Two stories in this book, the first deals with Smoke which I have always liked that character. Here you have a man who comes in and wants to have the largest ranch and starts taking out other ranchers by any means. That is until Smoke and Sally get involved. That is an excellent story with many good characters. The second story has Smoke and Sally looking back over their life as they are older and Smoke is telling a story to a professor at a college. One of the best moments is when a young man thinks Smoke is an old man and Smoke is still Smoke, a good story as well.

This two volume set focusing on Smoke Jensen and his exploits is an excellent way to get involved with one of, I believe, Mr. Johnstone’s, favorite characters. In the first book, named “Strike of the Mountain Man” we follow the exploits of a European criminal who has come to the New World to try to make his fortune. He decides that he must have the largest ranch in the Colorado county. And he goes to all sorts of nefarious ways to get them. This includes killing off the ranchers, stopping their water, rustling their cattle, and so on.

As you might expect, Mr. Jensen has the largest ranch, and while he is not particularly competitive on size of ranches, he is very protective of his neighbors and a criminal, who is trying to take them illegally does not sit well with Mr. Jensen! there is certainly some fighting involved as smoke and others band together to try to get the upper hand over the criminal element.

It is even possible that the Europeans who are looking for him will help. But how many of the fellow ranchers are going to lose their property or maybe their life. Wow this criminal is being brought to justice?

The second book “Butchery of the Mountain Man” is a bit different. It is set unlike most westerns in the early 1900s. What this means is that Jensen and his wife Sally are looking back over their lives. A college professor from the University of Colorado is doing an interview of Jensen and hearing all of the stories that made him the man that he is. This includes some of his friends and their exploits. It’s a nice research project.

If the reader has followed the legend of Smoke, Jensen, the stories will not seem unusual. But the retelling of them brings back fond memories of previous books that have been read concerning him.

Definitely recommend “As Good As Dead”- It’s a quick read, a fun read, and a read that takes you into the life of Mr..Jensen and his exploits starting with his mentor—The Preacher.

Johnstone's As Good as Dead: Smoke Jensen's Frontier (Pinnacle 2025) is two books about the life of Smoke Jensen, the popular character in Johnstone's ongoing Smoke Jensen series. Book One, Strike of the Mountain Man, is the typical excellent adventure, taking place when Smoke is setting up his ranching empire and some would like to take it from him. Book Two, Butchery of the Mountain Man, is written as a flashback from 1912. Smoke is being interviewed about his relationship with "Liver-Eating Jackson" which invariably leads to stories of Smoke's growth from mountain man to outlaw to well-respected citizen. Be aware: There are a lot of spoilers about how his life turns out so if you don't want to know those details, skip this book. Me I was fine with that and enjoyed him retelling events that made him the legend he became.