Purgatory

Matt Jensen: The Last Mountain Man #3

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

Purgatory, Arizona, is the last place you'll ever cross the law. Because in this town, the law is the personal fiefdom of an evil man--as Matt Jensen discovered on his first day in town, when an unavoidable gunfight and a dead deputy landed him in jail, sentenced to hang at Yuma Prison.

But when the train from Purgatory to Yuma is violently derailed, Matt is set free amidst the carnage--with a choice to make. He can run for his life and live like an outlaw or take a chance with the determined U.S. Marshall who must hunt him down. For Matt, the choice will be easy. Because when both he and his pursuer tangle with a vicious band of outlaws, they're both caught on the same bloody trail. . .that leads straight back to Purgatory.
Original.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Novels

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

William 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.

Reviews

[Joe]

Hello Jo, I have not read it yet. Joe.

[David Burnworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt rides into the town of Purgatory, where he learns that there is a five-dollar visitors' tax. He tells the corrupt deputy that he will just ride on through so he does not have to pay the tax. The deputy tries to force Matt to pay the tax and then says he will be forced to shoot him if he tries to leave. He goes to draw on Matt, but Matt is faster and makes the first kill in this story. Matt is found guilty of killing the deputy in cold blood by the town marshal, who is also a judge and corrupt. After being put on a train to Yuma to be hung, the train is robbed by four outlaws. Somehow, Matt survives, and the action begins; through a winding road, it ends back in Purgatory.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 in the Matt Jensen series. Begins by citing a great deal of backstory. Two intersecting storylines. A trio of bankrobbers two of whom get arrested by the Marshall of Sentinel and Matt who rides into Purgatory and gets sentenced to hang on trumped up charges in a town held hostage by a corrupt marshall and his 8 deputies. Knowing that the series continues for 46 more volumes one can feel safe in assuming Matt gets off. The plot involves the means of his escape and ways in which the plot lines come together.

[Jo-Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt was passing through Purgatory, just stopping for supplies and a drink before moving on, when he was stopped by a deputy demanding he pay a visitor's fee. That started events that landed him in jail, then on a train taking him to another town to be hanged. How could this happen when all he wanted was a drink? It happened easily when the Sheriff and his deputies were all evil men and crooked.

I didn't want to stop reading this fast-paced western. I highly recommend it to fans of the Old West.

[Richard Guerrero · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, I either read this book before or one of the other books with preacher or smoke Jensen had similar accounts as in this book. Anxious to see where Mat goes next. He probably wants to get the heck out of Arizona.

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story. Not a lot of violence, just pointing out the good side of Matt Jensen. Basically, he is unjustly accused and is pardoned with the help of a U.S. Marshal and the governor of the state of Colorado. Easy reading and entertaining.

[Airene Cabral · Rating 4 out of 5]

The adventure of Matt Jensen, and how he reclaims his innocence behind every indictment. The book is easy to read and understand. I'm looking forward to read more of the following series of the novel.

[ted tull · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purgatory

While almost all Johnstone novels a good, this one doesn't measure up to the rest and I've read about 100 of them. Plus the print has so much space between the lines that it looks like they were making it seem longer. That being said, the story was pretty good.

[Schafer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but with a thin plot. Good read when you need something easy.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read as always

[rick incremona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily my favorite of the series so far. Next up savage territory

[Jes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent storyline and pacing. Last line was perfect.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I read the Johnstone Clan's The Last Mountain Man series from the start to this third in the series it becomes very apparent that the crafter of the tales is a far better storyteller than those handling the other parts of the series I've read so far. These three are all complex with interwoven threads that bind to make a solid story.

However, this one is not as well written as the first two. Specifically the first few chapters that are a mish-mosh of trying to retell the two previous books and start telling this one. One reason for this may be that this book came out the same year as the last and the one previous to it came out only months earlier. Chug-a-lugging these books seems to have strained production values.

Something else is that in the previous book much is made of how well Matt Jensen is known. Books and newspaper stories circulating all over. Yet no one knows Matt through out the book until the last few chapters. I realize that had to be done due to the intent of the plot. It's just not in keeping with the earlier intent of the character.

The bulk of the book is still good, lacking the depth of the first two. The characters are especially well explained. Excellent work is done with a secondary character that is law enforcement that, over the course of the book, realizes what is really going on.

Despite the poorly written first chapters -
Bottom line: I recommend this book 7 of 10

[Don Terhaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy Read! Maybe a little too easy. Thank heaven for "Large Print" books. I should be able to read for the rest of this year. Can you review Audio Books on goodreads? :)

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure enjoyed this book, love his writing and this is a great one!