Longarm and the Valley of Skulls

Chief Marshal Billy Vail is again sending his top gun, Deputy U.S. Marshal Custis Long on another dangerous mission. This western adventure is a well written novel with numerous characters filling the book until it all comes together at the end of the story. There is plenty of action in this book and the story flows from one incident to another. Like all Longarm adult westerns, there are bar fights, shoot outs, friendly Indians and hostile Indians. Finally, to make the adult western complete, there are even a few lusty romantic moments. There is only one complaint about this Longarm western. This one almost reads like an epic type of novel and I would have liked less characters in the story. I enjoy reading more about Custis Long himself rather than details on the many other characters in this book. Nevertheless, I have to give it five stars because it is a well-written western that is a great read. I never give too much away when reviewing a novel because I never want to spoil it for the reader. If you are into adult western novels, you will want to read this book. Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: The Monadnock Defensive Tactics System, Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques, Martial Art Myts, Never Trust a Politician)

This is a Giant Edition in the Longarm series and is #28 (Giant) ,published Oct 2008. There is one of these Giant Editions each year and they are generally about 50% longer than the standard editions of about 180 pages. Jessie Starbuck ,of the other great Series "Lone Star " comes up in ,I believe ,most of them ,in one way or another.She and Longarm have often crossed paths making for some interesting things;but in this case ,she is mentioned,but they don't actually meet in this story. This is a good real Old West story with lots going on and many interesting characters involved.We get the US Army,good and bad Cheyenne Indians,pioneers and wagon trains,owlhoots,wagon masters,an old hermit/mountain man /ex-gunfighter/lawman,some pretty strange mountain country,settlers murdered and burned out,lots of fast action shootouts ,both in town and the hills,and just about everything we come to expect in a good yarn. It is a fairly complicated story, with lots taking place at different places at the same time;but it's well written and easy to keep sorted out. It's weird how so many different groups of people are drawn to this god-forsaken place;but there is a reason, and it takes all of Longarm's strength,perseverence and even some help from others to get to the bottom of it ;which we are sure he will. "..he reflected that it was too late for much of anything except explanations.And explanations never changed a damned thing."

I never was a fan of this type of western. When they started all those years ago, I sampled a few and found them wanting. These days a different set of writers are working this and other series like it. In the last few years, I became a fan of the writer that did this one. So I tried a couple of them and in The Trailsman series that I knew he'd did. They were much better than the older versions, more western and less adult. I've got nothing against adult, mind you, I just preferred them separate. This writer seems to have the mix just right to make a good western novel. Recommended.