Forgotten Books: The Trailsman #314 North Country Cutthroats - Jon Sharpe (Peter Brandvold)

(This post originally appeared on December 14, 2009.)

I’m not exactly what you’d call a Scrooge, but I’m generally not as filled with the Christmas spirit as some people are. So I thought maybe it would help me get in a holiday mood if I read a sweet, heartwarming, inspirational Christmas novel. What did I pick?

NORTH COUNTRY CUTTHROATS.

This entry in the long-running Trailsman series was published a couple of years ago and is definitely a Christmas novel, taking place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as Skye Fargo finds himself in Dakota Territory, riding shotgun on a stagecoach driven by his old friend Grizzly Olaffson. Fargo would rather be wintering some place warm and tropical, but that’s not how things have worked out. And of course, getting caught in a blizzard is almost the least of Fargo’s troubles, since the stage is carrying a strongbox full of army payroll money that’s bound to attract outlaws, and one of the passengers is a beautiful Russian woman with a secret in her past that may prove deadly to Fargo.

The author behind the Jon Sharpe house-name on this novel is the always dependable Peter Brandvold. As usual in Pete’s work, there’s plenty of gritty action and colorful characters, a few touches of dark humor, and a vividly described setting. NORTH COUNTRY CUTTHROATS may not be exactly what you’d call sweet and heartwarming, but I thought it was a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you’re a Trailsman fan, you’ll want to read this one, and if you haven’t tried that series yet, this would be a good place to start, especially given the time of year.

(Update: I'm fudging a little by calling this a Forgotten Book, because the e-book version is still available on Amazon, but it's an excellent book, and if you need something entertaining to read after whatever festivities you have going on today, I give it a high recommendation. I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!)

The Trailsman #346: Arkansas Ambush

Speaking of writing under house-names, as I was yesterday on the Western Fictioneers blog, there's a new Trailsman novel just out that readers of this blog might be interested in.

Book Giveaway

I'm going to give away a couple of copies each of my latest Longarm and Trailsman novels. Two winners, and each will get a copy of LONGARM AND THE SAND PIRATES and TEXAS TRACKDOWN. You can send me an email (the link is in my profile, for those of you who don't have the address) or mention in the comments that you want to enter. Simple random number drawing. Deadline for entries is midnight my time next Saturday, so that gives you a week and a few hours if you're interested.

Disclaimer: These are Adult Westerns. They have sex scenes in them, although there's nothing kinky (that I recall) and the total pages in those scenes add up to less than five per cent of the text. But bear in mind that those scenes are there and don't enter thinking that you'll give the books to your eighty-year-old grandmother (although she might enjoy them, who knows; I'll bet your grandfather would) or your eight-year-old son or daughter.

There'll probably be more of these in the future.

The Trailsman #314: North Country Cutthroats - Jon Sharpe (Peter Brandvold)

I’m not exactly what you’d call a Scrooge, but I’m generally not as filled with the Christmas spirit as some people are. So I thought maybe it would help me get in a holiday mood if I read a sweet, heartwarming, inspirational Christmas novel. What did I pick?

NORTH COUNTRY CUTTHROATS.

This entry in the long-running Trailsman series was published a couple of years ago and is definitely a Christmas novel, taking place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as Skye Fargo finds himself in Dakota Territory, riding shotgun on a stagecoach driven by his old friend Grizzly Olaffson. Fargo would rather be wintering some place warm and tropical, but that’s not how things have worked out. And of course, getting caught in a blizzard is almost the least of Fargo’s troubles, since the stage is carrying a strongbox full of army payroll money that’s bound to attract outlaws, and one of the passengers is a beautiful Russian woman with a secret in her past that may prove deadly to Fargo.

The author behind the Jon Sharpe house-name on this novel is the always dependable Peter Brandvold. As usual in Pete’s work, there’s plenty of gritty action and colorful characters, a few touches of dark humor, and a vividly described setting. NORTH COUNTRY CUTTHROATS may not be exactly what you’d call sweet and heartwarming, but I thought it was a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you’re a Trailsman fan, you’ll want to read this one, and if you haven’t tried that series yet, this would be a good place to start, especially given the time of year.

The Trailsman #338: Texas Trackdown

It almost slipped past me that this book came out this month. I think I did forget to say anything last month when THE TRAILSMAN #337: SILVER SHOWDOWN was published. Both should still be readily available if you're in the mood for a good Western or need some stocking stuffers.

The Trailsman #335: Riverboat Rampage

This one is available now, or soon will be. I always enjoy a book set on a riverboat.

The Trailsman: Seminole Showdown

This book should be out this week, if it's not already. I have a soft spot in my heart for it, because it's the last book that was written in my old studio. I had started another one before the fire and written about 200 pages of it, but I lost that and had to start over. (That book will be out this week, too, but it's one of those ghost jobs I can't talk about.) I remember that the first book I wrote in the studio was COSSACK THREE PONIES, but I have no idea how many there were between it and SEMINOLE SHOWDOWN. Quite a few, though. It was the best place I ever had to work. I'm hoping that my office in the new house will be even better.

The Trailsman #313: Texas Timber War

I'm pretty fond of this entry in the series, and I should also mention that a backwoods stream called Alligator Slough plays a prominent part in the story, for those who are interested in such things.

The Trailsman #309: California Carnage