I've been hooked on westerns....good westerns....since my uncles gave me William Johnstone books to read when I was young(er). Nik James has captured the "good" in good westerns. He writes them as they should be written. We meet Caleb Marlowe as he rides into Elkhorn, Colorado. He's not riding to any one place, just riding away from a past that should be left behind. He will be drawn into a batlle when his friends are attacked. The story draws you into a Colorado that is far from civilized and you'll meet many characters, good and bad and sometimes the good ones are as bad as they need to be. Horse, guns, blood and lots of sporadic violence but that's what you'd expect from a western. I have never figured out why more people don't read westerns. They are really missing out on some good books.

this was a really enjoyable Western novel, I enjoyed the characters and going through this journey. It was what I wanted from this type of book.

I love a good western and that’s what this was...a really good western. It had all the elements. A dangerous small town filled with down and out of luck silver miners whose mines were played out. A shifty-eyed sheriff and trouble in “them thar hills”.

This is very easy reading, and the words seem to flow like water. Reading Nik James book is like watching a movie. His description of the country as well as his crafting of characters made everything as clear as watching it. Never once did I mix up names of characters. He gave them all distinct personalities. I think that’s why I made the comment about watching a show. I felt like I could see the characters, the good ones as well as the bad ones. This western had plenty of both.

An excellent read. High Country Justice is Book 1 of a series titled the “Caleb Marlowe series”.
It looks to me as if there are 2 more books in the series and, I intend to read them all.

Love me a good western I can't wait for the next one, I have high hopes for it. Great characters great story.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book. It was really well written and it just had you trying to solve the mystery. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

High Country Justice by Nik James
A Caleb Marlowe Novel #1

Caleb Marlowe was hard to say goodbye to as I finished the last page of this book. I have not read a good Western for awhile and this one really hit the spot. It took me back to the days I would borrow books from my father that were written by Zane Grey, Louis Lamour, Max Brand and other authors that he had collected and treasured enough to keep on his shelves. This book has the feel of those old time favorites and took me back in time…in more ways than one.

What I liked:
* That I was grabbed immediately in the first page of reading.
* Caleb Marlowe: intriguing man with a backstory I can’t wait to hear more about. Capable, lethal, deadly, strong, moral, good friend, animal lover, in tune with nature, interesting – there is a lot more to him than we learned in this first book of the series.
* Doc Burnett: physician, war veteran, moved west for a reason, father, widow, brave, wise, a good man.
* Sheila Burnett: Doc’s daughter suddenly home from the East and there for a reason. She grew as the story progressed and in so doing she became a character I would like to see more of.
* Imala: a widow that I would like to hear more about, and hope shows up in the future.
* The blacksmith and his son – good people that took in a young man in need – wondering if all three will show up in future books.
* The action scenes
* That there were an interesting assortment of characters
* The code of the Gunslinger…
* The way justice was meted out.
* The potential I feel there is for more books in this series.
* Knowing that at least two more books are scheduled for release in the future.
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* The bad men that I was meant not to like
* Having to say goodbye to the characters.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC - This is my honest review.

5 Stars

High Country Justice is the first book in a new historical western series from author Nik James. I don't read as much adult fiction as I use to, but the synopsis completely sold me on this one. A former lawman searches the Colorado frontier in order to find his friend Doc and help Doc's daughter..Yes Please! I also may be slightly obsessed with the old west lately and devouring spaghetti westerns and every cowboy movie Clinton Eastwood has been in. High Country Justice delivered exactly what the synopsis' said it would and left me satisfied.

The Story is told between the point of views of Caleb Marlowe, Doc Burnett, and Sheila Burnett. All three characters are well-developed and add a different view point to the overall story line. Doc is smart and caring, Sheila is brave and headstrong, and Caleb is just the ultimate cowboy in my book. Caleb straddles the line with his own morals and views on right and wrong. Caleb is the main character of the story even though the other two have point of views, but Caleb he is the main focus as he traverses the wild terrain. Along his journey he encounters rattlesnakes, a vicious cougar, outlaws, gunfights, and ambushes. There is more than plenty of excitement and tense situations along the way.

I'll definitely be on the look-out for future historical westerns by Nik James because of the way the Colorado frontier came to life beautifully with vivid descriptions and the wonderful characters. Plus there are certain characters I would more than love to see form a relationship.😉

Having decided I was in the mood for an old-fashioned Western, I requested an advance reading copy of High Country Justice by Nik James (to be published on May 25) on the Net Galley site. The authors are a husband and wife team named Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick, hence the pseudonym. The first chapter, with four dead bad guys and a pretty girl arriving on the scene, let me know that the book would fit the genre.

The hero, Caleb Marlowe, brings personal baggage along with a reputation as a quick-drawing gunman to the town of Elkhorn, Colorado where he plans to settle on a ranch outside the demands of civilization. But then his friend Doc Burnett goes missing just before his daughter Sheila Burnett arrives in town fleeing a marriage engagement her maternal grandfather finagles and insists upon.

The local judge deputizes a reluctant Caleb to track down a band of stagecoach robbers. The robber gang has a strange story and a moral code of its own. Warding against a corrupt sheriff and his followers, searching for the missing doctor, rescuing his kidnapped gutsy New York daughter Sheila, and finding the secret behind the motivation for the stagecoach robbers keeps Caleb busy. Wild animals, gunslingers, and rough terrain keep him in danger.

Tension and gunfights keep the book in the classic western style in this first book of a coming series. Vivid description of the setting as Caleb chases the villains adds to the narrative and pulls the reader into the beauty of the territory as well as its danger. If you are in the mood for an old-fashioned Western, this is a pleasant diversion. When the shooting starts and continues, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Nikoo and Jim are masters at crafting unique, vibrant characters. Branching out into the Western genre doesn't change that. Elkhorn, Colorado, is a growing town teeming with life and enough trouble to keep Caleb Marlowe on his toes.

This was the first Western that I recall reading, so I wasn't sure what to expect. A wide variety of unique characters, a boomtown with growing pains, the untamed wilderness, and more action and shootouts than you can shake a stick at was the answer. It's almost a wonder that Caleb didn't run out of ammunition with how many rounds are fired off.

Like other McGoldrick books, it is the magnificent characters that make the book shine. Even minor characters have distinct histories that shape their lives, and strong, female characters like Imala and Sheila hold their own on the frontier. Caleb has seen both sides of the law, and while jaded, is still willing to stick his neck out for others.

It's easy to lose yourself in the details of the Colorado wilderness or the action of various shootouts. At the end of the day, it's the characters that bring this story home. The first Caleb Marlowe book is a solid series starter, and I look forward to reading the other books to come.