Halfway to Hell by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is the first in a new series about Slick Parker. It is not the best work from this writer but it's not the worst. It is a bog standard western with all the ingredients you would expect. I don't think I will follow this series as it hasn't that extra to keep me interested. That is my view. I still like westerns but I don't have the time to read everything that comes out. If you like a regular western I can recommend this. I thank Pinnacle , Kensington Books and Netgalley for letting me read this advance copy.

This is an entertaining story. Following a young deputy sheriff named Parker, who really doesn’t know how to be a deputy, but knows what is right and wrong. As the deputy begins, looking for his own way in the world, he gets embroiled in a situation with a somewhat crooked deputy US Marshal.

This marshal named Best is on the search for some train robbers who took $50 thousand in gold. What the Marshal soon finds is that the original planner of the robbery has decided to keep all the money instead of sharing with the gang.

The back-stabbing planner gets himself shot and dies but not before he hides the gold. Now we have a race to see who can find the hidden gold. Parker gets involved, falling in love along the track. Many twists later there is a resolution but not turns out as planned.

A delightful read in the Western tradition. Good versus evil with twists. A quick read and very enjoyable.

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.