history or those who love a good hero's journey.

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.