The Songbird's Sting

"She’d learned one certainty along the way…to stay alive, stay out of the line of fire." 

The Songbird's Sting

L.J. Martin, a seasoned writer of over 60 novels, has the formula down for writing another fast paced, action packed western novel.

“The Songbird's Sting” is the second novel in Martin's Arizona series with an added twist. Martin has created a female oriented novel with Elizabeth Anne Graystone, pseudonym songbird, as the protagonist. She has an angelic operatic voice, skilled as a thespian artist and has lots of sass which she learns to play to her advantage. The novel is character driven with seven main characters, but the songbird's story line is the focal point set in the Arizona territory 1873-1874. One of the author's writing strengths is how he effectively captures Elizabeth's female persona. She's a woman with a career, unusual for this time period. Readers will admire Elizabeth's sass as she stands up to her captors with her self assurance and resourcefulness. Despite her fashionable and genteel appearance she is not afraid to defend herself using her 1870 Hopkins and Allen .32 caliber pocket pistol to stay alive and out of the line of fire. Character and landscape description enhance the story line.

Martin skillfully incorporates into the story all the classic elements of a western themed novel capturing the lawlessness of the region with robberies, shootouts, acts of revenge, with cowboys, sheriffs and kin in hot pursuit. “The Songbird's Sting” is a wild ride for Elizabeth, her allies and captors. The story's pace moves briskly along making for an enjoyable read.

The novel takes off at a breathtaking speed with the reader propelled right into the action when Katherine O'Rourke, stage name Elizabeth Anne Graystone, boards a stagecoach in Prescott headed for a singing engagement in Tucson. She is forced to travel alone as her black manservant, Skeeter, has been sidelined with an illness. Elizabeth is barely ensconced on the stagecoach when it's ambushed by road agents (those who prey on stagecoaches and horseback riders). Several shootouts and killings ensue and Elizabeth and Don Mateo, a wealthy rancher, are kidnapped by outlaw Louie Bowen. They are forced to head with him to Mexico.

A parallel narrative unfolds within the story with Elizabeth and her brother Ryan O' Rourke. He has escaped jail with the help of his cousins. leaving a lynching mob behind. He's hoping to get to Montana with them when he receives word his sister has been kidnapped from the stagecoach by outlaws. Plenty of action ensues with pursuing lawmen, navigating desert terrain and harsh weather elements, and dodging the camps of Yaqui and Apaches.. You will find yourself rooting for Elizabeth and Don Mateo's safety. Intense action picks up the pace when Elizabeth and Louie meet up with Aracela, a wealthy widow. She runs a distillery in Crater Mountain. Several brazen moves set in motion a dramatic and imaginative conclusion to rescue Elizabeth. I guarantee you'll be turning the pages fast to see how the story ends.

L.J. Martin is a novelist and non-fiction author. He has authored 55 western, historical, mystery, and thriller novels from Bantam, Pinnacle, Avon, Gale, and Wolfpack Publishing and 12 non-fiction works. He is a member of The Society of Professional Journalism, Western Writer's of America, Mystery Writers and International Thriller Writers. Prior to becoming an author he was a real estate broker, licensed appraiser, and general contractor. He is married to Kat Martin, author of romance and suspense historical novels. They divide their time between Montana and Prescott, Arizona.

“The Songbird's Sting” publication date April 2021 by Wolfpack Publishing.

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