Not my normal genre but something about this book caught my eye. I really liked this mystery and the book was very easy to get immersed in.

I received an ARC from netgalley for my honest review.

This is not your typical ghost story. Which is exactly why you won't be able to put this book down once you start. It is a refreshing change from the standard unsuspecting resident moving into a haunted house tale.

The book opens in 1887 Comanche, Texas with the emergence of a recently deceased outlaw named 'The Piney Woods Kid' and detailing the back story of his capture. Followed by a very gruesome death and disrespectful method of burial. Once the Author captivates you with the tale of our newly risen ghost he catapults us into the present and passionately plucks at our heartstrings. Taking us down the grief-stricken life of Raymond Turner. Raymond is on a self-destructive drunken path to nowhere fast after the death of his wife Marie. His business partner and best friend Darrell LeBlanc is doing his best to keep the business going and Raymond from being lost to the abyss of despair when Raymond's sister calls them down to Comanche to investigate some murders at her new diner. Skeptical of the tales she's hearing from witnesses at the diner when these murders occur and desperate to see the killer stopped before their small town loses the tourism income it relies on, she goes against her husband, the Mayor's, wishes to bring in her brother and his private investigation team.

This team of non-believers finds themselves face to face with the ghost of The Piney Woods Kid and questioning reality as they know it. Determined to think it is all some elaborate movie magic hoax they attempt to draw out the live culprit behind the murders. Scarcely living to tell the tale of their gaffe. Recruiting the help of an erudite acquaintance Prof Frost they learn what they need to confront a ghost. Accomplishing their goal will prove more perilous than everyone imagines. As the body count rises their courage wanes. Will they save the town of Comanche?

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Comanche by Brett Riely is a novel following a team investigating murders in Comanche, Texas. Mr. Riley is an award winning writer, who teaches literature, creative writing, and composition at the College of Southern Nevada, this is his debut novel.

The people of Comanche, Texas managed to capture and kill The Piney Woods Kid, a murderer that has been the dredge of the town. They did not let up after his death though, and grimly chopped him up.

In 2016, multiple murders occur around the old “death house” and the community in in shambles. A group of investigators from New Orleans come to see if they can free the town from The Kid’s legacy.

This book was a lot of fun, a mix of many genres which don’t seem like they should work together. Comanche by Brett Riely starts in the violent Wild West, and turns into a gothic horror story, and somewhere along the way it becomes a tense and gripping drama.

I don’t know how, but the author managed to create a big, interesting cast of characters without losing the narrative, pace, or storyline. The narrative is crisp and clean, right to the point, and doesn’t waste the reader’s time superfluous descriptions.

There is lots of good banter, sometimes you can’t tell if the character is saying, thinking, or just gesturing (oh, you) but the author gets the feeling across efficiently and quickly which makes the reading much more pleasurable.

The noir in the west type of story worked wonderfully in this instance, especially when the investigators from New Orleans show up, dealing with their own issues as well as the town’s. Each character had their own good motivation to act the way they do and their interaction with the rest of the cast in the novel.

Ghost stories are really not my genre, but this is a solid book that delivers a good yarn. I found the novel to be very entertaining, full of action, and best of all, very well written.

A ghost seeking revenge, a man trying to reclaim his life and the descendants of the people who humiliated the ghost in the 1800 all converge on the depot. This is one of those books I caution you to not start an hour before bedtime or you may find yourself spending the night awake reading. A well-written action packed tale of a revenge that will not quit. Great read.

This was such a fun read. It's been ages since I read a good ghost story. I loved the setting of Comanche although I'm not sure I'd like to live there. It was well drawn with it's heat, humidity, and lots of delicious iced tea. I loved the characters - the two main ones Darrell and Raymond, who are best friends and private investigators from New Orleans; and spiritualist Betsy and professor Jake who go along to help solve a murder and a mystery and get more than they bargained for.
As I said, this was fun to read. The author doesn't use speech punctuation marks and it took me a couple of pages to settle into this way of reading, but I did and it wasn't a problem. I could really hear the characters talking with their Southern accents.

Gunslinging murder mystery supernatural thriller. What?? All that. Comanche by Brett Riley has a lot of genres mixed in but it works well.

Well written supernatural fiction. Would like to see more books around the main characters and their ever growing group of helpers

When selecting this book, I hadn't appreciated that it was a supernatural thriller, which is not normally a go-to genre for me. However, this book was well-written with a good dose of suspense and action/adventure such that I actually questioned whether it was a ghost story of not.

Despite my initial reaction, I really enjoyed the story and would happily read further books based on the agency characters.

Like a good gumbo, COMANCHE, Brett Riley’s debut novel, is a wonderful mix of ingredients. It’s a throwback to violent, strange westerns like High Plains Drifter, it’s a southern gothic horror dripping with tension and grit and it’s a compelling drama driven by a sprawling cast of characters that would make Stephen King proud.

The small Texas town Comanche is rocked by a double murder outside of a newly built Diner. Witnesses say the killer was dressed as a gunslinger. Some say it’s the ghost of The Piney Woods Killer, a bandit from the 18th century, back for revenge, disturbed by the new building over his death site. But is this true or is something else at play?

COMANCHE had me at ghosts and grit, small towns and outsiders, murder and mystery but what really works here is Brett Riley’s prose. I really enjoyed the execution of the story. Sometimes you get a novel that’s wordier then it needs to be or one that drags its feet to set up characters and events- Riley’s style is all thriller, no filler. It’s lean and mean and to the point. Not a word is wasted in the breath-taking fast pace. Some points - moods, character descriptions, are repeated a bit here or there or plain strange even from a POV, but other than this, it’s economic storytelling.

