To the Gates of Hell

Jake Paynter #3

by David Nix

Fans of William Johnstone and Ralph Compton will love this action-packed historical western featuring a lone gunman and the people he's tasked with protecting.

Jake Paynter escaped the noose, but the price of salvation is pain.

Since reluctantly accepting the marshal's job at South Pass City, Jake's life has become an unending run of solving other people's problems. When outlaw boss Dutch van Zandt and his ruthless band mount a campaign of mayhem in Jake's corner of the Wyoming Territory, Jake learns that Lucien Ashley, his persistent adversary, may be aiding the criminals to expand his burgeoning cattle fortune. The fact that Lucien is the brother of Rosalyn, a woman Jake admires, complicates matters.

Determined to thwart van Zandt and Lucien, Jake recruits a posse of old friends and former platoon-mates that puts the outlaw gang on the run. When Lucien betrays van Zandt, the outlaw leader loots Jake's town and takes captive Rosalyn and four children. With friends few and enemies in abundance, Jake must thread a harrowing needle to run down van Zandt in the rugged Wyoming wilderness and save Rosalyn and the children without ending up in a shallow grave.

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published August 23, 2022

About the author

When I was eight, my adventurous parents hauled our young family from the west coast to a Wyoming mountain town perched on the border of the Wind River reservation. That magical landscape infused my formative years with a wonder of local lore that was both historical and present, and revealed to me that often the greatest stories have been all but forgotten or were never told. After publishing science fiction and historical romance for ten years, it seemed a matter of destiny that I’d eventually return to the tales of my youth. The Jake Paynter series brings together fact and fiction to explore places, people, and themes precious to me.

I’ve called Austin home since 1998 with my wife and three children. The kids are grown now, but remain in and around the heart of Texas and consider themselves honorary Wyomingites. I’ve been away from that mountain town for a long time now, but never really left the place.

I write historical romance as Sawyer North.

Reviews

[Kevin Halter · Rating 3 out of 5]

To the Gates of Hell by David Nix is the third in a series starring protagonist Jake Paynter but my first and while I didn't feel lost or confused during the book it did feel as though the story in this book was the resolution of several plots and story lines.
The characters are well developed and seem multi faceted in a way not often found in the more pulpy westerns, and the many short chapters approach has just enough action and "cliffhangers" to keep the pages going by at a fast pace.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #SourceBooks, and David Mix for the ARC of #TotheGatesofHell.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having ridden along with Jake Paynter to this final showdown that draws all his powerful enemies like vultures, I had mixed feelings about arriving at the end. As series go, this has been an amazing experience entering David Nix’s western world and his superb way of capturing a western genre story. I have been rooting for Jake’s hard-fought path to redemption all the way and can’t wait to see if he makes it through this last and most intense series of challenges.

To Hell and Back is the third of the Jake Paynter series and builds on the background and series arc laid out through the earlier books so doesn’t make a good standalone.

Jake is the Marshal of South Pass City in Wyoming with his former Buffalo Soldier friend Gus and the former wagon train scout, half-Shosone, Stacy as his deputies. Rosalyn is teaching her school. They all made it through the last struggle.
There is more to come. Dutch van Zandt, the powerful outlaw leader, and Lucien Ashley are confederates to take all they can and gain more power in Wyoming Territory. A train robbery led by van Zandt’s guys has Jake calling a posse of his deputies, friends and Shosone Beah Nooki.
The danger jacks up when Van Zandt is betrayed by Ashley and Rosalyn and some of her students are captured. Jake might think he’s not good enough for her, but he will ride straight into the fires of hell to save her and that might be literal when the steamy hot countryside of Yellowstone is involved. Dare he trust Ashley as an ally?
But, don’t look now, van Zandt isn’t the only dangerous villain with sights set on Jake. Even with his capable friends, Jake’s chances are slim.

To the Gates of Hell was an astounding grand finale. It had to be with the way the previous books took the reader into breath-stealing shootouts and tight situations, rough outlaw encounters, greed and intrigue, and the grit of a guy who won’t stay down even if he thinks his past defines him.

Besides the charging, pulse-pounding pace and tone of the plot, the development of the characters especially Jake, but also his friends and even the villains made for a lushly drawn historical backdrop, setting, and the most fascinating people. While Jake is hard-scrabbling to a good life even if he still has doubts and his friends from many Western types (without being clichés) know his worth and back him, it was also interesting to see the bad guys including Rosalyn’s brother have layers of gray in them. The villains are clearly that, but one does get their motivations. Jake’s ruthlessness and grit are what is needed to face the might of all those out to take what they can.

The romance was still on the backburner, but I did love seeing the tender times for Rosalyn and Jake and sense they have a good chance if they can catch a break.

All in all, this was a monumentally fab western trilogy. I think this was the end because the loose threads were tied off, but I wouldn’t be upset for more hard-hitting westerns from the Jake Paynter world. Western fans of the old-style westerns need to try out this series.

[Brodie Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake Paynter is a Civil War soldier turned Wyoming lawman with cold eyes who nevertheless inspires loyalty and devotion from those on his side. Jake has forged bonds with his deputies, former Buffalo soldier Gus, and Gus’s love interest Stacy, who is half Shoshone and has a firecracker personality, as well as with Shoshone elder and expert tracker Beah Nooki. Now the merciless Van Zandt gang has brought their thieving ways and tyranny to Jake’s town in the Wind River region. The Van Zandt threat compounds when the gang abducts the object of Jake’s unexpressed affections, schoolmarm Rosalyn, along with four of her young pupils. Jake and his posse set out in doggedly relentless pursuit through western Wyoming to Yellowstone, forming an uneasy alliance along the way with Rosalyn’s ambitious but duplicitous brother and his evil henchmen who have deeply held scores to settle with Jake.

The pacing from scrap to scrap is pleasingly fast. Jake is righteous in his pursuit of justice and respectful of the native ways, conveying a sense of spirituality in him that is perhaps rooted in religion, since “most folks who rode with Death at least learned to pray.” While the formula of a larger-than-life alpha male taking on the bad guys in rugged western landscapes with a blaze of gunfire for the love of a woman may be well-trod, this third book in the Jake Paynter series is written by an author with roots in the region who is well-versed in its geography and history. This book will appeal to readers seeking constant forward momentum and explosive action sequences in a familiar Western novel storyline.

Was this review helpful? I am an avid reader of historical fiction, and author. More of my reviews can be found at www.brodiecurtis.com

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why don't usually read Westerns because I remember loving old-school movies and this book reads like one of the best.
Jake Paynter is the quintessential lone wolf with a past that makes him feel unworthy somehow surrounded by people who love and respect him. As the sheriff of a small town in the middle of the desolate West, he finds his hands full when a suave and terrifying villain sets his sights on his territory and dangerous tensions lead to even more dangerous situations. Nix surrounds Paynter with fantastic characters that sometimes steal the show and keep the tensions and darkness from the main character from overtaking the story.
Extra praise for the fact that Nyx manages to make even the tedious, days-long rides across desolate landscapes feel exciting and pulse-pounding, and that's not even mentioning all the grand shootouts. There's a ton of action in this one and it never lets up or feels repetitive.
This being book 3 in the series left me with some gaps and questions as to the relationships and animosity between some of the characters, but Nix does a solid job of giving readers enough information to make it a minor detail without it taking too much space within the story. The characters and Nix's worldbuilding are fantastic so I would recommend not doing what I did and actually reading previous volumes before this one, but I don't think it's necessary.
Overall, this is a solid entry into the Western genre that is sure to please both avid fans and newcomers with its deft and original handling of the genre tropes.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the exciting early read!

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trouble just seems to chase Jake Paynter and seems like Lucien Ashley is usually involved somehow and this most recent round is no exception. Naturally old faithful Gus and Miss Stacy Blue are at Paynter’s side along with a few others but will they be enough against not one but two different antagonistic outlaw crews? Good read that is pretty much nonstop action all the way through.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in the Jake Paynter series, a well written continuation of Jake's story. He has a lot to overcome again, Gus and Miss Stacy Blue are by his side. I enjoyed seeing this story with its suspense, drama, villains, twists and turns come together. This has been a very good series from the first book. I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cherry London · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story began in a blaze of gun smoke and action. Jake and Gus found themselves in the thick of things with one of the meanest bandits in the west. Everyone he met seemed to have a grudge, but Jake was not one to back down. He aimed to continue his job as a US Marshall no matter what. Woohoo, this book had action, excitement, and intrigue. I loved it.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, though I continue to find the very one-note villains a bit much. It's like they all have Be a Terrible Person as the first ten entries on their to-do list, even when doing so interferes with other things they supposedly want.

But Jake continues to become more human, the side characters are likable, and, of course, the good guys win.

[Steve Ring · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good western. The characters are well developed and the action is frequent. I enjoy the authors writing style.

[Elise Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping western adventure from the pen of a master storyteller! FIVE GLOWING STARS!

David Nix is a word-painter, magically bringing his characters and scenes to life with skillful strokes of his pen (or keyboard) from the very first page. Book 3 in the Jake Paynter Series begins with a train robbery orchestrated by Dutch van Zandt, the outlaw king of Wyoming Territory. Van Zandt is in cahoots with Lucien Ashley--Jake's old adversary--as both men seek to acquire enough wealth to control a large chunk of the territory. Their acts of theft, extortion and violence must be stopped, and Jake Paynter--now the marshal of South Pass City--is the man to stop them. But how?

With help from deputy marshals Gus Rivers and Stacy Blue, a Shoshone elder named Beah Nooki, and an assortment of old comrades, Jake puts the outlaws on the run. But when Lucien betrays van Zandt and joins forces with Jake in an unholy alliance, the outlaw king retaliates by looting South Pass City and kidnapping four children and Rosalyn Ashley--Lucien's sister and the woman Jake admires.

Thus begins a long, dangerous journey through the territory to Hole-in-the-Wall and beyond, leading toward a final confrontation in the geyser fields of Yellowstone. Here, Jake and his friends must face not only van Zandt and his men, but also Jake's greatest nemesis, Ambrose Blackburn.

Will Lucien switch sides again and join forces with van Zandt in the fight? Jake realizes that, "No matter the outcome of the mission, there would be a reckoning between Jake's people and Lucien's band, and both sides would suffer." They do indeed. It's a bloody, horrific battle, with a shocking ending that took my breath away. Will Rosalyn and the children survive? Will Jake Paynter find the redemption he craves? I'm not saying.

As always, you'll find compelling prose, authentic western settings, and memorable characters (especially Beah Nooki). You'll find no sex scenes, no f-bombs, and very limited profanity. Kudos for flawless proofreading and for the author's extensive knowledge of the locations and history of the time period. Keep writing, Mr. Nix. Your talent is precious and rare.

This exciting story easily earns five stars and MY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!

[Cathy Geha · Rating 5 out of 5]

To the Gates of Hell by David Nix
Jake Paynter #3

Sweeping Western that had me hooked till the very end. Not sure if this is a trilogy or if there will be more about Jake in the future. If not, perhaps a spin-off with Gus and Stacy? Great story!

What I liked:
* Jake: has come a long way from book one, condemned, pardoned, almost mythic, good leader, great friend, better than he realizes, might get the girl in the end
* Rosalyn: teacher, sister, adopted daughter, on the outs with her brother, interested in Jake, strong, never gives up
* Gus: Jake’s war buddy and friend, buffalo soldier, wise, good man, interested in Stacy
* Stacy: daughter of wagon train leader, half Shoshone, a bit of a tomboy, likes Gus
* Beah Nooki: Shoshone elder, wise man, good friend, through many wars, difficult backstory
* Jake’s horse – she has a lot of heart and personality
* The start that set up the story and began the chase
* That some of the bad guys are not totally evil
* The way most of the people living in South Pass worked together for the benefit of all
* That the Native Americans were not the bad guys and were helpful
* That I could hate the bad guys and hope they received a bitter end
* That some that seemed irredeemable proved perhaps otherwise
* The writing, pace, plot, and setting
* The twist at the end
* That all of the loose ends were tied up at the end of the third book – no cliffhanger
* Wondering if this is a trilogy and complete, if there will be a spin-off, or if more of Jake will be seen in the future

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Knowing that some people, in any era, are as evil as the ones in this book
* Having to say goodbye to the characters

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

[Jessica Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

To the Gates of Hell is the second western featuring bad boy turned good guy and now Marshall, Jake Paynter. Dutch van Zandt and his band of villains are raising a ruckus in Jake’s territory from robbing safes on trains to terrorizing the honest citizens in town. Jake and his trusty allies risk neck and limb to bring justice to the untamed west. This book is a shoot’em up page turner worthy to grace the shelves with the greats like L’Amour and Johnstone. I love the unique characters and the nonstop action and there’s still nothing like a bad boy gone good story. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.