Adventure fiction: Westerns

Book SynopsisA saga of loyalty and survival in the vast, severe American West.Trade Review"Kevin McCarthy is a fresh voice, and a keen one." -- Larry McMurtry"Superbly detailed... A brutal, blood-soaked and unsentimental account of the Old West that bears comparison with Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian." -- The Irish Times

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Book SynopsisFalcon Hunt awakens without a past, or at least not one he can recall. He''s got brothers he can''t remember, and he''s interested in the prettiest woman in the area, Cheyenne. Only trouble is, a few flashes of memory make Falcon wonder if he''s already married. He can''t imagine abandoning a wife. But his pa did just that--twice. When Falcon claims his inheritance in the West, Cheyenne is cut out of the ranch she was raised on, leaving her bitter and angry. And then Falcon kisses her, adding confusion and attraction to the mix.Soon it''s clear someone is gunning for the Hunt brothers. When one of his brothers is shot, Falcon and Cheyenne set out to find who attacked him. They encounter rustled cattle, traitorous cowhands, a missing woman, and outlaws that take all their savvy to overcome. As love grows between these two independent people, Falcon must piece together his past if they''re to have any chance at a future. 

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Book SynopsisAfter surviving a brutal stagecoach robbery, Mariah Stover attempts to rebuild her life as she takes over her father's blacksmith business, but the townspeople meet her work with disdain. She is drawn to the new diner owner as he faces similar trials in the town. When danger descends upon them, will they survive to build a life forged in love?

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Book SynopsisNo one knew how the blue-eyed, blond-haired white baby came to be abandoned, but the Crow tribe that found him raised him as one of its own. As he grew into adolescence, White Weasel was taken to Crooked-Bear, a white man who had long ago abandoned society for a solitary mountain existence and who acted as counsellor to the Crow elders.Trade Review"In John Ermine of the Yellowstone, Remington has presented a great tale of a man caught between two cultures, never able to fully be a member of either."—Larry S. Sterett, Gun Week"This edition of his 1902 novel, John Ermine of the Yellowstone, demonstrates that it is no dime novel, but an epic Western to stand with Owen Wister's The Virginian. . . . With excellent notes and a sound bibliography of further reading as well as the reproduction of Remington's original illustrations, this reissue is a welcome rescue of this novel from neglect."—Dime Novel Round-UpTable of ContentsIntroductionI. Virginia CityII. White WeaselIII. The Coming of the Great SpiritIV. Crooked-BearV. The White MedicineVI. John ErmineVII. TransformationVIII. Playing A Man's PartIX. In CampX. A Brush with the SiouxXI. The Truth of the EyesXII. KatherineXIII. Playing with FireXIV. In LoveXV. Bringing in the WolfXVI. A HuntXVII. A ProposalXVIII. Man to ManXIX. FlightXX. The End of All ThingsNotes

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Book SynopsisIn 1862 enraged Sioux attempted to throw off the broken treaties that still bound them and to avenge the insults and depredations they had been forced to bear. Hundreds of whites were killed. Women were taken captive. Told from the point of view of Judith Raveling, a young woman widowed by the uprising, Scarlet Plume draws on the brutal history of the conflict from beginning to end.Trade Review“Scarlet Plume will remain in one’s mind for a long time because his character is so indelibly fixed. This is a compelling story, powerfully written by an experienced craftsman familiar with Indian customs.”—Library Journal“[Manfred’s] novel stands with Hal Borland’s When the Legends Die, Mari Sandoz’s Cheyenne Autumn, and Oliver La Farge’s Laughing Boy.”—New York Times Book ReviewTable of ContentsPart One: SkywaterPart Two: Dell RapidsPart Three: Lost TimberPart Four: Camp Release

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Book SynopsisPresents a fictional autobiography of Tom Horn that answers decisively the question - did Tom Horn kill fourteen-year-old Willie Kickell, or was he framed? This title provides a multidimensional portrait of Tom Horn as a man capable of humor, compassion, and love, and also one who could kill without the least remorse.Trade Review"Henry is a creator of Literature. It is not only that he is a consummate storyteller, but his finely chiseled prose also sings with a lyricism that is as haunting as it is rare. His stories not only ring true, but also pull the reader feet-first into worlds that have vanished, except from the pages of books."—Santa Fe Reporter

