WRONG TOWN (Roamer Book 1)
One man’s quest to lose himself in the West
New revised editions: Available as an ebook and softcover
(Gritty Press, 184 pages, March 2012)
USA: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Paperback || UK: Kindle, Paperback
France: Kindle, Paperback || Germany: Kindle, Paperback
Italy: Kindle, Paperback ||Spain: Kindle, Paperback
First in the gritty, all-action Western series by Spur Award-nominated author Matthew P. Mayo, featuring Roamer, the loner with a face everyone fears.
Roamer is having a bad day—he is savaged by a grizzly, robbed by bandits, and attacked by wolves. So by the time he makes it to the little Rocky Mountain town of Tall Pine all he wants is a cup of coffee, a hot meal, and a soft bed. The sheriff jails him for murder instead. A seething mob marks Roamer’s homely face as guilty and seeks twisted justice with his blood. Can he stop the townsfolk from destroying themselves or will they kill him first? It’s a brutal race against time for Roamer as the mob rips apart its little town, leaving innocent people dead and the wrong people in charge. Welcome to Wrong Town.
Matt Mayo is … kicking butt and taking names. I loved ROAMER: WRONG TOWN, and can’t wait for the next one in the series. This is fiction writing at its best, and some of the best writing you’ll find in the Western field. If you’re a fan of well-written Westerns, you won’t regret adding this one to your collection, and you’ll have a damn good time doing it.
Peter Brandvold (aka Frank Leslie)Matthew P. Mayo is quickly becoming a rising star in the world of Western fiction, and WRONG TOWN, featuring Roamer, is sure to add to Mayo’s well-deserved reputation. From the first person narrative, to the clean, crisp prose, and Roamer himself, this book promises to upend the genre—in a good way. This novel has everything readers and fans have come to expect from Westerns, and more; heart-pounding action, gritty prose, and sentimental storytelling. Mayo delivers on all accounts—and I for one, can’t wait to read the next installment in Roamer’s adventures.
Larry D. SweazyWRONG TOWN left me stunned and has to be ranked in my own personal top 10 of Westerns that I have read…. The opening chapter has Roamer fighting for his life against a grizzly bear—the read has an authentic feel to it as though the writer had lived through such an ordeal…. This book reads like a movie and is gripping from start to finish.
Raymond Foster (aka Jack Giles)Mayo’s novel is an original piece of work. While it has many of the features of a traditional Western, it is written from the point of view of a character who has a distinct voice and world view. The novel also has carefully managed word use and sentence style. This is a work that will hold the reader’s interest all the way through.
John D. NesbittWRONG TOWN has a solid plot and fine characters, but its strongest appeal is the narrative voice that Mayo gives to Roamer. Ugly enough to make babies cry and somewhat antisocial because of his appearance, Roamer is also highly intelligent and well-read, in addition to being pretty doggoned tough. He’s a great character, and I’m glad there are more novels about him on the way. In the meantime, WRONG TOWN is a top-notch traditional Western yarn and well worth reading.
James ReasonerI really loved this story. Short, no wasted words, and a compelling main character who pretty well breaks all the stereotypes of the Western hero, even as he continues the long tradition of making Western heroes actually “good” guys. Excellent read.
Five-Star Amazon ReviewIf you’re like me, you like Westerns that ain’t pretty. The main character in this book may not be much to look at, but he’s a classic Western hero. He earns his place in a wild landscape right away by taking on a grizzly bear in the first portion of the book and he never lets up from there. When I put this book down, I felt like I had taken a ride through a brutal era and had the scars to show for it. Plenty of action and excitement and more than enough historical details to make me feel the dust in my boots!
Five-Star Amazon Review