Its a breezy read, speeding by set-piece by set-piece, and while it doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the genre, it establishes itself as being a solid genre piece that delivers on the thrills and violence that could satiate a horror fan.

Given its sprawling cast, I do wish that there was more time spent with some characters so that the stakes felt a bit higher. As it is, a death, say, doesn’t have much of an impact on me because I don’t particularly feel any ties to the characters. I’m more along for the ride, which delivers on its fun.

That being said, COMANCHE is a tasty southern dish that goes down nicely and sets up Brett Riley as one to watch.

3.5 stars

A Modern Day Western ghost story.

Two good ol' boy private detectives from New Orleans, accompanied by a psychic fortune teller, travel to the small town of Comanche, Texas to investigate stories of a vengeful ghost.

The Piney Woods Kid was a ruthless murdering outlaw from the Old West who met a gruesome end at the hands of a brutal posse from Comanche, Texas. Fast forward to modern day Comanche where the descendants of that posse are being systematically murdered by a bizarre figure that witnesses describe as the ghost of The Piney Woods Kid.

Is it really a ghost? Is it some kind of bizarre publicity stunt gone wrong? It will take two hard headed P.I.s from New Orleans and their psychic side-kick to sort it out... Despite the objections of the mayor and many of the local citizens.

Lots of fun banter, good character development, told in a serious country noir kind of style.

I didn't like the author's choice not to use any quotation marks to set off the characters speech. While it's not a major issue in short stories when it comes to a full length novel told in the third person it can get a bit confusing as to who is speaking. It made it difficult for me to really "get lost" in the story.

Comanche by Brett Riley has aspects of Ghostbusters, Jaws (the small town mayor who fears scandal will ruin tourism), with maybe a touch of The Dukes of Hazzard (no car chases, though).

I think fans of some of Joe R. Lansdale's more off-beat genre stuff might like this one. Not because of writing style so much as it has that same kind of alternate reality context.

***Thanks to NetGalley, Imbrifex publishing, and author Brett Riley for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review

Comanche is a murder mystery, a gun-slinging western and a ghost story all rolled into one. Raymond Turner is a successful private investigator who has developed a serious drinking habit since losing his wife. The only thing that might save him is the need to help his sister before she loses her husband and her son. Comanche is the first novel by screenplay and short story author Brett Riley.

Raymond Turner only wants to drink and forget. His partner Darrell LeBlanc tries everything to break Raymond out of his downward spiral before their business is ruined. Nothing works until two people are killed at his sister Rennie’s diner and she asks for his help. The most urgent part is that the rumor is that a ghost did it and he (or it) has more people on his list, including Rennie’s husband and her son.

The story is set up extremely well. The first chapter gives the historical background. Then we move to modern day and the murders take place. Being a small town everyone starts a rumour. It makes sense to call in out side help and Rennie’s brother is a private investigator. The tension builds rapidly from there. I suspect I could listen to Riley tell stories around a campfire all night long.

The characters are very well developed. Raymond is a initially a loser but smart enough to have potential. Darrell is his childhood friend and protector. Their relationship is tight and consistent throughout the novel. My favorite character is Rourke, Raymond’s brother-in-law. He hates Raymond because he expects him to screw up and hurt Rennie. He also doesn’t want Raymond to hurt the town’s reputation. I think he is a great character because he has all the right intentions but can’t help but be a jerk. All the other characters are developed enough that if and when they get hurt the reader is invested enough to be shocked and even sad.

<i> Comanche </i> is a murder mystery, a gun-slinging western and a ghost story all rolled into one. Raymond Turner is a successful private investigator who has developed a serious drinking habit since losing his wife. The only thing that might save him is the need to help his sister before she loses her husband and her son. <i> Comanche </i> is the first novel by screenplay and short story author Brett Riley.

Raymond Turner only wants to drink and forget. His partner Darrell LeBlanc tries everything to break Raymond out of his downward spiral before their business is ruined. Nothing works until two people are killed at his sister Rennie’s diner and she asks for his help. The most urgent part is that the rumor is that a ghost did it and he (or it) has more people on his list, including Rennie’s husband and her son.

The story is set up extremely well. The first chapter gives the historical background. Then we move to modern day and the murders take place. Being a small town everyone starts a rumour. It makes sense to call in out side help and Rennie’s brother is a private investigator. The tension builds rapidly from there. I suspect I could listen to Riley tell stories around a campfire all night long.

The characters are very well developed. Raymond is a initially a loser but smart enough to have potential. Darrell is his childhood friend and protector. Their relationship is tight and consistent throughout the novel. My favorite character is Rourke, Raymond’s brother-in-law. He hates Raymond because he expects him to screw up and hurt Rennie. He also doesn’t want Raymond to hurt the town’s reputation. I think he is a great character because he has all the right intentions but can’t help but be a jerk. All the other characters are developed enough that if and when they get hurt the reader is invested enough to be shocked and even sad.

I know fundamentally that this story couldn’t take place but it is done in such a way that I almost believe it. I even sympathise with the murderer. What happens to him shouldn’t happen to anyone and revenge almost makes sense.

Finally, I have never been to this part of Texas but now I want to go. The countryside sounds like it is beautiful and the people are strong enough to live and die for each other. Hopefully the number of shotguns available is exaggerated!!

I highly recommend this book to those like fast paced action packed novels. I give it a 5 on 5. I want to thank Net Galley and Imbrifex Books for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

This was an okay read but nothing to get really excited about. The concept was interesting but the writing could have been more interesting. A solid 4 from me.