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Trade Review"The stranger, Shane, dresses in brown, black, and leather and is so tough he carries no gun. He drinks from the trough after his horse finishes. A biblical silence follows him, and people lose their senses when he looks their way. He a man no bullet can kill. He's part attack Doberman, part heroic champion. Shane is a work of literature first and a western second."-St. George Daily Spectrum St. George Daily Spectrum "By any standard of measurement, Jack Schaefer's Shane rates as a classic in the literature of the American West. Since its publication in 1949 it has gained a worldwide readership, appearing in more than seventy editions and thirty foreign languages."-Marc Simmons, in the foreword -- Marc Simmons "A real superiority here."-Kirkus Reviews Kirkus Reviews "Its pace is steady. Its tension is of the uncoiling spring variety. It's as clean as a hound's tooth."--Saturday Review of Literature Saturday Review of Literature "The author has created a tale which captivates the reader's attention from beginning to end. His skill in depicting a character, a situation, or a mood, with a minimum of words, gives the story a tightly-woven quality often lacking in present-day novels. The book almost demands completion in one sitting."-Library Journal Library Journal

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Book SynopsisThe spirit of Christmas is contagious and overwhelming in this charming and unpredictable holiday tale. Orphaned at thirteen, the poorly paid, patched-clothed cowhand Stubby Pringle is now nearing twenty as he looks forward to whooping it up at the Christmas dance. In true Schaefer fashion, Stubby Pringle delights readers and fills our hearts with the magic and spirit of Christmas.

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Book SynopsisChanging Woman invokes one of the Southwest's most infamous massacres, the slaughter of Aravaipa Apaches near Camp Grant in 1871, through the eyes of Valeria Obregón, a settler in Tucson, and Nest Feather, a young Apache woman.Trade Review"The joy of good historical fiction like this is the way it fleshes out the skeleton of historical fact to create a well-informed, atmospheric narrative; in Lewis’s capable hands, the reader is immersed in the complex cultural and political atmosphere in 1870s Tucson and the result is a thoroughly compelling read."—Arizona Daily Star“A powerful portrait of two young women who struggle to determine their own fates. A meticulously researched story brings to life those who participated in the Camp Grant Massacre and those whose lives were forever changed.”—Sharon K. Miller, author of the Clay series“A fascinating and impeccably researched novel of Arizona Territory. Apache, Mexican, and Anglo cultures clash in this harrowing recreation of the Camp Grant Massacre of 1871 and its impact on those who lived through it. Lewis transports the reader to a place and an era not likely to be forgotten. Immensely readable!”—Rosemary Simpson, author of the Gilded Age Mystery series“The Camp Grant massacre has been written about from many points of view, yet Venetia Hobson Lewis brings a different perspective to the forefront by featuring women from diverse backgrounds and how they may have experienced this historic event. Her expertise of the massacre and her knowledge of Arizona history explode across the pages of this spellbinding novel.”—Jan Cleere, author of Military Wives in Arizona Territory: A History of Women Who Shaped the Frontier“A bright new voice in Southwest fiction, spinning compelling tales of the women who peopled the Old West.”—J. A. Jance, author of Nothing to Lose: A J.P. Beaumont Novel“In riveting scenes narrated by a culturally diverse suite of unforgettable characters (Aravaipa Apache, Mexicano, and Anglo), Venetia Hobson Lewis transports me back to Tucson, Arizona Territory, where simmering tensions between frontier parties build inexorably to the Camp Grant Massacre of 1871. Just as that event forever alters the lives of the Apache survivors and the morally conflicted perpetrators and their family members, the story of Changing Woman continues to resonate. A must-read.”—Susan Cummins Miller, author of A Sweet, Separate Intimacy: Women Writers of the American Frontier, 1800–1922“Imagine if Jane Austen had lived in Tucson, Arizona Territory, throughout the year of 1871. She would have journaled about the tumultuous clash of cultures she witnessed between the Anglos, Aravaipa Apaches, and Mexicanos until its tragic culmination, the Camp Grant Massacre. Changing Woman is an historical novel of great anthropological value akin to Austen’s impeccably recorded manners, told largely from the perspectives of women intimately and peripherally affected by the death and capture of nearly two hundred Apache women and children. The remarkable achievement of this novel is Venetia Hobson Lewis’s skillful handling of these disparate and desperate female voices and how they merge into a united spiritual appeal for mutual empathy and respect. These voices went ignored in the nineteenth century, and it would be our own spiritual loss to ignore them now.”—Sidney Thompson, author of Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves

