The book starts off as Frank Morgan getting jailed because of a look alike that is an outlaw. He breaks out of jail and starts looking for the lookalike outlaw. He rides into the town of Chance to resupply and to verify his identity. He is told the lookalike has been raiding towns in the area and takes the job of deputy of Chance. He gets into a confrontation with a rancher from the area and settles it in his way. The outlaw raids the town and kidnaps some women, one of which Frank is fond of. Then "The Last Gunfighter" goes to rescue the women then to settle the score with the lookalike and his followers.

i have read and reread most of this series. this is one of my favorites. it shows some ingenuity and keeps moving right 'till the end. anyone familiar with the series will enjoy the many little jokes in it. enjoy!

I think this is a story that needed to be told. Everyone I know thinks that love conquers all. This story tells the other side of love, the bad side. It starts as a very highly trained soldier who is forced to leave Vietnam, quits the army and returns to civilian life after only knowing war and loneliness. He falls in love for the first time with a married woman who leads him on, frustrates, confuses, angers him while all the while telling him to wait for her and to be patient. It drive him to the breaking point with tragic results. I liked this book, it is a book that at points you can't put down and can feel for this guy. It also says don't play games with love.

This book was a bit over the top in parts, but it had some really good gunfight scenes, and Smoke Jensen has a mythic quality about him. Some great dialogue about the code of the west.

BIG MAX HIGGINS DIDNT THINK WHEN HE HAD SMOKES WIFE KIDNAPPED!!! SMOKE HAS TO USE EVERYTHING HE HAS LEARNED TO GET HER BACK. VERY EXCITING BOOK.

I must agree with Brian's review on this one as being one of Johnstones best. The read is very entertaining, if that's what you read for and not dissection. If you let your imagination go with this book you'll find yourself walking right along with them!

A friend of mine told me that this was a very good book to read. So I decided to read it and I could not put it down. I found the book very entertaining and liked it alot. I recommend that book to read if you like books from William W. Johnstone.

I thought it was interesting that the so-called "Religious Right" came in for as much of a pasting from Mr. Johnstone as the Liberal Left--something that other reviewers here seem to have missed. All in all, one of his best.

I really wanted to read this book. I saw it while grocery shopping and was intrigued by the cover; I really love stories involving creepy kids and the cat looked cute in an evil way, of course. When I got home with my purchase, I started reading it and soon discovered I just couldn't continue. Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you - Johnstone's writing style is atrocious and I just couldn't bring myself to feign interest in it. He writes in small, simple, annoyingly terse sentences, making it very hard for me to get involved in the story. I enjoy rich imagery and his style does absolutely nothing for me in this regard. I almost feel bad writing such a harsh review for a book I didn't fully read, and any other time I might *briefly* consider trying again if I didn't think it'd be too painful. Maybe I'll pass this book on to my little brother if he can even stand it. I'd advise anyone NOT to buy this book until you actually get a look at it because the style is that awful.

Here's the description from the back of this book to help you decide if this book is for you: "No one knew where she had come from. She was just a scrap of a girl clinging to a black cat with eerie yellow eyes. A lost child or an orphan, maybe. It was a miracle she had survived on Eden Mountain at all. Suddenly strange things began to happen in placid Ruger County, bizarre killings that the police couldn't solve. Horrifying accidents that the people couldn't comprehend. An insatiable beast was stalking their lovers' lanes, their swimming holes, and their children. No one noticed how quickly the little girl's pale cheeks turned pink with health. How her frail body filled out with sleek, lithe muscles and feline grace. And no one noticed that at night her innocent blue eyes turned an eerie, evil yellow ..."

Fast-past action and quick and clever dialouge keep you on the edge of your seat with William W. Johnstone's Cat's cradle. The book's story is comprised of three different books. The story consists of blood- bath killing sprees. This is a fiction book that should be rated Pg-13. The book is about a 1/2 cat, 1/2 girl, which goes out and kills many people throughout Ruger County. I think this is a gtreat horror book, but I wouldn't suggest a 13 year old or under to read it.

This installment really brings home that the series has outlived its value. The series has never paid attention to timelines as the author tries to work in today's issues. If the big one happened in the early 80's at the start of the series,there should be some credibility in the storyline. If that's not possible,hang it up. This isn't the first book to bring in a supernatural element. Early in the series there was a character called ,"The Prophert," an old man who wandered around and ran into Ben Raines now and then. Now we have aliens. It's been fun,but,time to stop. Retire Ben..marry off Coop and Jersey and let Buddy battle aliens in another series.

I've read every book in the series. Except for the first one, the Ashes series flowed fairly smoothly. However, it's getting a little long in the tooth. The series tends to wander into tangents now, as if it's looking for filler material to find a way to justify another book. Considering all the damage that took place during the Rebel battles to eliminate the mutations in the world, it's not practical to think that the world would have made that much of a recovery that fast and then return to the same attitudes that brought about the problems in the first place. Aliens, now? Don't get desperate! Although it is science fiction, it should still follow a logical sequence and be halfway believeable. End the series with a bang, not a whimper. Follow the lead Jerry Ahern did with his Survivalist series. He knew when to quit, too.

As usual this is an excellent book. May be a little wild in some respects but if we don't keep close watch on the present socialists in our government we may very well be in the situation outlined in this series. If any one can tell me where to get more than the 5 I have I would appreciate the information.

Being a fan of survival fiction I decided to give this one a try. I had read a couple of books in Johnstone's "Ashes" series and got bored with them quickly since they were just pulp "men's adventure" stories. As such, I did not have very high expectations but even so this one was disappointing.

