Welcome to The Hard Word

A Champion Of
Western & Crime Fiction

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COWBOYS & INDIANS & WITCHES & ZOMBIES: COMANCHERIA'S REAVIS WORTHAM

"....WHO IS MORE UNIVERSAL THAN HITCH?": BIRDS, STRANGERS, AND PSYCHOS' MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI

FAMILY MATTERS: WALTER MOSLEY'S GRAY DAWN

SHOTGUN BLAST FROM THE PAST: JOHN & WARD HAWKINS'S THE FLOODS OF FEAR

The Floods of Fear by the sibling writing team of John and Ward Hawkins is the epitome of a fifties potboiler. From the overwrought title...

HOLLYWOOD IN BOOTS: J.R. SANDERS' A KILLING WAY

Even though there are three books before it, winning both Spur and Shamus awards, I discovered J.R. Sanders' thirties private eye Nate...

LOST LOVE & MURDER: HARRY HUNSICKER'S THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ROSE DOUCHETTE

It's always exciting to read a book by an author you're a fan of that takes them to another level of their talents. It feels lie...

"IT JUST GROWS AS I TYPE": AN INTERVIEW WITH NORDIC & FINN'S PETER BRANDVOLD

Nordic & Finn, Peter Brandvold's latest western, deals with a large loner, Nordic, who sparks off a range war, when he comes to the...

A FAST LIFE OF CRIME: DIETRICH KALTEIS'S CROOKED

There's something compelling about the Depression era robbers. Maybe it's that the tie to the old west with the outlaws switching their...

NEW START WITH NEW SERIES: STEVE HOCKENSMITH'S HIRED GUNS

My friend Steve Hockensmith had been yearning to do a traditional western for years. He sort of wrote several in a stealth/hybrid form...

THE MYSTERIES OF MURDER AND RELATIONSHIPS: ALISON GAYLIN'S ROBERT B. PARKER'S BUZZKILL

In two books, Alison Gaylin has completely taken over Robert B. Parker's Sunny Randall from the previous caretaker. She both maintains...

A MAN AND HIS DOG AND A LOT OF BULLETS: PETER BRANDVOLD'S NORDIC & FINN

Peter BrandVold provided a fresh a bold voice that lead a new generation into the traditional western. He married the romance of of the...

"...YOU'LL SOMETIMES FIND YOURSELF CROSSING THOSE "BOUNDARIES" AND IT'S PERFECTLY OKAY...":THE HONORABLE ASSASSIN'S STEVE HAMILTON

Steve Hamilton's The Honorable Assassin is the third book to feature Nick Mason, an ex con who made a deal for early release, to learn...

"...I GREW AS A WRITER TO MAKE IT WORK.": BLIND TO MIDNIGHT'S REED FARREL COLEMAN

Reed Farrel Coleman's second book to feature Nick Ryan, a "fixer" in the NYPD, looks at the city and it's emotions both communal and in...

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