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Book SynopsisA grisly death near her new homestead draws Brigid Reardon into a complicated mystery soon after her arrival in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1881 After the harrowing events that entangled her in Deadwood, Brigid Reardon just wants to move west and get on with her new life in America. But shortly after traveling to Cheyenne to join her brother Seamus, she finds herself caught up in another deadly mystery—beginning with her discovery of a neighbor’s body on the plains near their homes. Was Ella murdered? Are either of the two men in Ella’s life responsible? With Seamus away on a cattle drive, her friend Padraic possibly succumbing to a local’s charms, and the sheriff seemingly satisfied with Ella’s fate, it falls to Brigid to investigate what really happened, which puts her in the crosshairs of one of Cheyenne’s cattle barons, called “big sugars” in these parts. All she really wants is something better than a crumbling, soddy homestead on the desolate plains of Wyoming—and maybe, just maybe, she wants Padraic—but life, it seems, has other plans: this young immigrant from Ireland is going to be a detective on the western frontier of 1880s America, even if it kills her.Loosely based on the true story of Ellen Watson in Cheyenne in 1889, The Big Sugar continues the adventure begun in Mary Logue’s celebrated mystery The Streel, which introduced a “gritty, charming, clever protagonist” (Kirkus Reviews). With a faultless sense of history, a keen eye for suspense, and a poet’s way with prose, Mary Logue all but guarantees that readers, like Brigid, will find the mystery at the heart of The Big Sugar downright irresistible.Trade Review "The Big Sugar is destined to be a big book. Brigid Reardon is a heroine not just for the 1880s Wyoming frontier, but one for the ages. Tough, independent, savvy, and principled, she not only solves a murder, but she’s also a horse whisperer who charms the reader as beautifully as she charms her wild palomino mare. Read this book; you won’t regret it."—Cary J. Griffith, author of the Sam Rivers mysteries Wolf Kill, Cougar Claw, and Killing Monarchs "Logue’s historical backdrop is meticulously constructed and her characters exceptionally drawn."—Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisThe historic and mythic elements of the American Old West—covered wagon trains, herds of buffalo, teepee villages, Indigenous warriors on horseback, cowboys on open ranges, and white settlers “taming” a wilderness with their plows and log cabins—have exerted a global fascination for more than 200 years and became the foundation for fan communities who have endured for generations. This book examines some of those communities, particularly German fans inspired by the authors of Westerns such as Karl May, and American enthusiasts of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series. But the Old West (like all visions of the past) proved to be shifting cultural terrain. In both Germany and the U. S., Western narratives of white settlement were once seen as “apolitical” and were widely accepted by white people. But during the Nazi period in Germany and in East Germany after 1945, the American West was reevaluated and politically repurposed. Then, during the late twentieth century, understandings of the West changed in the U. S. as well, while the violence of white settler colonialism and the displacement of Indigenous peoples became a flashpoint in the culture wars between right and left. Reagin shows that the past that fans seek to recreate is shaped by the changing present, as each new generation adapts and relives their own West.

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Book SynopsisLong fascinated with the Mexican Revolution and the vicious border wars of the early twentieth century, Winston Groom brings to life this period of history in a saga of heroism, injustice and love. El Paso pits the legendary outlaw and revolutionary Pancho Villa, against a thrill-seeking railway tycoon known as the Colonel whose fading fortune is tied up in a colossal ranch in Chihuahua. When Villa kidnaps the Colonel’s grandchildren in the midst of a cattle drive and absconds into the Sierra Madre, the patriarch and his adopted son head to El Paso, looking for a group of cowboys brave enough to hunt the Generalissimo down. Replete with gunfights, daring escapes and an unforgettable bullfight, El Paso, with its blend of history and legend, is an indelible portrait of the American Southwest in the waning days of the frontier.Trade Review"Groom's epic narrative is a hefty yet entertaining page-turner, at times funny, heartbreaking, emotional, and brutal. An involving, intricate story vividly told." -- Donna Bettencourt - Library Journal (Starred Review) "[Groom] combines military savvy with storytelling skill for a satisfying saga pitting an American railroad tycoon against Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa...An engaging epic that could be headed for the bestseller lists and then the big screen. This is the big one that fans have been waiting for, and they'll grab it up like they would a delicious box of chocolates." -- Michele Leber - Booklist (starred review)

