Friday, October 4, 2013

Back from the Dead Review by Barbra Lee


Jere D. James has written yet another winner with Back from the Dead, the fifth book in the Jake Silver Adventure Series.

How can an author continue to get better with each book? Most authors start off with a bang, produce a good book or two, but inevitably put out a lemon. No doubt part of this stems from the pressure to keep producing. Unfortunately, unless the word gets out, the bad publication often sells well because of the author’s previous work. Not so with Jere D. James, the author of the astounding Jake Silver Adventure Series. Every book in the Jake Silver series has been completely unique, well-written, riveting and highly entertaining. James’ books are unlike any other westerns on the market. There is nothing ho-hum or boring about them. The characters are original, the plots are completely innovative, and the endings are unparalleled cliff-hangers.

James uses the same characters in every book, although each book introduces new ones, too. To have the best experience with this author, it’s best to start with book one, Saving Tom Black, and work through the series: Apache, Canyon of Death, High Country Killers, Back from the Dead, and the forthcoming Gunslinger Justice.

James’ latest book, Back from the Dead, is utterly and absolutely different than any of the previous four books, each of which takes place in a different location in Arizona. The setting for Back from the Dead is Baja California, Mexico. Jake Silver and Richard Moody sail, ride and shoot their way into the heart of Baja to rescue two captive women. In the process, a new and highly engaging character is introduced - the murderous bandit Diego del Fuentes. One can only hope that Fuentes will appear in the next, and last, Jake Silver book Gunslinger Justice.

No matter how one thinks things are going to go, James never goes that route with his plots. The twists and turns that James put in this latest novel are highly inventive.

The story begins with the trial of Richard Moody for the shooting death of Gunner McGraw, which is where book four in the series, High Country Killers, ends. But the plot quickly gets complicated when Moody is asked to be a deputy sheriff while Silver is recovering from being backshot by McGraw. Even more intriguing, is the introduction of Vincent Cooper, a PI from Chicago and a “friend” of sorts of Moody’s who shows up in Prescott. Of course, the villain in several books, Jeremiah Atkinson, appears as villainous and cunning as ever.

James wastes no time in moving his plots along, sometimes at a whirlwind pace, and Back from the Dead may be the fastest paced novel of any of his books. No matter, it seems the book, a scrumptious 246 pages, ends all too soon.


This is an engaging, exhilarating read. Highly recommended.

Barbra Lee, 
EzineArticles Author

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