Recent unexpected gunplay has whittled his detective agency down to a single operative: a man named John Henry Cole. Cole is the only man left when a new assignment comes in from a former lover of Kelly’s, a woman operating an escort service in the new mining camp of Deadwood in Dakota Territory. Three of the young women working for her have been murdered, and someone is trying to cover up their deaths.It’s a dangerous job, and Cole is advised that he must take every precaution—as if he needed such advice. The legendary Wild Bill Hickok was recently murdered at Deadwood, and Calamity Jane Canary and Doc Holliday are among Cole’s potential suspects. Add that to a corrupt constable and a bounty hunter who just happens to be an old enemy of Cole’s, and it’s clear there are many who will not welcome his arrival in Deadwood. Cole is a lonely man in a lonely profession, and finding a murderer in the wild mining camp could be less of a challenge than simply staying alive.Using real-life characters and settings from one of the most notorious times in the history of the Wild West, veteran author Bill Brooks spins another edge-of-your-seat thriller.Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns—books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians—are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

    The temporary governor of Texas has seen fit to appoint three hired guns as his county sheriff and deputies. Jess knows the three men and knows they shouldn’t be wearing badges. He hangs around Calico long enough to sort things out, but then he gets an urgent message from United States Marshal Frank Reedy. It seems his good friend, the female bounty hunter only known as Wildcat, has murdered a man in New Mexico Territory and now has a price on her head. Jess, knowing that she would never kill without good reason, enlists the help of both Reedy and Bodine to safely escort her to Stratton, but a lot of angry and hungry bounty hunters have other plans to kill Wildcat for the bounty, and put her out of the business; but the only way that will happen, is over Jess’s dead body. Lead flies and men die. Who will be left standing in the end?

    Here, too, are superb, action-packed entries from today's outstanding Western storytellers -- distinguished award winners as well as daring newcomers, including Peter Brandvold · Randy Lee Eickhoff · Marcus Galloway · Ed Gorman · Elmer Kelton · Rod Miller · Robert J. Randisi · James Reasoner · Dusty Richards · Troy D. Smith · L. J. Washburn Edited by renowned author and anthologist Robert J. Randisi, Lone Star Law spans the existence of this elite investigative law enforcement agency. From fending off hostile Comanche to tracking serial killers, from aiming Winchesters and Colt revolvers to firing up laptops and state-of-the-art forensics technology, from targeting rustlers and outlaw gangs to leading harrowing hostage negotiations, the men and women who don the badge and white hat of the Texas Ranger stand as steadfast deliverers of American justice -- the Lone Star way.

    SweazyA Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger NovelFrom the blood he spilled during the Civil War to his beloved wife, who died in childbirth, and his daughters, who were taken by the flu, ex-Texas Ranger Josiah Wolfe thought he had seen enough death for one lifetime. Now, with an infant son and a heart full of pain, he's rejoining the Rangers as part of the Frontier Battalion. But first, his captain needs him to escort Charlie Langdon to trial.Wolfe and Langdon had a long history together as both lawmen and soldiers—until Langdon's lust for blood and money made him an outlaw. Wolfe knows his old friend has to pay. But the ride to the hangman's noose isn't going to be easy. Langdon's friends aren't going to give him up without a fight. And Wolfe's killer instinct may be his only chance to see his son again...Praise for Larry D Sweazy"Combines the slam-bang action of a good Western with the sensitivity of style and depth of character that used to be the hallmark of literary fiction."—Loren D. Estleman, five-time Spur Award-winning author"Raw, wild, and all too human...a thundering testament to just how good the Western novel can be."—Johnny D. Boggs, Spur Award-winning author"A character-rich story about a Texas Ranger haunted by dark memories, on the hunt for a former comrade-in-arms turned killer."—Elmer Kelton, seven-time Spur Award-winning author"Ris[es] to the level of a classic."—Loren D. Estleman

    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.

    Who rustles cattle in Colorado in December, was the biggest question on his mind when he left his ranch. Three hours later, trying to find his way to safety in a howling blizzard, just staying alive was much more important. It was what he found when seeking emergency shelter that would alter his life forever.

    But when he witnesses a stranger murdered by road agents, then the outlaws kill his best friend, Cleve decides it’s high time he stuck his nose in where it don’t belong. As if all that ain’t problems enough, he meets a tough yet beautiful woman who takes a shine to him – and a feller with fists of iron who takes unkindly to that. Throw in a murderous road agent gone loco, an unfaithful dog, a wise-cracking Sheriff, and a range war between sheep and cattle men, and Cleve’s got more troubles than an unarmed man in the middle of a gunfight. Another action packed Western with a hint of romance, from the pen of J.V. James – and as usual, more twists and turns than you can shake a Winchester at.

    Ex-Rebel out to take what they can get and then some. The war between the States is over, and Quinn's Raiders, the fiercest unit of guerrilla fighters in the South, are on their way to Texas to swing for their crimes. But no Yankee prison train can hold these boys for long.

    Now he seeks revenge on the men who murdered his Apache family, a band of scalp hunters led by the notorious Colonel Thomas Ballantine.

    Dan Smithson tracked them til almost dark. He camped and planned to sleep until dawn, but he heard a strange sound. His colt ready in his left hand, he pushed the bushes to one side. A girl and a baby boy huddled there together in the dark, crying for their Pa, who was nowhere to be found.Andre Devereaux paid well for his brother's daughter to be kidnapped and killed so he could inherit the family estate, but she was still alive, caring for the little boy Devereaux had recently made an orphan. It was time to find them and carry out his unfinished business.Dan must recover the Eight's cattle and horses, and protect Anne Marie from her crazed uncle until he can return her safely to her father, a journey that will take him over rough land, with little for protection but his wits and his rifle.

    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.

    O. Lane -- A mother, faced with losing her daughter in a fraudulent divorce proceeding, heads west on a wagon train. The wagon train is hit by Comanches, and the mother is critically wounded. Her four-year-old daughter is saved by hiding in the high prairie grasses in the Texas panhandle. A cattleman comes along and nurses the mother back to health and saves her daughter. The wounded woman and the cattleman fall in love and fight off many attempts by her wicked husband to kill his former wife and kidnap his daughter and bring her back to Chicago. In the end, saving Muffin (a nickname given to her by her new Pa) becomes a full-time job. Working together, the woman and the cattleman win the battle to save Muffin and give her a good life.

    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?

    Until he meets the beautiful prostitute Addie Heller. But Guthrie can’t avoid trouble, not with his background. Tensions mount as a corrupt mayor and his gun-totin’ henchmen aim to take over the town, including the fancy bordello owned by friendly, helpful Ma Snow, and Guthrie is called on to use his skills. But just as Guthrie is making headway in calming the town, the past returns in the form of Luke Taggart. And the violence explodes as Guthrie faces off with Taggart and his vicious gun pals.

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