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Book SynopsisLong fascinated with the Mexican Revolution and the vicious border wars of the early twentieth century, Winston Groom brings to life this period of history in a saga of heroism, injustice and love. El Paso pits the legendary outlaw and revolutionary Pancho Villa, against a thrill-seeking railway tycoon known as the Colonel whose fading fortune is tied up in a colossal ranch in Chihuahua. When Villa kidnaps the Colonel’s grandchildren in the midst of a cattle drive and absconds into the Sierra Madre, the patriarch and his adopted son head to El Paso, looking for a group of cowboys brave enough to hunt the Generalissimo down. Replete with gunfights, daring escapes and an unforgettable bullfight, El Paso, with its blend of history and legend, is an indelible portrait of the American Southwest in the waning days of the frontier.Trade Review"Groom has unleashed a new work of imaginative, peripatetic fiction... [El Paso] is a rich and engrossing tale - something Hollywood will, no doubt, take little time to notice." -- The National Book Review "[Groom] combines military savvy with storytelling skill for a satisfying saga pitting an American railroad tycoon against Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa...An engaging epic that could be headed for the bestseller lists and then the big screen. This is the big one that fans have been waiting for, and they'll grab it up like they would a delicious box of chocolates." -- Michele Leber - Booklist (starred review) "El Paso is sure to entertain... To Groom, the public is likely to say, 'Welcome back to the land of fiction.'" -- Jim Ewing - Clarion-Ledger "Winston Groom proves life - and fiction - really is like a delicious box of chocolates... The novel has it all - heroes, villains, family, rescues, shootouts, cattle, bits of history and much more. And maybe a feature film in its future?" -- Celeste Williams - Fort Worth Star-Telegram "Groom's epic narrative is a hefty yet entertaining page-turner, at times funny, heartbreaking, emotional, and brutal. An involving, intricate story vividly told." -- Donna Bettencourt - Library Journal (Starred Review) "Groom's expansive, rich novel is set in the harsh deserts and mountains of northern Mexico during the 1916 Mexican revolution, with sharply drawn fictional characters in a bloody mix with Gen. Pancho Villa and a cast of true-life personalities... Battles, a tense prisoner exchange, and clever ransom negotiations round out this historically vivid and marvelously complex tale." -- Publishers Weekly "Dark and daring, El Paso does for the West what Gump did for the South - it takes a tumultuous, crucial time in American history and feeds it to us in ways acute and unforgettable." -- Laura Taylor - Oxford Exchange "El Paso has the drama, coincidence and class intrigue of Dickens's Great Expectations in a setting reminiscent of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove... In Groom's capable hands, this history mixes easily into what is at its core a story of family, class warfare, loyalty and the violence of revolution." -- Bruce Jacobs - Shelf Awareness

