Marshal Apostle Richardson faces off against bloodthirsty outlaws, flesh witches, ruthless vigilantes, and more in this gritty, magical re-imagining of the Old West.Almena Guillory, better known as the Grizzly Queen of the West, has done plenty to warrant the noose, but US Marshal Apostle Richardson enforces the law, he doesn’t decide it. When a posse tries to lynch Almena ahead of her trial, … Almena ahead of her trial, Apostle refuses their form of expedited justice – and receives a bullet for his trouble. Almena spares him through the use of dangerous flesh magic but escapes soon after saving him.
Weeks later, Apostle fears the outlaw queen has returned to her old ways when she’s spotted terrorizing Kansas with a new gang in tow. When cornered, however, Almena makes a convincing case for her innocence and proposes a plan to take the real bandits down. Working with a known killer opens Apostle up to all sorts of trouble, not the least being his own growing attraction toward the roguish woman. Turning Almena away from vengeance may be out of the question, but if he doesn’t try, she’ll wind up right where the law wants her: at the end of a rope.
And if Apostle isn’t careful, he’ll end up joining her.
If you like Red Dead Redemption and Lila Bowen’s Wake of Vultures, you’ll love this gun-blazing weird western.
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I love weird westerns and this one is great. If you like gunslingers, outlaws and oh, magic or historical fiction, check it out!
Fantastic. I don’t know that the story structure itself pulled me through quite as much as the main character’s voice. Apostle is amazing, and I could read his point of view for ages. I wanted a little more magic from the tale, but the light touch was also good and lent more credence to the adventure. I don’t typically read westerns, so I’m not sure how this would hold up to fans of the genre, but for someone who doesn’t know the genre well, it really worked for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The only bad thing I can say about this book is that I wanted to keep reading about Apostle Richardson. The characters would make for a great series.
This was yet another “new to me” author and I am very glad I read the story. IF you are a person who can see only the black and white of a story and absolutely none of the grey, you will not be pleased. Fair warning. The plot was easily followed. The main characters are full of their own purpose, yet they still managed to find purpose in each other. A rare and somewhat beautiful happenstance. I definitely recommend this story if only to see it written in an entirely different light than most of the westerns I have read.
Fair.
This book was hard to put down. The characters were well developed and the story kept you on the edge of your seat. It had a little bit of mystery, romance, action, and humor. I loved this book!
This is an unusual book, but easy to read and entertaining. Give it a try.
Great twist on magic and old west theme, but not enough magic and to much tragic soul searching
I thought I was taking a huge chance on this book. And, maybe I was, but what a great choice it was. Not your ordinary western. Not your ordinary story. But what a delight.
Very fine writing in this Western with a twist. I really enjoyed the characters and hope there’s more to come.
I’m still thinking about this book weeks later- it’s THAT good! Old west setting was well done, characters evolve as the story does in thought provoking ways. Well done!
I found it to be an enjoyable read with decent character development. Novel approach to a witches powers.
I never expected to like this book so much!
Uninteresting characters
A lot of fun to read.
It’s different, entertaining, and has just enough historical accuracy to maintain the willing suspension of disbelief. Well-done.
much was a bit confusing and plot twists happened but overall the combination of action, old west reality and characters that cover the spectrum of evil was entertaining. I won’t read it twice as the violent people in it were upsetting.
This was a nice Old West story, with a twist, and it was a very enjoyable read. Great characters, great story line.
Not much wrong with this one. The characters felt right, and the concepts were original to me. (I notice there is a genre of weird western fiction, so the themes may be more common than I know.) I enjoyed the woman’s prose, so I read her other book as well, a dystopian thing with a clone romance plot twist. Much happier with the western, it left me wanting more of the characters.
Dragged…did not finish.