Shadows of Nemesis


L.J. Martin - 2018
    He's on the hunt. When the task is done and blood soaks the Nemesis, NV desert, he receives a shock—his sister is still alive. Now, with posters on every trail in Idaho and Montana territories, and a killer’s price on his head, he’s on the prowl. What he finds is an equal shock, but not so much as to those who hunt him. When the hunter becomes the hunted, there’s pure hell to pay.

Medicine Wheel


Ron Schwab - 2016
    A murder trial would normally be of little interest to Thad Locke, who escaped the "family disease" of law wrangling, but two women--one the accused murderess, the other a member of her defense team--have intertwined themselves with both Thad and his lawyering family.Will Kirsten Cavelle be the first woman sent to the gallows in the state of Kansas? As some members of the community seek to take the law into their own hands, will she even live to see the end of the trial? As the trial unfolds, secrets from the past are revealed, lives are changed forever, and a little known piece of land grows to have resonance far beyond its size.Set amongst the Kansas Flint Hills and the growing city of Manhattan in the 1880s, Medicine Wheel further explores the stories of the Locke family, first introduced in the author's novel, Last Will.

Lonesome Dove


Larry McMurtry - 1985
    Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember.

The Innocents


C.A. Asbrey - 2018
     Nat and Jake are the ringleaders of The Innocents, a western gang that specializes in holding up trains carrying payrolls—and Nat is pretty savvy when it comes to using the new sciences of 1868 in committing his crimes. Charismatic Nat and handsome Jake are on the run, and they’ve always gotten away before—before Abi. But when Abi is caught by another band of outlaws during the chase, there’s no other choice for Nat and Jake but to save her life. Abi owes them, and she agrees to help them bring in the murderer of a family friend. The web of criminal activity grows more entangled with each passing day, but Nat, Jake, and Abi are united in their efforts to find the murderer. Once that happens, all bets are off, and Abi will be turning Nat and Jake over to the law. But can she do it? She finds herself falling for Nat, but is that growing attraction real? Or is he just using her to learn more about the Pinkertons’ methods? Abi always gets her man—but she may have met her match in her “best enemies”—THE INNOCENTS.

Slow John


C.J. Petit - 2017
    But when he rode to the family home, he made two shocking discoveries: his family was gone, and he had been declared dead by the army four years earlier. He left to cross the plains of Nebraska to find his family, but would find so much more.

Last Stand


Duane Boehm - 2014
    He is a man running from his conscience and keeping on the move seems to be the only thing preventing it from destroying him. Rumors of his whereabouts occasionally reach Last Stand, but no one from there had seen or heard from him since the war, leaving both the girl he left behind and his best friend with a chapter of their lives unresolved. Things change in Last Stand when a stranger is found shot and near death. The realization that the man is Gideon sets in motion old grudges, love, and a chance for redemption.

Under a Painted Sky


Stacey Lee - 2015
    But a tragic accident dashes any hopes of fulfilling her dream, and instead, leaves her fearing for her life. With the help of a runaway slave named Annamae, Samantha flees town for the unknown frontier. But life on the Oregon Trail is unsafe for two girls, so they disguise themselves as Sammy and Andy, two boys headed for the California gold rush. Sammy and Andy forge a powerful bond as they each search for a link to their past, and struggle to avoid any unwanted attention. But when they cross paths with a band of cowboys, the light-hearted troupe turn out to be unexpected allies. With the law closing in on them and new setbacks coming each day, the girls quickly learn that there are not many places to hide on the open trail.   This beautifully written debut is an exciting adventure and heart-wrenching survival tale. But above all else, it’s a story about perseverance and trust that will restore your faith in the power of friendship.

Doctor Rose and the Outlaw


R.O. Lane - 2020
    She sets up her medical practice there. One night she's called out to help a gang of outlaws that have been shot to pieces while trying to rustle cattle. One of the outlaws is a young man that she develops feelings for, but he's in and out of her life for months on end. The outlaw attempts to change his life and go straight. It's a challenge that Rose encourages. It's the tale of two people who grow to care deeply for each other, and when Rose is kidnapped, the outlaw, now her husband, rides out to save her. Another novel of the Old West from the pen of R. O. Lane.

The Captured


Scott Zesch - 2004
    Traded to Comaches, he thrived in the rough, nomadic existence, quickly becoming one of the tribe's fiercest warriors. Forcibly returned to his parents after three years, Korn never adjusted to life in white society. He spent his last years in a cave, all but forgotten by his family.That is, until Scott Zesch stumbled over his own great-great-great uncle's grave. Determined to understand how such a "good boy" could have become "Indianized" so completely, Zesch travels across the west, digging through archives, speaking with Comanche elders, and tracking eight other child captives from the region with hauntingly similar experiences. With a historian's rigor and a novelist's eye, Zesch paints a vivid portrait of life on the Texas frontier, offering a rare account of captivity.

The Englishman's Boy


Guy Vanderhaeghe - 1996
    As Richard Ford has noted, "Vanderhaeghe is simply a wonderful writer. The Englishman's Boy, spanning as it does two countries, two centuries, two views of history—the Canadian Wild West as 'imagined' by Hollywood—is a great accomplishment. Readers, I think, will find this book irresistible."

