THE CRIMSON TRAIL                       ERIC RED 

Joe Noose knows what fear looks like. He sees it in the eyes of his new friends--a dozen trail-hardened cattlemen who don't scare easily. It's not the 500-mile trek across treacherous Montana territory that's got them spooked. It's not the 3,000 heads of cattle they've got to wrangle either. They're afraid that someone on this drive--one of their own team--is a serial killer. Five wranglers are already dead. Every man is a suspect. And the woman rancher in charge is paying Joe Noose to root out the evil on this cursed cattle drive--by riding alongside the killer... 

PAT'S REVIEW

This book really has two stories going one is Joe staying for a cattle drive that he and Marshall Bess came upon at the end of the last book. They part ways but you hope they met up again. Joe is trying to find the killer of the rustlers of the herd he is with because there is a man from Texas that does not want the female owner to make it to market. There is also someone else on her team that wants them dead as well. This part of the story is full of action and keeps you going throughout the book.
The other part of the story happens with Bess and what is happening back in her town and with some of the wives who have left their husbands because they were being beaten. This part of the story is really interesting and only adds to the whole book and makes up for some moments on the cattle drive that might not be so interesting. Between both, you have a very good book with wonderful characters. Very much worth the read. I received this book from Netgalley.com