Roadkill Review: Manhunter's Mountain by Wayne Dundee

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Manhunter’s Mountain is a novel or perhaps more accurately a novella, featuring Edward A. Grainger’s outlaw marshal, Cash Laramie. This time Wayne Dundee is the word slinger holding the reins.

Cash Laramie is in the small mining town of Silver Gulch, hot on the trail of the fugitive Lobo Ames. It’s a race against time to get Ames and get off the mountain before snow closes the pass. The Marshall gets his man alright, but that’s only part of the problem. Winter is hard in Silver Gulch and Cash isn’t the only one desperate to get out. Faye and Little Red are the town’s only entertainment and by agreeing to take them with him, Cash doesn’t exactly endear himself to the locals.

This is a strong, gritty story with plenty of action. While I’ll admit to preferring Edward Grainger’s own take on Cash, Wayne Dundee delivers a solid narrative. The pace never lets up and there are some great set piece showdowns.

Cash Laramie and his sometimes partner Gideon Miles are inspired creations. They are exactly the kind of hard, edgy characters I love to read and to write. For me, their brand of rough justice always makes for a fine hard-boiled western.

Roadkill Review: Miles To Little Ridge - Heath Lowrance

I'll make no secret of the fact that Heath Lowrence is one of my favorite authors. His horror - western series featuring the enigmatic righter of wrongs, Hawthorne is right up there for me. Having enjoyed those books so much I was keen to see how Heath would handle a more traditional western so I picked up Miles To Little Ridge on the Kindle to find out.

Miles to Little Ridge continues the story of US Marshall Gideon Miles, who first appeared in the Cash Laramie stories written by Edward Grainger.

The Marshal has arrived in the sleepy Montana town of Little Ridge to arrest a wanted fugitive and bring him back to face trial. But he gets more than he bargained for from the town’s racist Sheriff and a couple of bungling outlaws with some long waited for revenge on their minds. Those who know Gideon Miles judge him by the speed of his hand and the depth of his character, while others who make the mistake of judging the man by the color of his skin rarely have the chance to regret it.

This is a great little tale chocked full of atmosphere. Heath’s writing simply never disappoints and I really enjoyed the wry humor he wove into the grit of this story.  In a time of back shooters and bushwhackers, Gideon Miles rides tall in the saddle and brings an honest to goodness hero back to the written page. If you want to know how a western should be told then read Miles to Little Ridge.

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