A tale of ole Western lore has always been one of my favorite periods in American history. Holt delivered splendid characterization of the main protagonist. My nerves began to fray as the narrative unleashed its wrath under a deadly barrage of gunfire. The storyline held me captive to the page. The scenes drove through with a bang; the ending with a whimper.

John Garrett had unfinished business that he needed to settle with his father; they had been estranged for several years. Making the trip to his ranch would require a couple of weeks in the saddle. I dwelled on how much our culture had changed since then. The jury's still out if it's been for the better.

On the way, John stopped in a town for a cold one to wash down the trail dust. To his dismay, he got more than what he bargained for. Some young, foolhardy, would-be gunslinger called him out on the street. In self-defense, John was forced to shoot the young man. An outlaw Sheriff and an angry mob forced him to flee for his life.

A posse followed him in hot pursuit. A bullet found its target in the way of John's back. It went clean through his shoulder. Barely hanging on long enough to elude his capture, he fell in a heap in a hidden wooded area. Luck was on his side; he was discovered by a young woman. After applying a fresh cloth to his wound and giving him some water for his burning thirst, she helped him on to his horse. His destination: a cabin laid only a few miles away.

Not aware of the troubles ahead, John walked into a range war. An ongoing dispute raged between his father's and neighbor's ranch. Blood had been spilled; the conflict escalated. John was caught in the middle between the daughter of the neighbor he fell head over heels for and the loyalty he felt as only a son would have for his father. Either way, Western Justice would be served.

My thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I will admit that the first chapter had me worried. It was slow and full of too much description and not enough plot. But I am so glad that I pushed through, because this was a great book.

A cowboy (John) estranged from his father, comes back to Arizona to sort out a ranch dispute, after a friend clues him into some shady dealings going on under his father's new foreman's watch. On his way home from Texas, he is forced to defend himself in a gun fight and after a posse chases him for days, he is shot in the shoulder, but manages to get away. His horse finds its way to the edge of his land, but he passes out and falls off. Andrea, called Andy because of her tomboyishness, finds his horse and follows it to John, where she helps him to a cabin and nurses him back to strength. It turns out that there is practically a feud between John and Andy's fathers, which makes things complicated. John works to solve the mystery of what is really going on and develops feelings for the young woman caught in the middle.

It is thoroughly western, with a mystery wove throughout and a romance touched on here and there. There is no foul language or sexual innuendo. I would recommend this to anyone over 10. There are a few violent scenes.

John has to go back to his Father's home to help him with a problem. While passing thru a town to stock up on supplies, he gets challenged to a gun fight that is kill or be killed. He did not want to fight and told this boy 3 times, no. He shot the man who was really just a boy but didn't kill him. He recognizes the sheriff as an outlaw and refuses to be put in jail. He leaves town with a posse after him. He gets away but not before getting shot in the back. Andrea or Andy as she is called finds him passed out with a bullet wound. She gets him to a cabin and takes care of him. He finds out the Andy is really Andrea and he falls in love with her. The help his father needed was because his father was on the wrong side of a water dispute . This is a real Cowboy book. It's a book of danger and. adventure, a story of the old southwest with cattle rustling, among other things. I loved the great story. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

I love a good clean western and that is what this is. It has plenty of action to keep you on the edge of your seat. Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a free copy of this book. This is my honest review.

A western isn’t my usual favorite type of story. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It was very fast paced and action filled. I recommend.