Book picks similar to
Shadow of a Star by Elmer Kelton


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Fargo


John Benteen - 1969
    Fargo lives with a gun in his fist. Guns and killing are all he knows. And Fargo likes what he knows. Want to start a revolution? Want to stop one? Send for Fargo. Want to blow a bridge, stage a prison break, rob a bank? Fargo's your man. The Army taught Fargo how to kill with pistol, rifle, machine gun. He became an expert with knives, shotguns and women on his own time. Fargo hates the quiet life. He knows he's going to get it sooner or later. He hopes it won't be too much later because he wouldn't know how to be old and comfortable. So while it lasts, Fargo plans to grab the world by the throat and take what he wants. If the world doesn't like that, it can try to stop him ... if it can.

Harper's Justice in Canyon


William Black - 2018
    Marshal Austin Harper is a wanted man. He is wanted in Robbers Roost for intercepting their raids at a stagecoach way station in New Mexico. He is wanted for saving a distressed Rachel Dennis. Now, Harper is facing not just one petty gang of robbers but an entire canyon of criminals operating in a highly organized fashion. Not that Harper is afraid. But his badly injured leg during his line of duty is a huge encumbrance. And time is running short. This nefarious bunch is terrorizing a lot of the southwest from a barren and well-fortified canyon in nearby No Man's Land. Together with his fiercely loyal American Indian friend Eagle, Harper leaps into action to put the marauders out of business permanently. Infiltrating Robbers Roost to take out the leader Wicked Bear is one solution to prevent more innocent lives from being lost. Harper’s daring move is backed by the U.S. Army, but threatened by sworn adversaries of the American government including renegade Indians, enemy Mexican nationals and Confederate soldiers not willing to give up on the Lost Cause. There will be bloodshed. How will the sun set at the canyon terrain of No Man’s Land? Will the sun rise again for Robbers Roost, or for Harper?

The Gunsmith's Boy: A Western Adventure


Dave Sebeslav - 2018
    Four years ago, his father had handed him a box containing both guns, completely disassembled, and told him he could have them, when and if he could put them back together. It took him a week, but he did it. He didn’t do it to please his father, whom he hated, nor his mother, whom he loved. He did it to prove to himself that he could, and as a result of hours of practice at the back of the property, he rarely missed with either gun, and he could draw and fire the pistol in a split second.

Hawk Eyes


David Althouse - 2016
    Chained to a tree, the man seems destined to hang for murder. In response to the boy's curiosity, Hawk Eyes shares his story of bad luck and misadventure. As if a master storyteller sitting comfortably by a campfire, Hawk Eyes relates near-death escapes, living with the Cherokee, gunfights, the death of friends and loved ones, and a quest for revenge. Ben can see vast landscapes painted from the words of the doomed man and feel the wild history of the West come alive. Will he have to watch Hawk Eyes die at the end of a rope?

Preacher With a Gun (Jubilee Book 1)


Brad Dennison - 2015
    When marshal Vic Falcone takes a bullet, he calls on the town preacher Tom McCabe to strap on a gun and wear the badge. The man who shot the marshal is in the town jail and awaiting trial, and the man's outlaw brother is out there somewhere, intending to free him. A lot for McCabe to handle, but even though he's a preacher, he's also the nephew of the gunfighter Johnny McCabe.

Hell in the Nations: The Further Adventures of Hayden Tilden (Hayden Tilden Westerns Book 2)


J. Lee Butts - 2016
    Until Hayden Tilden caught up with him.Smilin’ Jack Paine is one face from the past that Hayden would rather forget, but the man’s sinister grin is permanently etched in his memory, along with the chilling thoughts of Paine’s unspeakable crimes. There seems to be no other way to put that demon to rest than to tell the whole story—from the day Hayden first heard the man’s name to the day he finally wiped the grin off Paine’s face for good.Praise for Lawdog: The Life and Times of Haydon Tilden“Lawdog should assume its rightful place beside other Western classics.” —Peter Brandvold, author of Once Hell Freezes Over“Lawdog has it all. I couldn’t put it down.” —Jack Ballas, author of West of the RiverAbout the Author:J. Lee Butts is the author of 22 published books and numerous magazine articles and short works. His book Brotherhood of Blood was runner-up for the Western Writers of America Spur Award in 2005. He’s worn many hats over the years (teacher, administrator, pool manager, IBM supervisor, and western author), and he and his late wife lived everywhere from Los Angeles to Dallas. Currently he’s hanging those hats back in White Hall, Arkansas.

