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The Last Mountain Man #14
Cunning of the Mountain Man
Smoke Jensen is determined to find a way out of a New Mexico jail cell--as well as to escape the hide-hungry lynch mob who's after him for a murder he didn't commit. Then he must win the trust of the beautiful widow of the rancher they say he gunned down, because Smoke is all she's got standing between her and the cunning killers out for land--and blood.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
William W. Johnstone
926 books1,217 followersWilliam W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 26, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this Johnstone book. However, there are parts of it that felt familiar, i.e, I could’ve sworn I’ve read this somewhere before in another Johnstone novel, but couldn’t remember which one that might’ve been. No matter…. the story was different as a WHOLE.
Anyway, I love the character of Smoke Jensen, and the quiet tenderness he displays towards his wife, young ones, and for those who are unfortunate and threatened by others. He is a man that doesn’t stand for evil and won’t tolerate injustice, merciless killers, and greed at the expense of others. He doesn’t start fights, but definitely puts an end to them. There’s something about that man that resonates with my heart.
This book was an audio version that was narrated by J. Rodney Turner, and I love his deep almost gravelly grandfather voice as he narrates the story. It’s like he is recounting the story to you from his POV.
William Johnstone/J.A Johnstone continue to be among my favorite western authors. I will look forward to continue to read many more of their works - old and new!
Anyway, I love the character of Smoke Jensen, and the quiet tenderness he displays towards his wife, young ones, and for those who are unfortunate and threatened by others. He is a man that doesn’t stand for evil and won’t tolerate injustice, merciless killers, and greed at the expense of others. He doesn’t start fights, but definitely puts an end to them. There’s something about that man that resonates with my heart.
This book was an audio version that was narrated by J. Rodney Turner, and I love his deep almost gravelly grandfather voice as he narrates the story. It’s like he is recounting the story to you from his POV.
William Johnstone/J.A Johnstone continue to be among my favorite western authors. I will look forward to continue to read many more of their works - old and new!
August 1, 2022
Title: Cunning of the Mountain Man (The Last Mountain Man #14)
Author: William W Johnstone
Year: 2001
Publisher: Pinnacle
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Smoke Jensen is the well-known and much-loved character in the Johnstone country whose exploits keep readers coming back for more each year. Cunning of the Mountain Man tells the story of how Smoke Jensen wakes up to find himself jailed on murder charges. Smoke must find a way out of the jail cell in order to track down those guilty of murdering a rancher. However, that is hard to do when the town believes he is guilty and is planning a necktie party.
Unbeknownst to the townies planning his demise, three of his hands are planning on getting him out. Once he is out, Smoke plans on clearing his name, which means he won’t be returning home to his beloved ranch and his wife Sally anytime soon. The villains in the story are men of wealth who believe they can take what they want and will pay top dollar to get the help they need. These three men also set upon a tract of land that belong to the Apaches, but there is gold there and they want that too!
From the start of the tale to the very end the suspense doesn’t let up! The book held my attention from the moment I opened it, and the ending tugged at my heart. Many times, as I read I thought the story was reaching its conclusion only to find the author had more unseen trouble coming to Smoke and his friends. Even if you haven’t read any other Smoke Jensen tales, this one is a must!
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility.
Author: William W Johnstone
Year: 2001
Publisher: Pinnacle
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Smoke Jensen is the well-known and much-loved character in the Johnstone country whose exploits keep readers coming back for more each year. Cunning of the Mountain Man tells the story of how Smoke Jensen wakes up to find himself jailed on murder charges. Smoke must find a way out of the jail cell in order to track down those guilty of murdering a rancher. However, that is hard to do when the town believes he is guilty and is planning a necktie party.
Unbeknownst to the townies planning his demise, three of his hands are planning on getting him out. Once he is out, Smoke plans on clearing his name, which means he won’t be returning home to his beloved ranch and his wife Sally anytime soon. The villains in the story are men of wealth who believe they can take what they want and will pay top dollar to get the help they need. These three men also set upon a tract of land that belong to the Apaches, but there is gold there and they want that too!
From the start of the tale to the very end the suspense doesn’t let up! The book held my attention from the moment I opened it, and the ending tugged at my heart. Many times, as I read I thought the story was reaching its conclusion only to find the author had more unseen trouble coming to Smoke and his friends. Even if you haven’t read any other Smoke Jensen tales, this one is a must!
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility.
July 1, 2017
This Mountain Man entry is the 20th of the series I've read and one of the best of the series and most of the Johnstone Clan books. It's treading over much traveled plots by the Johnstone Clan. This one does the trek considerably better than the rest.
The characters are of typical thorough Johnstone quality. Better still is the narrative and the well illustrated settings. The narrative is cleverly written with language many notches above what is typically found in a Johnstone book.
Though the plot has been written many times in a Johnstone book, this one adds quite a number of extra elements better fleshing out everything a typical Johnstone book does not. The ending is too much typical of western novels. There are the continued consistency problems involving Smoke's family that bug me more than those should. Couldn't someone keep a flow chart of Smoke's tiny family to pass among the writers?
Bottom line I recommend this book: 8 out of ten points.
The characters are of typical thorough Johnstone quality. Better still is the narrative and the well illustrated settings. The narrative is cleverly written with language many notches above what is typically found in a Johnstone book.
Though the plot has been written many times in a Johnstone book, this one adds quite a number of extra elements better fleshing out everything a typical Johnstone book does not. The ending is too much typical of western novels. There are the continued consistency problems involving Smoke's family that bug me more than those should. Couldn't someone keep a flow chart of Smoke's tiny family to pass among the writers?
Bottom line I recommend this book: 8 out of ten points.
May 14, 2019
I have issues with series where factual inconsistencies keep cropping up. That is happening here, it is rather annoying.
Also the feeling to the story telling comes across some what differently in this book. To be honest I'd say the last few books have had this same issue.
There are more issues but I will not go into detail about them, save to say that all in all I found they lower my rating from a regular 4/5 in my mind to that of a 2/5.
That said it's still a Smoke Jensen adventure theirs that, but for me the enjoyment factor is close to nil.
Also the feeling to the story telling comes across some what differently in this book. To be honest I'd say the last few books have had this same issue.
There are more issues but I will not go into detail about them, save to say that all in all I found they lower my rating from a regular 4/5 in my mind to that of a 2/5.
That said it's still a Smoke Jensen adventure theirs that, but for me the enjoyment factor is close to nil.
July 28, 2019
Enjoyed the 14th book of this smoke Jensen series.
November 1, 2020
Good book. Well developed. A lot going on. A bit too many gun fights for me.
March 5, 2023
Always a great serious if you are into western!
September 18, 2014
Basic Mountain Man story that grabs your attention.
February 9, 2016
Very good western series. The story of Smoke Jensen, trained by the last of the mountain men as a boy. If you like men's adventure and westerns then you will enjoy the series. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews