Guns (John Hardin series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Phil Bowie (Author)

Book Description

Series: John Hardin series | Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Sam Bass is tall and lanky, loves old western movies, wears cowboy boots and drives a beat-up Jeep Wrangler. He has a gorgeous girlfriend, Valerie, a Cherokee widow with a young son, and he’s a hot shot pilot. A hot shot pilot with a past. And when Sam makes a daring and dangerous rescue of a couple lost at sea in a storm, he gets publicity he definitely doesn’t need. The Cowboy, as he’s known in certain circles, has finally been located and a hit team is dispatched to take care of unfinished business. A bomb is planted in the beat-up Jeep. But it isn’t Sam who drives it that day. Grief stricken, Sam visits Valerie’s grandfather in the North Carolina mountains to tell him he plans to avenge Valerie in the ancient Native American way of members of a wronged family seeking justice – with no help from the law. With only the old man’s help, Sam trains his mind and body for the task ahead. And then the bloody hunt is on.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his debut novel, Bowie presents the smart, cocksure Sam Bass, a man with a mysterious past. To the handful of inhabitants on a tiny island off the coast of North Carolina, including Valerie, the Cherokee widow whom he loves, Sam is a laid-back pilot-for-hire. When he becomes a local hero after rescuing an elderly couple from their storm-battered boat, the human interest story is picked up by the wire services and draws the attention of men from his past. Intent on killing him and addressing him as "The Cowboy," the mystery men fail to get Sam but unintentionally kill Valerie, leaving her young son orphaned and Sam hell-bent on revenge. He seeks out Valerie's grandfather and trains with him in the ancient Cherokee way of vengeance before setting out to administer violent justice. Though Bowie did the homework to distinguish his History of Violence-style plot—researching planes and gun running as well as Cherokee history and lore, and investing his characters with elaborate backstories—he leans on these details too often, slowing down what could be an absorbing, fast-paced tale. (Aug.)
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Review

"Fast, engaging—a fine debut."  —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author, the Jack Reacher series

"An interesting thriller starring a fascinating laconic protagonist who's obsessed with a bloodthirsty mission."  —Harriet Klausner, Gotta Write Network

"Absolutely first rate. Outstanding read. Congratulations."  —Helen Rosburg, author, The Dream Thief

"An admirable debut . . . a good read can make those weekend afternoons breeze by.  Check out Guns and get a good read."  —Book Beat

"Bowie truly has a great plot that kept me interested."  —Novelspot

"A fine debut novel from a gifted writer. It is a chilling story. The plotting is good and the characters are well and truly drawn.  A good book.  Enjoy."  —Sun Journal (New Bern, North Carolina)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 357 pages
• Publisher: Medallion Press (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932815597
• ISBN-13: 978-1932815597
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Phil is a lifelong freelance writer with 300 articles and short stories published in national magazines including Reader's Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, Grit, Harpers, Troika, Yankee, Heartland USA, and several boating and aviation magazines. He once won a short story contest by completing a yarn begun by Stephen King titled "The Cat From Hell." He has a series of three suspense novels, first published in print by Medallion Press and now available on Kindle. They are GUNS, DIAMONDBACK, and KLLRS. The books have been endorsed by top gun international best selling authors Lee Child, Ridley Pearson, and Stephen Coonts, respectively. His debut novel, GUNS, took Honorable Mention at the London Book Festival.
Phil is a private pilot, a boat captain, a motorcycle rider, and a fiddler. He lives in eastern North Carolina on a shore of the wide Neuse River, and his novels are largely set in his home state. Learn more at his website, www.philbowie.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting thriller, August 2, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guns (John Hardin series) (Mass Market Paperback)

Off the North Carolina coast, Coast Guard Mate Ruben Dixon calls Sam Bass to ask him to search for the Osprey caught at sea by a storm. Though the weather is horrendous Sam flies into the storm and spots the ship giving the Coast Guard the coordinates. Ralph and Adele Stilley are rescued just before their vessel sinks. Raleigh Sentinel reporter Ira Cohn and TV news anchor Samantha Blackstone were sharing a tryst on the barrier island when they heard the story. They interview Sam, who becomes a national hero.

However, instead of enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame, Sam finds his past has returned with a vengeance. Thugs arrive to kill "The Cowboy", but instead murder his beloved Valerie, a Cherokee widow and mother of a young boy. Vowing revenge, Sam travels to see Valerie's Cherokee grandfather to tell him what happened, but soon becomes a willing student to his mentor learning the old fashion Indian way of meting out justice.

GUNS comes out of the gate on all cylinders as the mysterious Bass saves the lives of the Stilleys and keeps the fast pace going until the final avenging confrontation occurs even with sidebars involving aircraft, gun running and the Cherokee Nation. The cast is solid especially Sam, but when Phil Bowie dwells on his past, the story line loses some momentum though it also explains why he is a target. Still this is an interesting thriller starring a fascinating laconic protagonist who's obsessed with a bloodthirsty mission.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guns, August 29, 2009

By 

Clayton Bye (Kenora, On, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guns (John Hardin series) (Mass Market Paperback)

Guns
By Phil Bowie
Medallion Press, Inc, 2006
ISBN-13: 978-1-932815-59-7
ISBN-10: 1-932815-59-7
Suspense

The Cowboy is a man with a past. Known to the residents of Ocracoke island as Sam Bass, this pilot-for-hire lives a quiet, simple life until his heroic part in a dangerous sea rescue gains national attention. Unfortunately, Sam's old employer is one of the people who sees the newspaper story. A player in the shady world of light weapons trading, Louis Strake dispatches a hit team to the remote Northern Carolina island. Their orders? Put a permanent end to Strake's association with The Cowboy.

Sam is a government witness who has gotten a little too comfortable. Too many people know his habits. And it's only quick thinking and a lot of luck that saves his life. His beautiful girlfriend, Valerie, isn't so lucky. She's killed by an explosive charge the hit team places in The Cowboy's jeep.

Forced back into the witness protection program and unable to make any contact with Valerie's five-year-old son, The Cowboy decides to avenge Valerie's death in the way of her Cherokee ancestors. Enlisting the help of Valerie's grandfather, he prepares himself mentally and physically for what lies ahead. Then he goes hunting.

Guns is Phil Bowie's commentary on the world of arms dealing. His protagonist is a morally ambivalent pilot who steps a little too far into that dark land and tries to escape by taking down the man who brought him in. When this effort fails, the feds give The Cowboy a new identity and encourage him to completely forget his old life. He's okay with this. But once that new life is shattered, Bowie's anti-hero coldly and methodically exacts the kind of revenge countless real-world victims only dream about.

Bowie is a skilled writer. I wouldn't have guessed this was his first novel. Take away the lengthy monologues he blatantly uses to provide backstory and you've got a terrific book.


copyright © 2006 Clayton Clifford Bye

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read!, August 24, 2006

By 

Catherine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guns (John Hardin series) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed GUNS very much---the plot was fantastic, the characters interesting and "real"; an excellent read.