Cruel Winter of the Mountain Man - book cover
Action & Adventure
  • Publisher : Kensington
  • Published : 29 Nov 2022
  • Pages : 304
  • ISBN-10 : 0786048948
  • ISBN-13 : 9780786048946
  • Language : English

Cruel Winter of the Mountain Man

The 50th Book in the Bestselling Mountain Man Series!

A cold day in hell descends upon Texas when mountain man sharpshooter Smoke Jensen pins on a tin star to tackle a wild bunch of bloodthirsty outlaws in this gun-blazing novel from national bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone.

Johnstone Country. A Glorious Land.
 
Jonas Madigan is dying. He spent his life taming towns and upholding justice across the west with no regrets. Along the way, Madigan took the measure of good men like Smoke Jensen, who has traveled to Salt Lick, Texas to pay his respects to the lawman. But when bandits gun down the small town's current marshal-and Smoke sends the killers to Boot Hill-Madigan asks his friend to wear the badge and keep the peace until a permanent replacement is sworn in.
 
Turns out the bandits were members of Bishop's Mauraders, a twenty-man gang of trigger-happy thieves led by the vicious and venomous Snake Bishop-and they've set their sights on Salt Lick. They're due to arrive at the same time as a monstrous blizzard that's covering up the countryside. Now, it's up to Smoke to turn the townspeople into a posse to defend their lives and land from both mother nature and man's worst nature . . .

Readers Top Reviews

Abibliofob
Cruel Winter of the mountain Man by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone is a standard western, nothing much to write home about. Smoke has got a letter from an old friend who needs help and he can't refuse. This book has most of the ingidients of a classic western. There are good guys and bad guys and a town attacked by a band of outlaws. Some great dialogue and some good fights. i must thank Netgalley and Kensington Books for letting me read this and escape the reality for a few hours.
Traveler46
In typical Smoke Jensen fashion, he sets out to help others in this novel, “Cruel Winter of the Mountain Man.” In this case he leaves his ranch in Colorado to head to Texas at the request of an old friend. When he arrives, he finds the friend near death from cancer and several disasters being imminent. One of these is a blue n’orther and the other attack by a gang of ruthless no-accounts led by a man named Snake. The reader needs to watch Smoke and Snake to avoid confusion but in town there is no confusion…Snake is the good guys all the time. This book has the normal western shoot-‘em-ups but also a story of friendship, love, redemption, and coming of age. Add to this background stories not known by everyone, and the reader has a fun read. Definitely recommend t the latest installment of the Jensen story by the Johnstone syndicate. It is a fast read and leaves the reader wanting more of Smoke Jensen’s adventures to be told.
Jacqui Murray
In William Johnstone's latest Smoke Jensen book, Cruel Winter of the Mountain Man (Pinnacle Books 2022), Smoke gets a letter from an old friend asking him to come for a visit. Since this former town sheriff had never before asked that, Smoke went right away. He arrives to find his friend close to death from cancer, but surrounded by people who love and respect him. Smoke decides to stay as long as his friend needs him and ends up involved in the robbery of the towns bank by a scouting group of a dangerous, brutal band of owlhoots. Smoke and the current Marshall manage to stop the robbery but he is killed and Smoke agrees--at the insistence of his friend--to stay on as acting Marshall until the town can find a replacement. This puts him right in the middle of the second half of the bank robbery, by the notorious band of outlaws known as much for their brutality as success.  Smoke Jensen is one of Johnston’s stand out characters. He has a sordid history, starting barely on the legal side of the law, but now solidly one of the West's outstanding citizens. The stories in this series are always engaging and page turners. This is not exception.