The basic premise of the book is that three old war buddies in their sixties and the whiney Liberal son of one of the men get together and go on a four week camping trip in the mountains of Montana. Suddenly a massive pre-planned prison break takes place and over 200 of the country's worst criminals escape into the woods. The convicts, armed to the teeth with help from the outside, stumble onto several people in the wilderness where they capture them and abuse them physically and sexually in terrible ways. Eventually the convicts run afoul of the 'old farts' and the whiney Liberal son who vociferously objects to everything the good guys do. Much bloodshed ensues as well as gratuitous conservative chest-thumping and Liberal-bashing and the bad guys and the Liberals who coddle them get their comeuppance.

This book really had me wondering why the author felt that this would be something worth doing. It read like a book that a hot-headed conservative would write after watching the news and seeing some kind of liberal outrage that just set him off. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a very conservative-minded person (pro Second Amendment, pro capital punishment -- the works) so I do not disagree with the basic premise of this book (that criminal scum should be coddled or tolerated) or the Author's conclusions of what happens when such criminals are unleashed on society, but this was just too much. The story is written in a shallow, uninteresting way that makes it seem like the book was something the author threw together on a weekend after having a gripe-session with his conservative buddies about how the country was going to pot because of Liberals and other hand-wringers.

The book offers almost nothing for the person looking for a story about how regular people survive in irregular circumstances and it does more harm than good to the conservative argument since it is so obviously absurd in its portrayal of how things work in the real world. The situations are largely contrived and the dialog, which is corny most of the time, can become just outrageous when the author goes into 'soap box' mode which is pretty much the whole time. As an example, convicts who are hemorrhaging from multiple gunshot wounds give speeches about how they've always been bad and always will be before they die. It's just laughable to think that the author meant for this to be taken seriously.

On the plus side this book is easy to read since Johnstone is not a novice writer but the question is why bother? Unless you're just looking for a one-sided diatribe on the evils of Liberalism and aren't interested in stories with any depth, balance or believable characters then by all means give this one a try -- It could be a great cathartic read for [upset] conservatives who need some escapist release. Otherwise it would be best to spend your reading time on something a little less juvenile.

"Ordeal" is right...this book is an ordeal to read. Every time I picked it up I debated just throwing this trash away and starting something else. I read about 20 novels a year and this is without question the worst book I've seen in a decade. An eight-year-old could have written this.

This book has about a dozen main characters, not one of which is ever developed to the point that you know anything about him or her, much less care what happens to them. They get raped...so; beat up...yawn; killed...turn the page. The dialog is moronic. Every character speaks with the same colloquialisms, and frequently says the exact same words as other "characters". The plot is painfully predictable and sophomoric, with several events that are incredible, in the strict sense of the word. There are huge gaps in the timing. Scenes are not described at all. These people are in some of the most beautiful wilderness in America, and the author never even bothers to describe it, so busy is he spouting his political opinions. While I agree in principle with the political viewpoint of this author, this is such a crude, simplistic and caricatured portrayal of both sides that it is not persuasive, just offensive.

Actually I loved this Book and I love all of Johnstones Books becouse he makes me Think and to the revierer who made the Crack about the Ashes Series just being another "Mens" Adventure story Think again, Thousands of woman are reading it and I belong to Johnstone Book group just for Woman and all we do is discuss the Johnstone Books and we love the Ashes Stories becouse They are Conservative Action/Adventures that tell it like it is....

I think your just scared becouse "JOHNSTONE" makes you Think and you are a SHEEP even Johnstone in his books through his Main Charecter in the Ashes Series "Ben Raines" says people will not like what he has to say and stick thier heads in the sand and Yes he writes Fiction but Damm good Fiction that has enough of a SMACK truth in them to get all you Liberls Yelling and trust me I am a Conservative and proud of it and Yes I believe what Johnstone Writes in his books and I do believe in his brand of Justice and I also believe only 1 out of four people could live the way they do in the SUSA (See the ASHES SERIES FOR THE REFERENCE).

Try being stand up think for yourself kinda people instead SHEEP and I know thier are people out thier who are going to say to me ? so what you are saying is If I dont like Johnstone I am a Sheep and I say well look inside yourself and answer that Question

WILLIAM W. JOHNSTONE IS THE BEST WRITER ON THIS PLANET AND ALL HIS BOOKS ARE THE BEST!!!! GO JOHNSTONE TELL IT LIKE IT IS.....

I'm happy with a new series by Johnstone. The plot was somewhat realistic, given this book was written well before the 9/11 event. Terrorists plot to kill the President, and many Americans in NYC, for the PLF (People's Liberation Front)'s cause. The new hero is John Barrone, along with other ex-Federal, State agents. They train together in West Texas and track the PLF from L.A., across country to NYC. They also must keep quiet about who they are to the FBI, CIA...etc. Lots of action, but little character development give this novel 3 stars. However, am impressed that Bill does not preach his philosophy every other chapter as in the Ashes series, and some of his more recent books like Breakdown. Although, I agree with most of that philosophy, we just want a good story. Looking forward to reading the next book.

If you expect this to be another Ashes Series, the you will be dissapointed. Although the same ideas (thoughts) are there, it is not written in the same manor. However, if you enjoy William Johnstone's writing, then you will like this new series. It is going to be an interesting series to follow.

This is the first of Johnstones books that I have read. The book kept me going from first to last. I will now have to try reading his Mountain Man series. My library has over 1000 books in it. (Yes, purists they are mostly paperback.)I am looking forward to the follow up to this series.