Best of
Western

2008

Shalako and Catlow (2-Book Bundle)


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    But then Shalako came across a European hunting party, and a brave and beautiful woman, stranded and defenseless in the Sonoran Desert—the Apaches’ killing ground. Shalako knew he had to stay and help them survive. For somewhere out there a deadly Apache warrior had the worst kind of death in mind for them all.CatlowBen Cowan and Bijah Catlow had been friends since they were boys. By the time they became men, Catlow was an outlaw and Cowan a U.S. marshal. So when his old friend rode to Mexico to pull the biggest robbery of his career, it became Ben’s job to hunt him down. But south of the border, Ben meets beautiful Rosita Calderon, whose presence complicates an already dangerous situation. And soon Ben realizes that the price of getting Catlow home may be more than he’s willing to pay.From the Paperback edition.

Rage of the Mountain Man / Betrayal of the Mountain Man (Mountain Man, #13, 34)


William W. Johnstone - 2008
    His Name Is Smoke Jensen: Mountain Man...Smoke Jensen is the most powerful man on the Sugarloaf frontier--and he's all that stands between a greedy group of Eastern slickers and their schemes for a criminal empire in the Rockies. When Smoke heads back to Boston with his wife, it gives his enemies the opening they'd been waiting for: to kill the mountain man and take over the West.But even on the unfamiliar turf of back alleys and teeming docks, Smoke is more than most men can handle...until his wife is kidnapped. Now Smoke is in a fury and in this fight all the way from Boston back to Dodge City and up to Yellowstone, where a brutal showdown with a gang of hired guns awaits...and where, in a blazing hail of bullets and blood, the legend of the big man is about to grow even bigger... There's Nothing A Man Won't Do To Clear His Name They called him fastest gun alive, but Smoke Jensen is determined to stay on the right side of the law. That is, until he's jumped by six low-life robbers who steal his shirt--and his identity. Smoke's tried for robbery and murder, and sentenced to hang in morning. Someone's out to frame the Mountain Man . . . someone who's made a big mistake. Justice--Mountain Man Style Barely managing to escape on the morning of his hanging, Smoke's going after the desperados who've set him up. The gang thinks they have nothing to fear; they've already divided up the loot and gone their separate ways. But Smoke's going to hunt them down one by one. Because nobody frames the Mountain Man. Nobody who plans on staying alive, that is...

Dorn of the Mountains


Zane Grey - 2008
    He wasn't looking for trouble that day in the deep mountain forest, but trouble found him. Dorn overheard an ambitious rancher plotting with an outlaw to kidnap the daughters of the owner of a neighboring spread. If he acted quickly, Dorn hoped he could save the girls by spiriting them away before the outlaw's gang took them off the stage on the way to town. But now the gang's begun a ruthless search of the forest, determined to find their prey...and kill anyone who tries to stop them!When this powerful tale of adventure, danger, romance, and hope was first published—under the title Man of the Forest—it was dramatically different from what Zane Grey had originally written. Long passages had been removed, other passages written by someone else were inserted, and the hero's name had been changed to Dale. Now, restored from Grey's original manuscript, this wonderful novel can finally be enjoyed the way its author actually wrote it.

Matagorda/The First Fast Draw (Bantam Books Western)


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    Now he’s settled on the Texas coast, working a ranch as the partner of his old friend Tom Kittery—and finding himself in the middle of a feud between Kittery and a neighboring family. But the danger from outside is nothing compared to the threat within, as Duvarney suspects Kittery’s woman isn’t all she appears to be. Tap may have to go to war again. But this time will it be with his closest friend?The First Fast DrawEast Texas wasn’t much of a home for Cullen Baker. Few liked him, and some even tried to kill him. Yet after three years of wandering, he’s back to farm the land that is rightfully his. But Cullen’s neighbors have long memories, and his worst adversary has teamed up with a vicious outlaw. With enemies closing in on all sides and threatening the woman he loves, Cullen will have to be faster than lightning—and twice as deadly—just to survive.From the Paperback edition.

