I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

I really enjoy a Western, in film and board games, but I haven’t found too many books that have really achieved the perfect atmosphere. This book does it in abundance! Not only do we have great Western vibes and tropes, but we also have magical realism and occult woven in at points too.

This is quite a short book but it just manages to capture the feel of a Western so well. Be warned, this is very violent. It starts with a gruesome opener on a train that introduces our villain and our main character and sets up the events that will follow. Our main character’s life is marked by multiple tragedies. He seeks revenge against the one who has perpetuated his troubles. We follow him as he searches for the accomplices of the villain in order to find and exact his revenge. He must journey into his past to succeed.

This was so fast-paced, action-packed and exciting. A short book, but very enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley, Brennan LaFaro and Brigids Gate Press, LLC for the eArc of Noose.

I must admit, Westerns isn't my forte but coupled all the horror elements of this book made for a gruesome, edge of your seat read. It's a short book but it packs a nice punch with lot of tension, cat and mouse thriller like tension as well as a little bit of a supernatural element. It's a fast paced fun read which kept the pages turning. I really enjoyed the characters in the plot and the dynamics between Noose Holcomb and Rory Daggett.

Would like to read more from Brennen in the future .

4 stars

A fun, quick read that takes a horror spin on a classic western setting. With a main character bent on revenge for the death of his parents, the plot focuses on his search for the man responsible, working his way through gang members until he finds him. The plot qraps up quick and was a little anticlimactic, but overall this was a fun book with enough interest to make me want to read the sequel.

This was a very fun book that plays out like a horror western procedural. I could literally see each chapter being an episode in a season of a show, a new issue to resolve, with an overall revenger arc. I had a hard time putting the book (epub) down, and started talking about it at cookouts unprovoked. The writing was relatively strong, but more than respectable for genre fiction. That's not a knock on the author, I don't need literary prose crawling into my fun as hell cowboy revenger stories. The characters were well realized and had distinct voices, and you really felt yourself rooting for, or against, each for different reasons. I am genuinely excited to read the next in the series. Almost a perfect 5, but way more than 'popcorn book', so a solid 4-4.25 for me. Definitely want to see more from Brennan, and in this world.

This is Rory’s revenge story. He is the only one alive after Noose’s massacre of the passengers of a train.
Rory is our narrator. This is a fast-paced novella with several great qualities such as the vibe and the inclusion of a witch.
Because I found the plot uneven, and wanted to find out more layers and dimensions about, first of all, Rory, then Noose, and see more when the ‘moment’ arrives, this was not the 4 or 5 star read I had hoped it was.
It is a strong book, and I am sure other readers, especially those who like Westerns, a bit of horror, revenge, and speculative fiction sprinkled in, will enjoy this book.

Noose is an excellent novella which gives us the origin story of Rory Dagget and his quest to kill the biggest, baddest, and supernaturally charged psychopath nicknamed Noose.

This book has all the beats of an almost super hero story. Orphaned at a young age, taken in by people who loved him, and his ultimate revenge on his lifelong quest to kill the man responsible.

But of course it won't be easy. Because Noose has a gang, including a hulk-like killer, a man who is very adept with blades, and a witch! Rory must take them out to get to his goal, Noose himself.

There's not a scene that lags here. Every page, right from the start, is filled with wild west vibes and bloody rampages which makes it such a fun breath taking horror ride.

As a bonus in the copy I received, there's also a short story about how Noose and his witch met when he was just a child. That was pretty awesome and a great addition to this whole world.

I highly recommend this fantastic western horror novella.