Peter has been one of my favorite Western authors for a number of years now, and this exciting new novella from Western Trail Blazers is a good example why. Peter writes wonderfully descriptive passages that plant his settings and a sense of time and place firmly in the reader's mind. With that he combines crisp dialogue and action sequences told with so much energy and detail that you almost want to duck from the hot lead flying through the air!
In GHOST COLTS, Brandvold also introduces (and I'm not giving anything away here that the title doesn't already suggest) some supernatural elements. To escape a raging blizzard, Ranger Tim Armstrong and his wounded prisoner, Renfrow, hole up in the saloon of a desolate town. Renfrow's gang is on their tail but hopefully the blizzard has forced them to hole up somewhere themselves. As the night settles in and the blizzard rages on, Armstrong remains vigilant in case the gang didn't halt their pursuit … and it is by means of this vigilance that the ranger slowly comes to realize that something is not quite right about the desolate little town and the curious collection of patrons who are gathered at the saloon where he has taken a room for himself and his prisoner. He begins to wonder if the threat of Renfrow's gang is the only danger he needs to be concerned about.
There are points as this story unfolds where you will think you have things figured out … but you don't … not quite.
When the conclusion comes it is exciting, unsettling, and ultimately satisfying yet haunting.
Western action with a little something extra. Don't miss it!
Persevere --- WD
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