Her Fated Cowboy: Cole


Donna Michaels - 2008
    cop, Jordan Masters Ryan has a problem. Her normal method of meeting a crisis head-on and taking it down won’t work. Not this time. Not when fate is her adversary. Having kept her from the man she thought she’d always marry, the same fickle fate took away the man she eventually did. Thrown back into the path of her first love, she finds hers is not the only heart fate has damaged.Widower and software CEO, Cole McCall fills his days with computer codes and his free time working the family’s cattle ranch. Blaming himself for his wife’s death, he’s become hard and bitter. When his visiting former neighbor sets out to delete the firewall around his heart, he discovers there’s no protection against the Jordan virus. Though she understands his pain and reawakens his soul, will it be enough for Cole to overcome his past and embrace their fated hearts?*Previously released as Fated Hearts. Revamped with over 10k words added, new scenes, new ending, scenes deleted. Heat level upped to hot.*

Her Reluctant Rancher


Anne Marie Novark - 2008
    Now the old man is dead and Trev returns to Stone Creek for one reason and one reason only--to sell the Rocking C Ranch. Maybe then he can put his past behind him and move on.Beth Evans once confused lust for love and vows never to let it happen again. The bookmobile driver is trying to raise funds to build a new library. The late Hank Callahan bequeathed a million dollars for the project, but he attached one stipulation: Do not let his grandson sell the ranch.EXCERPT:He leaned across the desk. "You know, we haven't discussed the kiss the other night."She scooted the chair back. "There's nothing to discuss." He stood and slowly came around the desk, reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. "I want to kiss you again.""That's probably not a good idea." Oh, lord. She was playing with fire and if she wasn't careful, she was going to get burned. Bad."Probably not. I know you said we'd never kiss again. But don't you want to kiss me? Can't you feel the pull between us?""Yes . . . No!" She jerked her hand free and started backing away.He followed, closing in on her until she bumped against the library table. "Just one kiss, Beth. One kiss can't hurt."Before she could react, before she could reply, Trevor wrapped his arms around her, covered her mouth with his and God help her, she was a goner.

Range War in Whiskey Hill


Charles G. West - 2008
    When his estranged father is murdered, he is released, and returns to Whiskey Hill, Wyoming. He’s not welcome by everyone. Colt means trouble—because he knows who killed his father. Ruthless range baron Frank Drummond wants the land and will bury anyone who dares oppose him. But Colt is no longer a kid with a chip on his shoulder. He’s a prison-hardened man with a mind for justice…

Montana Star


Deann Smallwood - 2008
    Aries read the ad Ben McCabe had placed in the paper and prayed the position hadn't been filled. She knew nothing about cooking, ranching, or being a wife for that matter. Aries had been trained by one of Philadelphia's best physicians, her father. Trained, but not board certified; trained but not allowed to practice. She longed to be a practicing physician, but no one wanted a woman doctor. Her father's death, which left her with nothing but gambling debts and a young brother to provide and care for, forced her to put aside her love of medicine. Answering this ad was the only way Aries could think of to provide for herself and her brother. She felt badly about deceiving Ben, but what she didn't know was that Ben had deceived her from the moment she'd read the ad and been sent the money to travel to Montana. There was no turning back. Aries knew that as she heard the clickety-clack of the train taking her closer to a man she knew nothing about and who wanted no part of a woman in his life -- and certainly not a wife.

Luke's Gold


Charles G. West - 2008
    Which is why Luke shares a secret with Cade. A secret of hidden gold. But when they try find the fortune, a cur from Luke’s past murders him and leaves Cade for dead. Now Cade has something to live for—revenge.

Utah Blaine/Silver Canyon


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    Then he found new trouble by saving the life of a Texas rancher. The would-be executioners were the rancher’s own men, looking to steal his land. Now Utah has a unique proposition: Have the wealthy Texan play dead, introduce himself as the spread’s new foreman, and take care of the outlaws one by one. The wage to fight another man’s war? Generous. The cost of falling in love while earning that wage? Utah will soon find out—unless the bad guys get him first. Silver Canyon“You’re not wanted in Hattan’s Point,” Matt Brennan was told moments after arriving in town. “There’s trouble here and men are picking sides.” But Matt wasn’t going anywhere until he found out what the dispute was about—and got to know Moira Maclaren. She considered him nothing more than a drifting ranch hand, and he wanted to prove her wrong. To do it, he’d have to solve the mystery of the growing violence—a mystery that could make a man rich…or dead.

