The Ranger: Concho - A.W. Hart (Charles Gramlich)

Concho Ten-Wolves is half black, half Kickapoo, a former Army Ranger, and currently a Texas Ranger working out of Eagle Pass, Texas, in this thriller that launches a new action/adventure series from Wolfpack Publishing. Charles Gramlich is the top-notch author behind the A.W. Hart house-name on THE RANGER: CONCHO, which was just released today.

The opening section of this novel, in which Concho takes on a gang of neo-Nazis who have taken over a shopping mall in Eagle Pass and are holding hostages, is spectacular, with plenty of great action and several stand-up-and-cheer moments. What follows is even better, with Concho getting involved in a double murder case that takes on some personal ramifications before it’s done, along with some political maneuvering centered around the Kickapoo Tribal Police and Concho’s own superiors in the Rangers. It’s a twisty, satisfying plot that never skimps on the action.

Gramlich has gotten this series off to a great start. THE RANGER: CONCHO is intelligently written, packs plenty of punch, and has one of the most compelling and likable protagonists I’ve encountered in a while. The next book will out later this summer, and I’m already looking forward to it. Highly recommended.

Legend of the Black Rose - A.W. Hart

LEGEND OF THE BLACK ROSE is the first book in a new series from Wolfpack Publishing under the house-name A.W. Hart. The author behind this novel is Richard Prosch, who spins an excellent yarn reminiscent of Zorro, the classic television series KUNG FU and BEARCATS, and the iconic Fargo novels by Ben Haas writing as John Benteen. In other words, this stuff is right up my alley.

Set in the years between 1910 and the beginning of the First World War, LEGEND OF THE BLACK ROSE opens with a massacre on the ranch belonging to the Rivera family, not far north of the Texas-Mexico border. The only survivor (apparently) is twenty-year-old Catalina Rivera. She seeks refuge with the nuns at the convent in the nearby settlement, not knowing that this order is one that has some secrets. Catalina sets out to discover who is to blame for wiping out her family and avenge their deaths, and in the course of that, she finds herself needing to don a disguise. With some clothes from the wardrobe trunks of a troupe of traveling actors and some Apache war paint, she transforms herself into the mysterious, deadly fighter known as the Black Rose.

See, I told you this was good stuff.

Things get complicated with Mexican revolutionaries, German secret agents, hired killers, bandidos, and a U.S. Marshal who rides a grouchy donkey. Lina’s allies are the nuns, her young cousin, and a beautiful young redhead who also proves to be a dangerous fighter. Prosch doesn’t explain all the mysteries or reveal all the back-stories of the various characters, leaving plenty of material for future books. Books that I will most certainly be reading.

Avenging Angels: Vengeance Trail - A.W. Hart

Reno and Sara Bass are sixteen-year-old twins who live with their family on a small spread in western Kansas, but their somewhat idyllic life there is shattered when a group of ex-Confederate outlaws sweeps through the area, looting and burning and killing. Reno and Sara’s parents and siblings are killed in a raid by this bunch of renegades. The twins escape but are left to make it in a harsh world on their own, and the first task they set for themselves is a simple one.

They’re going to track down the varmints who made them orphans and settle the score.

In order to do that, they’re going to have to learn to improve their natural ability when it comes to gun-handling, and for that they turn to an old friend of their father, who led a wilder early life than Reno and Sara ever knew about. They’re also going to have to reconcile their thirst for revenge with their strong religious faith, especially Reno. That faith will be tested in other ways as they continue their vengeance quest, too.

AVENGING ANGELS: VENGEANCE TRAIL is the first novel in a new Western series created by A.W. Hart, who under other names is one of the top writers in the business. It features lots of gritty action, compelling characters, and vivid settings. I raced through this one even faster than usual and really got caught up in the lives of Reno and Sara. It’s an excellent book, easily one of the best I’ve read this year, and if you enjoy Western novels with a hardboiled edge, you need to check it out. AVENGING ANGELS: VENGEANCE TRAIL gets a very high recommendation from me.