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Book SynopsisWorlding the Westerntakes the fiction of the Western United States as a focal point for a re-examination of the consequences of exceptionalism and closed borders in the Trump Era. At a time of bounded individualism, new nativism, climate emergency, and migration crises, author Neil Campbell argues that fiction offers opportunities to put the world back in ways that challenge the dark side of globalization and proposes worlding as a different and more open form of politics. A driving force in the book is a comment from the philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, who wrote "the unity of the world is not one: it is made of a diversity, including disparity and opposition. It is made of it, which is to say that it is not added to it and does not reduce it. The unity of the world is nothing other than its diversity, and its diversity is, in turn, a diversity of worlds" (The Creation of the World or Globalization, 2007, p. 109). Diversity, disparity, and opposition are central to the dynamic frictional fiction I consider in this book. The American West provides a powerful test case (a laboratory of the future in Charles Bowden's term), in which these features - diversity, disparity, and opposition - are present and yet historically have often been so masked or denied in the rush towards unanimity and nation-building. In this book, the past is never lost or irrelevant, but rather circles around, re-emerging in lives as echoes and hauntings. Worlding is, therefore, a positive, critical concept through which to put the notion of a single world under pressure.Table of Contents Contents Acknowledgments Introduction. Enter West Chapter 1. On Worlding Chapter 2. "What West?": Hernan Diaz's In the Distance Chapter 3. "What World We Making?": Sebastian Barry's Days Without End Chapter 4. "The World in All Its Workings": Téa Obreht's Inland Chapter 5. "A Land of Missing Things": C Pam Zhang's How Much of These Hills Is Gold Chapter 6. To Remember Otherwise and Against — Tribalography, Robin Wall Kimmerer, LeAnne Howe, and Tommy Orange Chapter 7. "The Story and the Archive of the Story": Valeria Luiselli's Lost Children Archive Chapter 8. Exit West — Conclusions Perhaps Notes References Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisThe Western, with its stoic cowboys and quickhanded gunslingers, is an instantly recognizable American genre that has achieved worldwide success. Cultures around the world have embraced but also adapted and critiqued the Western as part of their own national literatures, reinterpreting and expanding the genre in curious ways. Canadian Westerns are almost always in conversation with their American cousins, influenced by their tropes and traditions, responding to their politics, and repurposing their structures to create a national literary tradition. The American Western in Canadian Literature examines over a century of the development of the Canadian Western as it responds to the American Western, to evolving literary trends, and to regional, national, and international change. Beginning with Indigenous perspectives on the genre, it moves from early manifestations of the Western in Christian narratives of personal and national growth, and its controversial pulp-fictional popularity in the 1940s, to its postmodern and contemporary critiques, pushing the boundary of the Western to include Northerns, Northwesterns, and post-Westerns in literature, film, and wider cultural imagery. The American Western in Canadian Literature is more than a simple history. It uses genre theory to comment on historical perspectives on nation and region. It includes overviews of Indigenous and settler-colonial critiques of the Western, challenging persistent attitudes to Indigenous people and their traditional territories that are endemic to the genre. It illuminates the way that the Canadian Western enshrines, hagiographies, and ultimately desacralizes aspects of Canadian life, from car culture to extractive industries to assumptions about a Canadian moral high ground. This is a comprehensive, highly readable, and fascinating study of an underexamined genre.Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction: Signposts and Scales Chapter 1 Scaling and Spacing the Genre: Transnationalism, Nationalism, and Regionalism Chapter 2 Tom King's John Wayne: Indigenous Perspectives on the Western Chapter 3 The Northwestern Cross: Christianity and Transnationalism in Early Canadian Westerns Chapter 4 From Law to Outlaw: The Second World War, Westerns, and the '40s Pulps Chapter 5 CanLit's Postmodern Westerns: Ghosts and the Cowgirl Riding Off into the Sunrise Chapter 6 Degeneration Through Violence: Contemporary Historical Westerns and Posthuman Horsemen Conclusion: Mining the Western in the 21st Century Bibliography

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Powerful and poignant." -- People"Powerful...a breathtaking read, with flawed and authentic characters who hit so close to home that at times it is impossible not to root for them." -- San Francisco Chronicle"With her usual blend of inventive storytelling and gorgeous prose, Heather Young delivers big themes and a poignant coming-of-age story in this complex, page-turning mystery/thriller. Resonant and relevant, The Distant Dead kept me reading late at night, and the characters followed me around during the day, especially a precocious and unusual sixth-grade boy named Absalom who is hard to forget. As a fan of Young’s debut, The Lost Girls, I found myself swept into another beautifully-crafted story that’s even more suspenseful, at times more terrifying, and ultimately just as surprising. The Distant Dead is not to be missed." -- James McLaughlin, author of Bearskin"A story that begins with a horrific discovery and expands to explore the weight of familial obligation, the far-reaching devastation of drug addiction and the ways in which guilt and boredom can curdle into something much more sinister...[Young's] language is poetic, and her contemplation of the corrosiveness of suppressed emotion is both sympathetic and impatient: When will people learn?" -- BookPage (starred review)"Bright, flawless writing, wonderful characters, and a sense of pacing that ratchets up the tension—what more could you want from a thriller? I loved this book. I bet you will too." -- Rene Denfeld, bestselling author of The Child Finder and The Butterfly Girl“Stunning … An ideal recommendation for fans of Kate Atkinson.” -- Booklist (starred review)"[THE DISTANT DEAD] is at heart about the timelessness of human curiosity, the eternal possibility of forgiveness, and the everyday miracle of survival. Electrifying, ambitious, and crushingly beautiful." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Engrossing...an enjoyable character-driven murder mystery that is emotionally poignant and empathetic." -- Mystery Scene"This emotionally resonant saga, firmly rooted in the high desert hills, will keep readers turning the pages." -- Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisMeet New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ryan’s McGraths: a family as untamed as the land they call home. But when Liz’s boyfriend turns dangerous, Tate steps up to help and soon realizes he’s the cowboy hero she’s been waiting for him to be all along.Trade Review"Hold on to your hats as you are about to start on a thrill ride to beat all thrill rides when you read this story." — HarlequinJunkie.com