Sidewinders


William W. Johnstone - 2008
    Now, the bestselling authors kick off a rollicking, dramatic new series--with the first novel about a pair of not-quite-over-the-hill drifters winding their way across the American west--mostly on the right side of the law. . .but sometimes, if the situation calls for it, on the wrong side. . . Meet Scratch Morton and Bo Creel, two amiable drifters and old pals. Veterans of cowboying, cattle drives, drunken brawls, and a couple of shoot-outs, Scratch and Bo are mostly honest and don't go looking for trouble--it's usually there when they wake up in the morning. Now, in remote Arizona Territory, they're caught up in a battle between two stagecoach lines. The owner of one, a beautiful widow, has gotten both Scratch and Bo hot and bothered--each trying to impress her as they fend off the opposing stage line trying to destroy her. But nothing is what it seems in this fight, and two tough sidewinders are riding straight into a trap.

Ranger's Revenge


James J. Griffin - 2008
    Griffin brings back Texas Ranger Jim Blawcyzk in this book. Blawcyzk isn’t really working for the Texas Rangers this time, though. In fact, he winds up on the wrong side of the law with the Rangers after him for part of the book, because he takes off his badge and goes off on his own after the gang that attacked and possibly murdered his wife and son. As a result, RANGER’S REVENGE is a little grittier than Griffin’s earlier books, but it has the same fine action scenes, interesting settings, and welcome touches of humor.

A Law of Her Own


Linda LaRoque - 2008
    She finds herself transported to 1888 Texas in the middle of a murder trial. Turner Reardon is on trial for killing his mistress. He's given up all hope when an oddly dressed young woman disrupts his trial, claiming she can prove his innocence. Her testimony is brilliant, but his optimism is short lived when she also claims she's a lawyer. Charity doesn't know how she arrived in Prairie, and no one believes she actually went to law school. Her evidence is tossed out and Turner is sentenced to hang. She has only one chance to save an innocent man's life and find the real killer.

Lucky In Love


O.T.K. Romance - 2008
    James is an exotic dancer from the wrong side of the tracks, and despite her name, her luck with men has been anything but fortunate. When she meets Clay Jackson, the wealthy gentleman farmer wants nothing more than to prove to her that love and trust are worth taking a chance on. Lucky wants to give herself completely to him, even after he’s told her how important it is to him that they practice domestic discipline in their relationship. But will she really be able to trust him and allow herself to be loved the way she longs to? Or is she too afraid of getting hurt? Publisher’s Note: This book contains domestic discipline in the form of spanking and corner time. OTK Romance now writing as Jodi Bella.

War Paint


W.R. Benton - 2008
    Taken under wing by two experienced old mountain men, George Alwood the third becomes Bear Killer the mountain man. After a short visit with Shoshoni Indians, Bear Killer finds himself with an unwanted wife and though he resist's, he eventually learns to love her. A cold and hard winter in the mountains brings him closer to his bride, as he learns to live as a mountain man, and just before spring she informs him a child will soon come. Content now, with a canvas shelter, campfire, dried meat, and soon to be family, Bear Killer reflects on his rich and pampered background. After his wife and unborn child are killed by white men, the young mountain man makes a promise to avenge their deaths and he's swept up into a deep sense of rage. He finds, however, the men he is searching for are hard men to pin down and even harder to kill.

Ride the Hard Trail


Ralph Compton - 2008
    A national bestselling Phenomenon Wanted brothers Lin and Chancy Bryce are hiding out from the law as cowpunchers on a widow's ranch-only to find themselves in the midst of an encroaching range war against a greedy cattle baron and his band of vicious gunmen...

The Trail Horde


Charles Alden Seltzer - 2008
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Rancher's Legacy


Max Brand - 2008
    Then he became a man on a mission. His father left him a six-shooter, a thoroughbred, and the charge to avenge his death. When Flash tracked down the killer, he was primed to take him out. But a clever trick made Flash the one framed for murder. With a bounty on his head, there's no one he can trust. No matter what it takes, though, Flash will see that justice is served...

