The Hold Up (Rancho Diablo) by Colby Jackson

Randy, a young cowboy from a local ranch, has fallen in love with one of the saloon girls in town.  When his cousin tells him he saw her in town on the arm of another man, he heads into town angry and ready to have it out with her.  He certainly never expected to see her get shot and end up dead in his arms or to be accused of murder!

Mel Odom (editor) sent me a copy of this ebook for review (thank you).  You can buy a copy of this book and others in the series on Amazon.

I like to read a good western every once in a while and this one fit the bill.  This is the only one I have read in the series but I'd read more.  There were always challenges in the old west days.

Randy has been beat in the head with a shotgun by the bartender and is in jail.  His boss, Sam, owner of the Rio Diablo ranch, comes in to town to make sure he's OK and to work on proving that he didn't kill the saloon girl.  Sam had his own trouble with Randy in the past, but he hired him after that and he's been a good ranch hand since.  He believes he's innocent and sets out to prove it.

There are a couple of other incidents upcoming that will hinder the investigation, though.  The bank is getting in a big shipment of cash and two different groups are planning on robbing it.

This is an action-packed read with lots of gunplay and characters that grow on you.  I was rooting for Sam and his men in no time at all.  They aren't weak men and they fight for what is right.  How could you not admire them?

If you enjoy westerns, try this one out and then buy the others.  The combination of writers make these a special read.

Happy reading.