Desolation Creek

Desolation Creek is the fifth book in William W. Johnstone's prequel series about Smoke Jensen, the young frontiersman who would later become known as the Mountain Man. It follows the early years of Smoke and his wife Sally in Colorado, when their Sugarloaf Ranch was still a hard-won project rather than a legend. The Jensens are trying to build a future for their family in a land where fortune seekers are often violent, and survival counts for as much as success.

Ranching takes grit, and Smoke and Sally have plenty of it. They can handle the work of taming the land, raising stock and making a name for their brand. But Smoke has never been a businessman at heart, and he is far better at settling a dispute with a fast draw than with a ledger. When word reaches him that his old friend Preacher has been ambushed by outlaws, he saddles up at once and heads for the vengeance trail, joined by fellow mountain men Audie and Nighthawk.

The men who attacked Preacher now control the town of Desolation Creek, deep in Montana Territory. Their leader, Vernon "Venom" McFadden, has his gang terrorizing homesteaders and townspeople so he can seize nearby land rumored to hold gold. Smoke and his allies arrive in town one at a time, and Sally, who refuses to be left behind, comes along too. Their plan is to break up McFadden's gang and make every last outlaw pay.

This is a fast, violent revenge western, and it should especially please longtime readers of Johnstone's work, since Preacher, a star of the author's other series, plays a central role.