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Book Synopsisthey’re the Wildes of Wyoming, three brothers whose family ties are as strong as their wills.The last thing lawman Hunt Wilde ever dreamed he’d do was fall hard for a purple-haired troublemaker like Cyn Wilson.Trade Review"I love cowboy romance and Jennifer Ryan is one of the best at writing it. Sexy hero. Strong heroine. Unbridled passion. The perfect mix!” — Donna Grant, New York Times bestselling author "Fast-paced and filled with heartfelt emotion, this book kept me up late into the night! Poignant and heartwarming, with characters that come to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!" — Victoria James, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author "Filled with heart and the warmth of home, Jennifer Ryan delivers! A must read for fans of western romance!" — Maisey Yates, New York Times bestselling author "Chase and Shelby stole my heart. Broken and battered and both ready to heal, I could not put down this heart-stopping romance yet never wanted it to end!" — A. J. Pine, USA Today bestselling author

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Book SynopsisWalt investigates the death elderly Cheyenne Danny Lone Elk and runs into problems on site of a dinosaur fossil discovery—from the New York Times bestselling author of Land of Wolves   When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found surfaces in Sherriff Walt Longmire’s jurisdiction, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum—until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead, floating face down in a turtle pond. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny’s family, the tribe, and the federal government. As Wyoming’s Acting Deputy Attorney and a cadre of FBI officers descend on the town, Walt is determined to find out who would benefit from Danny’s death, enlisting old friends Lucian Connolly and Omar Rhoades, along with Dog and best friend He

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Book Synopsis“It’s the scenery—and the big guy standing in front of the scenery—that keeps us coming back to Craig Johnson’s lean and leathery mysteries.”  —The New York Times Book ReviewThe ninth Longmire book from the New York Times bestselling author of Land of WolvesIt’s homecoming for the Durant Dogies when Cord Lynear, a Mormon “lost boy” forced off his compound for rebellious behavior, shows up in Absaroka County. Without much guidance, divine or otherwise, Sheriff Walt Longmire, Victoria Moretti, and Henry Standing Bear search for the boy’s mother and find themselves on a high-plains scavenger hunt that ends at the barbed-wire doorstep of an interstate polygamy group. Run by four-hundred-pound Roy Lynear, Cord’s father, the group is frighteningly well armed and very good at keeping secrets. Walt’s got Cord locked up for his own good, but the Absar

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Book Synopsis From the Edgar Award-winning author of the Hap and Leonard series, a hard-boiled novel set in 1960s Texas in which a no-nonsense car salesman faces a tempting decision, a dangerous deal, and an alluring affair. Ed Edwards is in the used car business, a business built on adjusted odometers, extra-fine print, and the belief that buyers better beware. Burdened by an aging, alcoholic mother constantly on his case to do something worthier of his lighter skin tone and dreaming of a brighter future for himself and his plucky little sister, Ed is ready to get out of the game.When Dave, his lazy, grease-stained boss at the eponymous dealership Smiling Dave''s sends him to repossess a Cadillac, Ed finally gets the chance to escape his miserable life.The Cadillac in question was purchased by Frank Craig and his beautiful wife Nancy, owners of a local drive-in and pet cemetery. Fed up with he

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Book SynopsisOnce, Appaloosa law was Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. Now it's Amos Callico, a vindictive, power-hungry tin star with bigger aims-and he could use Cole and Hitch on his side. This time the paid guns aren't for hire, which makes Callico a very vengeful man. But threatening Cole and Hitch ignites something just as dangerous.