Christmas in His Royal Bed / Rossellini's Revenge Affair


Heidi Betts - 2008
    Determined to have her in his bed by Christmas, he lured her with a job at his island palace. Nicolas would stop at nothing to satisfy his lust, including seducing her with a little royal treatment. Rossellini’s Revenge Affair Yvonne Lindsay Lana Whittaker had been clueless about her late husband’s affair. Yet, unbelievably, she was left penniless, homeless and the guardian of her husband’s baby by his mistress! So when a stranger, a darkly handsome millionaire businessman, offered to help, she had to accept…

Outlaws of Poplar Creek / Bowdrie Follows a Cold Trail / His Brother's Debt


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    But when Texas Ranger Chick Bowdrie suddenly appears at Moby Fosdick’s door looking for Shad Tucker, slowly brewing trouble begins boiling over fast. Before the sun sets, bullets are flying. And by the time it rises again, Bowdrie's badly outnumbered, sixteen-year-old Lily Fosdick is trapped in a cave with a cold-hearted killer, and it's high time for nineteen-year-old Jerry Fosdick to decide which side of the law he's one.Bowdrie Follows a Cold TrailWhen Texas Ranger Chick Bowdrie rides into a long-abandoned ranch, he discovers the skeleton of its owner. All signs indicate that he was murdered years before, and that his wife and young daughter were taken away by force. Bowdrie vows to bring the killer to justice and to track down the whereabouts of the missing women. The cold trail leads to hot lead in the town of Gabel’s Stop, where a hardcase rancher has been waiting sixteen years for the payoff of a lifetime.His Brother’s DebtCattle rancher Ben Kerr wants Jim and Jack Casady’s prime farmland real bad. He’s offered them good money, but they won’t sell. When the Casady brothers find Kerr’s cattle grazing on their land, anger rises up like bile in Jack Casady’s gut and tempers flare. As Jack rushes up from behind to warn Jim of an impending ambush by Kerr and his cronies, he’s mistakenly shot by his own brother. Jim, devastated by his mistake, heads for the hills to do some soul-searching, haunted by the vision of the brother he’d gunned down.

Texas Sunrise: Two Novels of the Texas Republic


Elmer Kelton - 2008
    Joshua Buckalew tries to put the pieces back together but finds that starting over in the aftermath of war can be as challenging as the war itself. The racial differences that helped foment the conflict have not gone away. And Texas finds that being an independent republic can be more difficult than being a colonial extension of Mexico.

McQueen of the Tumbling K / West of Tularosa / The Sixth Shotgun


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    In town, he learns that a tinhorn gambler has just won the ranch next to the Tumbling K in a dirty card game--and is turning his oily gaze toward the K's pretty owner, Miss Ruth Kermitt.Sure as shooting, McQueen knows the shifty-eyed parlor snake has something to do with the tracks, but before he can prove it to Ruth Kermitt. McQueen finds himself ambushed, dry-gulched, and left in a shallow grave to die--West of the TularosasPelona was a strange town, and Ward McQueen was a stranger to it. The stalwart foreman of the Tumbling K had come to the high country to take legal possession of the Firebox range. But the sight that greeted him when he arrived was an ugly one: the battle-stained and bullet-ridden body of its former owner. It was clear that the young Jimmy McCracken had gone out fighting, for his killers left behind a trail of blood. Now McQueen has followed that trail--straight to Pelona, a town so full of double-dealings and trickery that the truth can only be uncovered from behind the barrel of a gun--The Sixth ShotgunThe gallows are going up in Canyon Gap and wild-spirited Leo Carver is going to swing. A known troublemaker without an alibi, Leo certainly had motives for holding up the stage and killing two men, yet he still proclaims his innocence. There's a lot of folks who want to believe him, because although Leo Carver is a hard-living, free-spending maverick, he is the kind of man the West needs. But as an angry mob forms outside the jail demanding a hanging, a beautiful woman is asking questions--the kind that could uncover a smoking shotgun--and a twisted motive for murder.

To Tame A Cowgirl (Double B, #1)


Roni Adams - 2008
    Buck, on the other hand, has wrestled with his strong feelings for her for a while now. Only his fear of losing their precious friendship makes him keep his heart's desire locked deep inside the relaxed, carefree exterier. When Sara's father dies and stipulates in his will that she must marry Buck's older brother, Cord, or lose her life's goal--controlling interest of the Cattle Enterprise that is the Double B--Buck's left with two choice: risk his heart and best friend by telling Sarah how he feels or stand by and watch the love of his life marry his brother in order to secure what she has worked so hard to earn. Will Sara choose to marry for love of the land or will she wake up in time to realize the one man who's always had her back, also has her heart?

