The Mountain Man's Badge packs a real punch as the third book in this spectacular series.

This series is one of my recent favourites, and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't picked up a great thriller novel in the past year! Gary Corbin makes an exciting, fast paced novel with characters that pull at your heart strings. Seeing Lehigh and Stacy develop over these three books has been a truly magical journey, and I love that Gary put a lot of effort into making these story lines.

This time around Lehigh is becoming the Sheriff (and is being voted into a position). Politics, drama and hysteria ensue throughout this novel that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat and wanting more! I was a little saddened that Stacy wasn't as involved in this book as I would have liked (or the dogs for that matter), but the book still kept the thrills alive following Lehigh.

When Lehigh has to arrest his father-in-law, his relationship with Stacy is on the rocks. Having this relationship change and not just be true, happy-ending romance was nice to see. It changes these characters and makes for a more interesting plot. This also assists in introducing new characters and unique plot devices to add to the intensity.

There are some unique twists and turns in this book that I didn't see coming. These books tend to make me examine every little comment and try to come up with the ending. If you're really keen, you might be able to figure these little mysteries out! It's a nice change to be able to let me imagination run wild while reading these books.

Now for the real question - can you read this book without reading the other three? Yes, but it's not as good. While I think jumping in at the second book of the series would work fine, I don't recommend jumping in from this book. I found it less easy to jump into without the background information, and it wouldn't pack as good of a punch. While Gary is the master of filling in the blanks, I just don't think this book would be as good to the reader without seeing this series as a whole. All three books tie the story together very well, and I think this series is meant to be read as just that - a series.

I really hope there is more to this series - I find Stacy and Lehigh truly incredible: Each book ups the stakes for these characters! I'm not sure where they would go next, but I think Gary is creative enough to add more to that story. Although, this also felt like a really nice, dramatic closing for these guys. Either way, I want to see more by Gary Corbin and more people need to pick up his books! This man has a real talent for telling a great story!

Who would I recommend this to? Those who love mystery, crime and thrillers! It has a slight pinch of romance, but not so much that you'll be wondering why "romance" isn't one of the tags. That is simply a side plot that adds to the characters and their development. The book isn't R rated by any means, so I think it'd be safe for teenagers to hop into!

Overall, this series is an A rated series by my standards. It has everything I want in it - real drama, character development, some action, and a dash of politics. Stacy and Lehigh aren't Mary Sue's or Plain Janes, which really adds to the rating for this book.

Five out of five stars!

I received a free copy of this book from the author Gary Corbin in exchange for an honest review. ( )