It's the first book in the series, and unfortunately it does that thing where ALL the characters, backstories, worldbuilding, and main conflict are set up all at once. There's a LOT going on in this book, with the end result being that I don't entirely understand wtf is going on. The story itself is fairly simple but the details surrounding it are confusing, especially since I assume the main plotline is going to continue onward in the next book if not the entire series.For example: the bad guy is scary, but I don't know what his deal is besides just wanting his stuff back. So much time is spent setting up everyone ELSE'S histories/conflicts/etc., that the bad guy becomes "vaguely disturbing back-from-the-dead" guy who seems to almost hover in the background rather than hang out in the front, where he belongs. That said, despite the overabundance of STUFF, I had a really good time reading Portlandtown. It was FUN! I love genre mash-ups, and though I haven't read many regular Westerns I definitely want to read more paranormal/sci-fi/whatever Westerns now. The world of Portlandtown is very interesting, too: it's a lot like what you'd expect a regular historically-accurate late 1800s Western town to be, but with the added bonus of supernatural intrigue.Read the rest of my review at Here There Be Books!