Book picks similar to
Ride the Hard Trail by Ralph Compton


westerns
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Seven Fingers a' Brazos


Eric H. Heisner - 2018
    When a wagon train of homesteaders is massacred by outlaws, a young male survivor is determined to rescue his stolen siblings. Dragged from his now peaceful existence, former military scout, Holton Lang invests himself in the search for the stolen captives as well as the difficult task of keeping the young man alive. As the search continues across three states, Holton meets old friends and finds new meaning in life as his job of survival embraces a newfound kinship.

Gunfight In Mescalito


John Legg - 1991
    Hounded by Marshal Tom Baylor and his posse, Crockett, runs from one fearful, violent encounter to another. As time passes, he learns to make his way with the gun. But he is always looking for a place to call home, a place where he could live life in peace. He thinks he has found it when he lands in Mangas, Arizona Territory. There he meets wealthy, regal Don Esteban. And the hacendado’s daughter, the beautiful and spirited Magdalena. But a rival for Magdalen’s affections draws Crockett back into the world of danger and gunfire — and eventually a showdown that can only bring death.

The Rangeland Avenger


Max Brand - 1922
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Preston Lewis Western Collection 2


Preston Lewis - 2020
    Tough times require tough choices, no matter if it’s in a Colorado winter or a race across New Mexico.In Blood Saga, Virgil Child returns his mother’s coffin to White Oaks, New Mexico Territory, to bury her beside his dead father. Child can’t find his father’s grave and as he investigates, he discovers how his birthright was stolen by Ed Keller and his allies. He sets out to right a wrong and get what’s his against all odds.The Preston Lewis Western Collection, Volume 2 includes: Escape from Silverton, Blood Saga, Vigilante Justice, New Mexico Showdown and Hard Texas Winter.

Hell and Half of Texas: Heck Carson Series: Volume 2


John Spiars - 2017
    Justice is back. Seeking a greater adventure than bringing law and order to the untamed Texas frontier, Texas Ranger Jesse "Heck" Carson, along with his friend, Tommy Jergsen, enlist in the Confederate Cavalry. They are placed in a special unit tasked with stopping the murderous Jayhawkers who have been carrying on a guerilla war against civilians in Missouri. Heck and his men face the expected horrors of war, but what they didn't expect was to find themselves in the middle of a private war where they don't know who to trust and where the lines between friend and enemy mean nothing. In order to do what is right, they must make decisions that will forever change the course of their lives and which thrusts them into a battle far more violent than anything they ever expected.

Bullets Always Kill (The Texas Riders Western) (A Western Frontier Fiction)


Joseph Powell - 2019
     Sheriff Rowan Keller is the new sheriff of Blackgate. There’s just one problem. The old sheriff doesn’t want to leave. He’s spent years taking bribes from criminals so they could pass through unscathed, and he’s not eager to give things up. But Rowan’s about to put an end to all that. Blackgate’s got a poker tournament coming up, and it’s drawing all the wrong kinds of people. But no one beats Wade Sharp. Evil, corrupt, and soulless, Wade has a gang of men who will kill anyone who gets in their way. Even women and children. When Rowan puts up a fight, Wade decides him and the entire town must pay. Especially Tillie. She’s pretty and kind, and Wade’s taking her with him when he leaves. But if he thinks Rowan is just going to let her go, he’s mistaken. Rowan’s ready to go into battle, even if he has to do it alone. Can Rowan save Tillie and the entire town, or are they already good as dead?

In Pursuit: The Women In Pants Ride Again


Stan Himes - 2019
    Mary, Katie, Ernestine and the other women reunite for Pearl’s wedding. But when disaster happens, they must once again trade their dresses for workpants and take the reins in pursuit of a bad bunch. This time the women are more seasoned. This time the women know they’re tough. Good. They’ll need to be.

JERICHO (Texas Ranger Book 3)


Brad Dennison - 2017
    But is he prepared to step into the boots of Tremain? Things become complicated when the girlfriend of an outlaw raider lands in the Wardtown jail. Jericho has to handle the threat of the outlaw and his gang, and his own growing feelings for the girl.

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...

The Iron Horse


James Reasoner - 2021
    Hired to find out who is stirring up the Sioux and sabotaging the Kansas Pacific line as it builds westward, Faraday sends tough young agent Daniel Britten to the railhead, where he finds himself embroiled with surveyors, track layers, buffalo hunters, and a pair of beautiful young women. But there’s a killer stalking the railhead as well, and not only the fate of the railroad but also Britten’s very life depends on him uncovering the truth.An epic Western adventure full of historical sweep and gun-blazing action.

The Master Executioner


Loren D. Estleman - 2001
    Everything he does, he does impeccably. He is a profound student of his art, completely versed in its traditions over the centuries. He is a student of ropes and their properties, a master of the latest scientific knowledge about the human neck, a careful calculator of weights and drops, and an exacting observer of results.For more than a quarter of a century he has worked to create a reputation as a man peerless in his craft: the master executioner.Yet he is utterly alone: His devotion to his work costs him his marriage. Suddenly, one day, a piece of his past catches him unawares, and Oscar comes to a moment of devastating truth and for the first time knows himself.

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.

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?

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.

Louisiana Lou A Western Story


William West Winter - 2009
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.