Why do some characters embed themselves so deeply in your psyche, leaving you craving more adventures? That's precisely how I felt after reading The Last Gunfighter: Ambush Valley by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone. If you're curious, you can check out my review by clicking here. The characters that captured my imagination and heart are Conrad and Rebel Browning. Conrad is the son of the legendary gunfighter Frank Morgan, also known as The Drifter from The Last Gunfighter series. Why do father and son have different last names? The twist is that Frank played no role in raising Conrad; in fact, after Conrad’s mother remarried, he adopted his stepfather's surname. Following the murder of his mother, which Frank avenged, Conrad became the heir to the Browning fortune. Think banks, railroads, mines. In short, Conrad is the picture-perfect businessman, while Frank is the rugged gunfighter. They’re two sides of the same coin, that is, until everything crumbles in The Loner, the first book of J.A. Johnstone's spin-off series. I was aware of the series thanks to Western Fiction Review, and had even heard whispers of a certain dramatic death from another blog that I now cannot recall, much to my chagrin. There are fifteen books in The Loner series, and my impatient self scoured for the remainder after settling into the first installment.
In The Loner, Conrad's newlywed bliss is brutally shattered when a wretched group of thugs kidnaps his spirited wife, Rebel, with a ransom demand of $50,000. His immediate instinct is to reach out to his father for assistance, but alas, Frank Morgan's whereabouts are unknown, so it falls squarely on Conrad's shoulders to rescue his beloved. Armed with cash and guns, he plunges into the canyons outside Carson City, Nevada, for a perilous exchange that turns sinister. Just when you think he has the upper hand, the gang leader catches him off guard. Spoiler Alert! Rebel meets her tragic end!
Even though I went in knowing Rebel's impending fate, the moment hit me like a runaway stagecoach. It sparked an unexpected fury within me, one that mirrored Conrad's devastation. Rebel was a character who sparkled with life and sass; her loss ignited a wildfire of grief and vengeful anger in Conrad. From that moment on, all he could think about was revenge. He stages his own death and adopts the alias Kid Morgan—aka The Kid, aka The Loner—embracing the darkness that comes from being Frank Morgan’s son.
Along the way, Conrad forms an unlikely friendship with an Indian named Bearpaw, who once knew mountain legends like Preacher and Smoke Jensen. Bearpaw takes Conrad under his wing, teaching him the art of the draw, ensuring he never misses his target. Soon enough, The Loner finds himself rescuing a teenage Indian girl, Tasmin, from the clutches of prostitution. She joins him on this harrowing quest for vengeance.
What is it about a simple revenge story that stirs the soul and grips you tight? That’s a question I’d love to explore more. As I’ve mentioned, I was already invested in Conrad and Rebel from Ambush Valley, making Rebel’s death a bitter pill to swallow. I didn’t see a red herring coming: the revelation that someone orchestrated Rebel’s murder just to inflict suffering on Conrad. The identity of this sinister mastermind is left a mystery, leaving me eager for the next installment, The Devil's Badland. Nothing like a cliffhanger to get the blood pumping!
All in all, The Loner was a riveting read; darkly thrilling and impossible to put down. ╌★★★★★
Please consider supporting future reviews on this blog by purchasing The Loner on Amazon Kindle [*].
〜B.J. Burgess
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“The plot thickens… especially when you comment.” 〜B.J. Burgess