Dusty deserts, showdowns under the blistering sun, bloodthirsty bandoleros, rough whisky and rougher men. Bullets fly, emotions run high and treachery abounds in The Lost Outlaw. This is classic Jack Lark in a classic western. Paul Fraser Collard has done it again and delivered another exceptionally entertaining historical action adventure.

Review

Im an admitted big fan of this series, Jack Lark the “New Sharpe”, is a review line i have used before, only Jack has long outgrown Sharpe. He is deeper, darker and more introspective, the stories stepping into more modern and bloody warfare, with death and destruction on a whole new scale. Plot wise this isn’t’ the darkest of the Jack lark tales, but from a personal level for Jack it feel darker, a man at war with himself, lost and alone, isolating himself, essentially a man depressed, lost , with a death wish, a man with nothing to live for and no where to go.

This Jack, beaten down and lost, wandering aimlessly across the USA soon finds himself in fates path again, desperation and loneliness pushing him into a job he has little choice but to take, he finds himself in the company of hard remorseless men, men with their own agendas, and little morality. Swept along by a new found desire/ need for company and for meaning Jack is employed as a wagon guard taking goods to Mexico. It’s a hard life but feels an honest one, except for the plans of his new boss Brannigan, and Jacks desire for the lady who pulled him into that world.

As with all of Paul Collards stories, he writes you right into the forefront of the story, its happening to you, you become Jack Lark, you feel and experience all the emotions and the blood sweat and tears that Jack does. This is the key i think to why people are drawn to the Jack Lark books.

With such a rich setting it was great to see the author take us on a little tour of the Alamo, and i felt also in the tale he gave us our own Alamo and also a touch of Butch and Sundance. The skirmishes are desperate, they are dirty, they are bloody and they have no rules, this story will take Jack deeper into the mire of human depravity for violence, but could it also show him who he is and what his mission is? for a man as lost as he is “Sometimes the only way through hell is to keep going” (Winston Churchill), can Jack survive the journey?

As i have with every book in this series, i highly recommend this one, i devoured it in a single sitting.

(Parm)

Hi,

My next review is:-

“The Lost Outlaw”, written Paul Fraser Collard and published in hardback by Headline on 25 July 2019. 448 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1472239105

In the midst of civil war, America stands divided. Jack Lark has faced both armies first hand, but as an Englishman will no longer fight for a cause that isn't his.

1863, Louisiana. Jack may have left the battlefield behind, but his gun is never far from reach, especially on the long and lonely road to nowhere. Soon, his skill lands him a job, and a new purpose.

Navy Colt in hand, Jack embarks on the dangerous task of escorting a valuable wagon train of cotton down through Texas to Mexico. Working for another man, let alone a man like the volatile Brannigan, isn't going to be easy. With the cargo under constant attack, and the Deep South's most infamous outlaws hot on their trail, Jack knows he is living on borrowed time.

And, as they cross the border, Jack soon discovers that the usual rules of war don't apply. He will have to fight to survive, and this time the battle might prove one he could lose.

I was impressed even further by this latest adventure by this very imaginative and experienced author. His very detailed research of the period is without equal and makes his stories seem so authentic.

I will certainly look out for the future adventures of Jack Lark. This is one of the best historical mysteries that I have read so far this year. Highly recommended.

Best wishes,

Terry

The Lost Outlaw by Paul Fraser Collard is book number 8 in Jack Lark’s incredible adventures.

I have been reading the Jack Lark books from the very first, The Scarlet Thief, and it is not wrong to say that each book is better than the last. Paul Fraser Colard’s writing gets stronger and better every time. And given that The Scarlet Thief was a thoroughly enjoyable book, I have to say that The Lost Outlaw is truly special and a spectacular sequel to Paul Fraser Collard’s last novel, The Rebel Killer.

In The Lost Outlaw our hero finds himself working alongside some of the most ruthless characters ever created in historical fiction, they will stop at nothing to get what they want – including betraying the people closest to them. Jack Lark is an outsider, a loner and a man who, borne of experience, does not give his trust lightly – a trait which he will need if he is going to survive. For Jack, looking for a connection – any connection – riding along with these unsavoury characters is little more than having something to do.

However, it helps him to reawaken his own fighting skills, and his knack for uncovering layers of conspiracy and deceit – and discovering more about himself. The Jack Lark books have always been filled with action, adventure and enough suspense to keep any reader gripped; but the new layers that the lead protagonists, the depths of his own abilities and issues, add a deeper perspective and go further to defining the motives behind Jack’s actions and adventures.

In previous books, Jack Lark has come across as an opportunist, an impostor, pretending to be someone else to get what he wants. In The Lost Outlaw he is finally beginning to peel away the years of deception to find out for himself who he is. That is not to say that such deep reflection leaves the reader with a melodrama or a slower-paced book than Jack Lark’s previous adventures. No. Jack is learning about his own morals, standards and faults amidst an eventful wagon train to the Mexican border and encounters with the most ruthless outlaws anyone is likely to come across.

Jack Lark is thrown into a little known part of history, a subplot of the American Civil War which was all knew to me and which held a fascination all of its own. It was fascinating to learn of the outlaw, profiteering bands of those areas of America that were truly inhospitable – and where most people would avoid like the plague.

The Lost Outlaw is – as with every book I’ve read by Paul Fraser Collard – impossible to put down. It is a story full of action and intrigue that leaves the reader thirsty for more. The author recreates the atmosphere of the desert – the dust, the desolation and the desperate characters that inhabit it – with a skill few authors can match.

This is truly his best book, yet.

Can’t wait for the next instalment of Jack Lark’s adventures.

The Lost Outlaw is the 8th book in the Jack Lark series, and might just be the best yet.

In this book it feels like Collard is giving us a stripped back Jack Lark. Gone is the military structure, the fancy uniform, grand scaled battles and love affairs. We're left with Jack on his own, tired, worn down, broke and friendless. What follows is a gritty story of murder and betrayal, and eventually revenge.

The character of Jark Lark grows enormously in this book, i feel like he's taken a turn now, and all future books are open to opportunities that may not have previously been there. Its also worth noting that Paul Fraser Collard goes from strength to strength. He's an incredible author, easily one of the best writing historical fiction out there at the moment.