Sun Going Down


Jack Todd - 2008
    The cast includes a grizzled Mississippi steamboat merchant, two horse-thieving brothers, five Annie Oakley-like sisters who can outride any cowboy, a half-Sioux bride who demands her new family claim her heritage, and a courageous daughter who defies her father and braves the West alone. The Paint family must battle both internal and external elements, and learn to live with spirit and wit.Letters and diaries from the author's own family archives form the basis for all the events and characters for richly detailed authenticity and deep emotional power. Reach spans Vicksburg up through Montana and the Dakotas, four generations from the Civil War to the Great Depression.

The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson


Nancy Peacock - 2013
    An ex-slave named Persimmon Wilson awaits his hanging for the murder of the man who once owned him. As he waits, he pens his story. The journey of Persimmon Wilson takes the reader from the brutality of slavery on a Louisiana sugar plantation to a ranch on the Texas frontier to life among the Comanche Indians. All through his travels, Persimmon Wilson seeks the one person he loves, a light-skinned house slave named Chloe. When he finds her, she is passing for white and is the wife of their former master. This is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned adventure romance. It is also a serious examination of assumptions about identity and truth.Current edition published by Atria Books.

Riders of the Lone Star: Heck Carson Series Volume 1


John Spiars - 2017
    Johnstone, Best-selling western author, John Spiars has created a timeless hero of the old west. The first novel in the Heck Carson Series, Riders of the Lone Star brings the wild and lawless Texas frontier to life. When the Law ain’t enough… He brings Justice. The year is 1852. Settlers on the Texas frontier are at the mercy of hostile Comanche and vicious outlaws, and the only ones holding the line between life and death are a few brave men, known as Texas Rangers. Outnumbered and outgunned, they bring law and order to the untamed land. They face impossible odds with nothing more than grit, determination, and a fast gun. It is this adventure and excitement that lures sixteen-year-old Jesse “Heck” Carson to leave his families ranch to join the fight. Heck quickly learns that this life comes at a price, the cost of which is hardship, danger, and possibly his own life. The bonds of friendship, loyalty, and duty lead him into epic battles that test his courage and resolve, and along the way he learns what it means to wear the star of the Texas Rangers. Excerpts: As fast as he could, he pulled the hammer back and fired, the first Comanche jerked once and hit the ground. The other warrior was no more than two feet away now. Heck wondered if he had another bullet left. Had he fired five or six shots? He couldn’t remember. Saying a silent prayer, Heck pulled the hammer back and looked at his approaching enemy. The point of the warrior’s lance was inches away from his chest when heck pulled the trigger. The barrel of the Walker was almost touching the chest of the charging Indian. Heck heard no sound, but saw the smoke pour out of the barrel and the big warrior dropped to his knees, and fell on top of the young Ranger. Lieutenant Sutter and Corporal Anderson approached the men on horseback, ready to do what had to be done. Looking at the group of riders, however, Sutter immediately recognized he had made a terrible mistake. These men were not military, not even by Southern standards. They were unkempt, filthy, and armed to the teeth. His heart sank as he noticed that most of the detachment were Mexican and their guns were not in their holsters. “What is going on here?” he said, unable to believe what he was seeing. The lead rider smiled and said, “This was even easier than Senor Cortina said it would be. Thank you.” Without saying another word, the man raised his pistol and fired two quick shots, hitting both Lieutenant Sutter and Corporal Anderson between the eyes. The man wheeled around with his rifle as Heck landed on his back, but it was a fruitless gesture. There was a look of pained surprise on the man’s face as Heck covered his mouth and pulled him to the floor. Heck plunged his knife into the man’s chest several times, as he kept his hand over the man’s mouth. After several seconds his muffled cries were silent. John Spiars is the author of the Heck Carson Series. He is a writer and amateur historian with a passion for the history and myths of the "Old West". His hope is to keep alive the western genre for this generation and all of those to come, while both entertaining and educating readers of all ages. He is a native Texan and lives in North Texas with his wife and four children. When not writing western novels, he maintains a blog and Facebook page about Texas history and travel entitled Under the Lone Star.

The Brave


Nicholas Evans - 2009
    It's 1959 and the school bristles with bullies and sadistic staff. Tommy, a quirky loner, obsessed with cowboys and Indians, needs all the bravery he can summon.Salvation comes when his glamorous actress sister is swept off to Hollywood by one of his heroes, TV cowboy Ray Montane. But with the Cold War looming, the sinister side of Tinseltown seeps through and Tommy and Diane soon find themselves in jeopardy. Forty years on, Tommy has to confront his boyhood ghosts when his own son finds himself charged with murder.

A Little Learning


Anne Bennett - 1999
    She passes her eleven-plus and wins a scholarship to go to a good grammar school, but her father refuses to believe that girls have the right to do anything other than look after their husbands and raise children.Struggling to fit in at her new school and picked on by the other girls, Janet befriends, Ruth, another lonely pupil whose Jewish family have suffered many hardships. Janet and Ruth forge a strong friendship through her school life and beyond. But will their friendship survive when Janet falls for Ruth’s brother, Ben –marriage to a Catholic girl would go against everything his community hold dear. When the whole world seems stacked against her, can Janet hold onto her dreams?