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Book SynopsisFrom four acclaimed authors come four all-new novellas featuring the rugged men of the West and the women who want them… From Jodi Thomas...Callie has done a lot of crazy things, but it’ll take one more to prove she isn’t nuts: find a husband, fast! Her only requirement: he has to be taller than she is and swear not to have her committed during their ruse of a marriage. From Jo Goodman...Felicity Ravenwood was raised to be independent-minded, but when this runaway bride opposes her father’s choices, it is up to Nat Church to bring her around. But he doesn’t count on springing her from jail, holding her hostage, or falling head over boot-heels in love. From Kaki Warner...Two strangers on a train have more in common than they know—both have hidden purposes and ties to a Nebraska bank robbery. But when their schemes unravel, they find a bigger surprise awaiting them than either could have imagined.Trade ReviewPraise for Boots Under Her Bed"The unpredictable, rough-and-tumble aspects of life in the Wild West come through in this diverse quartet of engaging novellas. A resourceful heroine, anxious to wed, is not nearly so crazy as people think in Thomas's touching 'Crazy Callie'; the hero of Jo Goodman's fictional dime novels mentioned in her other works springs to life-and falls in love-in her engaging 'dime novel''Nat Church and the Runaway Bride'; a bold bank robbery links two strangers on the train west in Kaki Warner's clever, sexy 'The Scent of Roses'; and a fugitive New York heiress and the security guard who tracks her down at a Texas brothel are caught up in violence in Alison Kent's 'The Hired Gun's Heiress'. ­VERDICT This excellent, action-packed anthology from some of the genre's favorite writers should please fans and garner new ones."—Library Journal Praise for the novels of Jodi Thomas “Count on Jodi Thomas to give you a satisfying and memorable read.”—New York Times bestselling author Catherine Anderson Praise for the novels of Kaki Warner “Flawlessly written.”—Chicago Tribune Praise for the novels of Jo Goodman “For the pure joy of reading a romance, this book comes close to being some kind of perfection.”—Dear Author Praise for the novels of Alison Kent “One of my writing idols—consistently awesome, always on my auto buy list!"—Lauren Dane, USA Today bestselling author

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Book SynopsisThere once was a time when longhorns bawled and cowboys hollered on the dusty Chisholm trail . . . When wild young men toting six-shooters danced with saloon girls and dreamed of the mother lode . . . When Comanches on the warpath drenched the plains in blood . . . And one hard, hurting cowboy began a legendary trek across the American west . . . Magnificent, sprawling, and impeccably researched, Brules captures the exhilarating romance of a time and a place that will never exist again. An epic tale of one man''s search for justice in the Old West, Harry Combs''s classic novel tells the story of Cat Brules, whose life embraces the whole short turbulent history of the West . . . who sought revenge in a one-man war against the Comanche nation . . . who found brief, passionate love with a Shoshone woman . . . and who rode hell-bent toward the tragedy that would make him an outlaw, or a hero . . . Praise for Brules<

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Book SynopsisNew York City children’s author Erinn Winters is haunted by a past no one knows, and dark visions of death and danger that come to her without warning. But when a desperate search for her estranged sister leads her to Wolf River, Montana, Erinn suddenly finds her secrets, even her very life, at risk. And after meeting notoriously sexy Jase Fortune, Erinn finds herself in another kind of danger—she could lose her heart.Jase Fortune is as committed to staying single as he is to running his booming family ranch--until mysterious, gorgeous Erinn shows up. But someone is out to destroy the Fortunes, and Jase finds himself willing to do anything to protect not only his family but Erinn too. As the peril mounts, so do Erinn’s and Jase’s feelings for each other, but the promise of love is threatened by deadly secrets and vicious enemies, and a killer who will stop at nothing….

