In William Johnstone's The Angry Land, (Pinnacle Books 2024) Book 6 of the Smoke Jensen series, Smoke Jensen, reformed outlaw and now respected rancher, is being squeezed by increasing costs for shipping his cattle to market. It's a problem all of the local ranchers are struggling with. Smoke comes up with a plan to merge the herds of several ranches in the Big Rock area and sell them as a group to get a better price from the buyers. He plans to ramrod the operation from negotiating the terms to getting the huge herd to market but his wife, Sally, is injured trying to tame a green horse and he passes the leadership mantle to a good friend and fellow rancher. Disaster strikes and the herd is stolen from the train, killing Smoke's friend, injuring one of his ranch cowhands, and a passel of innocents who happened to be on the train. Smoke takes it personally and follows the trail of the owlhoots to Abilene where he hopes to seek revenge for his friends and justice for his fellow ranchers.

Another excellent book in the Jensen family universe, as good as any in the Smoke Jensen series.

I have been a fan of the Smoke jensen series since I discovered it many years ago and although it has had it's ups and downs it is still an entertaining western. The Angry Land is all about cattle rustling and this time Smoke meets a couple of gents that has their own series, The Range Detectives. William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone keeps producing western series in a pace I no longer can keep up with so I wont even try to read them all. Some are good and some are great and some are just, why. This is one of the better and I thank Pinnacle Books Kensington and Netgalley for letting me read this advance copy.

A Smoke Jensen novel that has some of the most originality in it in a decade.

The book travels two roads with different characters. Each building the same story from different angles. As the trails converge, the elements mix and stirs a well written tale that has a mystery angle that doesn't occur in the 'Mountain Man' series.

This new series is a refreshing look at Smoke. He almost never has the opportunity of his monkey trick of a gun seeming to appear in thin air as the target is unerringly punched through. This book almost seems a non-Smoke book that was for another character.

The buddy-buddys could also be any of the various buddies in Johnstone Clan books. There are so many and thee two portrayed here have the Johnstone mark, but are forgettable. I'm finding that true as I bound into the newest 'Frontier Stagecoach' book and realize how much the various buddies are alike.

An odd note is that, though the book is all about an enormous amount of cattle, the cattle are nearly missing in the book, even when found.

Still this volume does well with it's mix of characters, mystery and gun play. The plotting is well done as so many pieces and parts are strewn and then put together. Well worth the reading.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 out of ten points.
This book made available via NetGalley.com.

This was another great entry in the Smoke Jensen series, it had everything that I enjoyed the overall feel of the Western elements and time-period. I enjoyed how good the characters were and that they felt like they belonged in this story. It had what I enjoyed from the Johnstone’s and glad this series had continued.

Following Smoke Jensen and his exploits is always fun. In this particular episode, Smoke convinces his fellow ranchers to band together and ship their cattle rather than driving them to Abilene. This will be less expensive, faster, and safer. Plus it will earn the ranchers more per head of cattle.

What the ranchers do not count on is a bunch of train robbers who decide to waylay the train and steal the cattle and then drive them to the Dakota Black Hills where there is a very high demand for beeves...plus the wherewithal to pay for it! As it turns out this is not the first time this has occurred and some of the Cattlemen's Association in Texas are on the case.

The men that Smoke and the other ranchers sent to be their spokesmen/negotiators come under fire as the train rustlers take over the combined herds. Two of the men are killed and the third is badly wounded. Smoke is not about to allow this to go unanswered.

So off he goes to Abilene and here begins the adventures of him, railroad superintendent Red Winters, and the Cattlemen's Association detectives versus the outlaws and maybe an inside person supplying the information for the rustlers! High adventures happen and not everything goes according to plan.

Questions abound: Will Smoke and crew prevail without further loss of life or cattle? Will they be able to avenge the dead men? How will they deal with the large band of rustlers and how will they uncover the inside agent? All of these are good questions and if you are interested you will have to read this very entertaining and fast-paced story. I definitely recommend it.