There's Always a Trail / Home in the Valley / Monument Rock


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    But his pretty hot-tempered daughter, Ann, was certian that Handy couldn't find the money unless he'd had a hand in stealing it. So when Handy hit pay dirt Ann Bailey was there to send all his plans to blazes. Now he faced a shoot-out with the pack of villains who held both Ann and his future hostage--and a challenge to prove he wasn't a theif to the woman he loved.Home in the ValleySteve Mehan had done the impossible when he drove a herd of cattle from the Nevada range to California in the dead of winter. But Mehan had little time to rest before tragedy struck. The bank that held the cash had failed--the payment was gone. Steve didn't hesitate. Now he'd have to ride hell-for-leather from Sacramento, California, to Portland, Oregon, with only one hope in a million. He had to beat the steamer to the Portland branch and withdraw the randers' money before the back got the news.Monument RockIt had been many years since Lona Markham's father sent her from the rigors of ranch life to a convent school. Now she's returned to a wary, careworn man who hardly seems like the father she remembers. The ranch she's set to inherit someday is shadowed by brutish Frank Mailer, the man Lona's promised to marry--and haunted by the mysterious Black Rider, who watches the Blue Hill Ranch from a distance. Some say the Rider is a ghost, but all Lona knows is his presence makes both Poke Markham and Frank Mailer uneasy.Then one day the enigmatic stranger reveals himself to Lona. Lance Kilkenny has ridden to this rugged country to repay an old debt to Lona's father. When he exposes a cold and daring scheme to cheat her of the Blue Hill Ranch, Lona Markham is plunged into terrible danger. But Kilkenny has a cool head and a fast gun hand...

Fort Abraham Lincoln: Dakota Territory


Lee Chambers - 2008
    Initially constructed for infantry troops in the Dakota Territory, Fort Abraham Lincoln was changed to house both infantry and cavalry troops to protect construction crews building the Northern Pacific Railroad. The first commanding officer was Civil War hero Major General George Armstrong Custer, with his famous 7th Cavalry. Custer was in command of Fort Lincoln at the time of his fateful expedition to the Little Big Horn. This book describes everyday life for the soldiers, including their food, entertainment, and weapons. Every building is described in detail and shown 200 blueprints, historic and recent photographs are included. Historians will relish this comprehensive new presentation.

Bowdrie Passes Through / Where Buzzards Fly / No Man's Man


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    Bugs Tatum wants Pettibone's land--and he's willing to do anything to get it. But Bowdrie can not rest until justice is served!Where Buzzards FlyTexas Ranger Chick Bowdrie tracks the killers of an infamous Mexican outlaw, Zaparo and fourteen of his desperadoes. With only the slightest clues to the ruthless ambush, Bowdrie is led to the K-Bar Ranch, and the beautiful girlfriend of the last living member of Zaparo's gang--only to find his prime suspect is a man closer to the Texas Rangers than he ever dreamed.No Man's ManPassion drives Lou Morgan to the town of Battle Basin--passion and the promise of $5000. For in this dusty town lives the wildly irresistible Nana Maduro, the woman Morgan loved enough to kill for, the woman who walked away from him without a word. Now, butter but still caught in her spell, Morgan hires on with one of Nana's suitors to eliminate that man's rival. But when Morgan finds himself the target of two brutal killers, he can't help but wonder what Nana's admirers are really after...or if he'll live to find out.

The Devil's Crescent


Ann B. Keller - 2008
    Diego is a man haunted by a past filled with death and disappointment, a nobleman fleeing from the dictates of his demanding father and an arranged marriage.When a U.S. Marshall asks Diego to infiltrate a gun runner’s operation, Diego reluctantly agrees, shadowing the powerful land baron, Morgan Lansing. Morgan’s efforts play into the hands of a group of Mexican nationalists, who quickly claim the land vacated by the terrified settlers until only one parcel stands in the way of their march toward the border -- the one occupied by Maggie MacNaughton. Diego and Maggie match wits and wills as the danger mounts. Only their reliance upon each other has the power to save them from a swift and certain death.