The Land of Strong Men


A.M. Chisholm - 1919
    Excerpt and one of them, Gavin, was reputed to be the strongest man in the neighborhood. The daughter, a long-limbed slip of a girl who rode like a cow-puncher, was about the boy's age. Though Godfrey French had a ranch it was worked scarcely at all. The boys did not like work, and apparently did not have to. Godfrey French was reputed to have money. His ranch was a hang-out for what were known as "remittance men," young Englishmen who received more or less regular allowances from home--or perhaps to keep away from home. There were rumors of gambling and hard drinking at French's ranch. "Well, I'll take you home," the boy said. "You can ride my pony. He's on a rope a mile from here. But I'll have to hang up this buck, or the coyotes will chew him." He found two small saplings close together, bent them down, trimmed them and lashed their tops. Over these he placed the tied legs of the buck. With a little search he found a long dry pole. With this he had a tripod. As he hoisted with the pole the spring

The Stalking Moon


T.V. Olsen - 1965
    Original.

No Peace (Steve Dancy Tales Book 7)


James D. Best - 2019
    He can hardly remember his days of wanderlust, and he’s grateful to have left behind the violence of a raw frontier. In a celebratory mood, Steve invites his mother to a meet her new grandchild in a chic resort in Monterey, California. With the delivery of a handwritten note, his world suddenly reverts to the savagery of his bygone days. There will be no peace.

Texas Blood Feud


Dusty Richards - 2009
    Three generations who paid in blood and treasure. Children carried off by Comanche. A brother lost to war. Lives shattered. Chet Byrnes was trying to hold the ranch together through one more winter for one more cattle drive when he hanged three horse thieves this side of the Red River - and a blood feud erupted...A family wants revenge - no matter how just the hangings were. From attacks on the Byrnes clan to the killing of livestock, the feud leads to one vicious murder - and then another. But amidst the violence and pain, a man who has seen his youth slip by is about to get one last chance at life and love...If only Chet can end the war he started...If only he can survive this land and the killers who want him dead - at any price...

Mac's Way


Reg Quist - 2012
    Work on the Santa Fe Trail, and on a Mississippi River boat give him a start, but the years of Civil War leave him broke and footloose in South Texas. There he discovers more cattle running loose than he ever knew existed. Teaming up with two ex-Federal soldiers, he sets out to gather his wealth, one head at a time. While gathering and driving Longhorns, Mac and his friends meet an interesting collection of characters, including Margo. Mac and Margo and the crew learn about Longhorns, and life, from hard experience before they eventually head west. Outlaws and harrowing river crossings are just two of the challenges they face along their way.

Silver Creek


A.H. Holt - 2003
    He's good with his gun and his fists, but doesn't fight except when forced. Smart, loyal and tough, John captures your heart, and the heart of "Andy" Blaine the heroine. Andrea is a bit of a tom-boy, but a beautiful, strong and true western woman. John gets involved in the war for water rights on Silver Creek and neighboring ranches because his father seems to be involved on the wrong side of the law. He and his father haven't spoken for six years, but John feels it his duty to try to clear his father's name.

Flight Of The Hawk: The River


W. Michael Gear - 2021
    MICHAEL GEAR TURNS HIS MASTER’S HAND TO THE FRONTIER WEST.1812 Missouri Fur Trade – An intimate of the Burr conspiracy, the condemned and hounded John Tylor signs on as boatman with Manuel Lisa’s expedition. But the river is now contested as the British, Spanish, and other fur companies prepare to break Lisa’s hold. As the expedition battles its way up the violent river, Fenway McKeever lurks in Tylor’s shadow. Not only is the half-mad McKeever paid to kill Tylor, but he’s convinced himself that by destroying Lisa’s expedition, he can sell his services to the highest bidder.“No one reads a Gear novel without being transformed in beautiful ways.” – Richard S. Wheeler

War Cry


Charles G. West - 2010
    Then he saves the life of Sarah Lawton, a lovely widow with her young daughter, both helpless under Indian fire. And by doing so, he' made mortal enemies with the Cheyenne-who are now out for his blood...

Rancho Diablo Western Series Omnibus


Mel Odom - 2020
    Now Sam is putting down roots with his wife and daughter, and no amount of evil can stand in the way.Secure in their out-of-the-way stronghold, the proprietors of the criminal enterprises never planned on a man like Sam Blaylock—a man who would face the Devil himself to balance the scales. Sam never backed down from a bad situation.Rancho Diablo Western Series: Omnibus includes – Shooter's Cross, Hell On Wheels, The Hold Up, The Matamoros Bull, The Armadillo's Hole Saloon and Shooter York.