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Book SynopsisTwo men brave the unforgiving frontier in this western in Ralph Compton's Sundown Riders series. Parker Stanley’s family had a dream: to start a new life in the Far West. But en route, a Cheyenne band slaughters his parents and abducts his sister, leaving him for dead. Then a cowboy named Clay Springer rides to the rescue—and comes up with an idea. He’s got a team ready to deliver goods to the Mormons in Utah, but he’s short on funds for supplies. He knows that Parker managed to hold on to his family’s savings, so he suggests a fifty-fifty partnership. With a three-wagon, seven-man team, Parker and Clay will traverse the barren land to find a secret mountain pass that will save them three hundred miles on their journey. But out in the wilderness, Parker’s sister needs saving—and he has vowed to find her.More Than Eight Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

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Book SynopsisA gunslinging woman can''t escape her past in this Ralph Compton western.Disguised as “Danny Duggin,” Danielle Strange hunted down the merciless cutthroats who murdered her father. Now the feared gunslick has hung up her trademark twin Colts—and given up her secret identity—to make something out of her Texas ranch. But then a passel of hard cases rides into town and all hell breaks loose. And when the vicious gunmen kill one of Danielle’s old saddle pals, she knows it’s time for Danny Duggin to ride the vengeance trail again....More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!  

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Book SynopsisAND THE LAST SHALL BE FASTLawrence Shaw once got a boost out of being the quickest gun alive. Now he’s partial to telling gunfighter stories rather than living them. But that doesn’t stop every ornery shootist with an itchy trigger finger from trying to pull iron on Fast Larry Shaw…or a group of gamblers from wagering five grand on who will kill him…or a gang of cutthroat saddle tramps from slaying his wife while in search of him.Racked with guilt for not saving his beloved, Shaw vows to shorten the life expectancy of her murderers—and any other hardcase who even thinks of sending hot lead his way.

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Book SynopsisA gunslinger is forced out of retirement in this western in Ralph Compton''s USA Today bestselling series.Tom Navarro, a hostler at the Bar-V Ranch, has retired his gun-slinging boots to find peace of mind.  As much as he enjoys working for Paul Vannorsdell, owner and operator of Bar-V, Navarro has plans of moving up north with the woman he loves to open his own ranch and create a new life for himself.  Vannorsdell, too, has big dreams: he wants to buy the Rancho de Cava from an old friend, Don Francisco, so he can become one of the largest landholders in Southern Arizona.    Everything seems to be going according to plan until Don Francisco is found dead by Bullet Creek.  His sons and the rest of the Rancho de Cava ranchers suspect Vannorsdell.  Immediately, the boys from Rancho de Cava begin a war with the Bar-V hostlers. And Navarro soon finds himself smack in the middle of a torrent of lead…More Than Six

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Book SynopsisIn this sharp-shooting Ralph Compton western, a man of honor becomes an outlaw.Solomon Brakefield tried to play by the rules—and lost. When the mine Sol worked for was robbed, he went after the robbers himself. After he brought the money back, he was given no more than a handshake and a few dollars. Seems like living life on the straight and narrow just doesn’t pay.  So Sol seeks out Nester Quarles, known killer and train robber, to teach him the tricks of the outlaw’s trade. Quarles has plenty to teach, but there’s a price to be paid—and the currency is Sol’s soul.   More Than Eight Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

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Book SynopsisIn this Ralph Compton western, riding the hard trail isn''t easy...At the EJ Ranch in Wyoming, Lin Bryce has found good, honest work for himself and his temperamental brother, Chancy. A widow with two young children has a herd of cattle over two thousand acres that needs tending, and Lin believes it’s the best opportunity to put their tragic and violent past behind them and start anew.  But the widow and her property are coveted by a cattle baron determined to take over every ranch in the territory. And as the Bryce brothers find themselves in the crosshairs of an encroaching range war, a trio of merciless bounty hunters arrives to collect the price on their heads…   More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

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Book SynopsisA man discovers the bloody cost of freedom in this bold tale of the Old West.Clint Connor only took the horse to stop a man from mistreating it, but a vengeful judge sentenced him to six years. Quietly serving his time, Clint suddenly finds himself free after he’s swept up in a daring jailbreak.  Now a fugitive, Clint Connor will need courage, cunning, and a cold-blooded ruthlessness as he rides the lawless prairie. But before he can escape to the hills of Montana, he’ll have to outgun malicious outlaws and face a final showdown with a marshal determined to bring Clint back as a prisoner—or a corpse.

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