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Ride Away by Cotton Smith


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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.

The Road King Chronicles: Blue Ridge Run


Harry Harrigan - 2015
    After twenty-three years and three combat tours with the 75th Ranger Regiment, he’s got a Silver Star, a titanium knee and a plan to see America on his Road King motorcycle. No more patrols, no more firefights. Nothing more dangerous than passing the old work van rumbling along in front of him as he rides toward Hunter-Stewart and the sunset of his career in the Army. But just as he twists the throttle to pass, a woman’s bare foot smears a bloody print on the van’s back window. Roman turns back to help, triggering a chain of events that puts his brother Virgil and two old friends in the crosshairs of a murderer. Saving them sends Roman on a desperate ride from Savannah to DC, where he discovers that the past he has been trying to forget has not forgotten him. It’s been waiting patiently, holding his secret like a time bomb.

You're in Command Now, Mr. Fog (A Dusty Fog's Civil War Western Book 2)


J.T. Edson - 1973
    FOG The Yankee sharpshooter turned out to be a lousy judge of character. He had three officers in his sights, a captain and two lieutenants. If he killed the right one, the Union Army’s victory at the Battle of Martin’s Hill would be guaranteed. So he made his choice and killed the Rebel cavalry’s commanding officer, Captain von Hartz. Big mistake. He should have concentrated on the small, insignificant-looking first lieutenant instead. Because the death of Captain von Hertz put Dusty Fog in command of the Texas Light Cavalry’s hard-riding, harder-hitting Company ‘C’. And with Dusty at their head, there was going to be hell to pay for the Bluebellies. ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Thomas Edson was born at Worksop, Nottinghamshire, on February 17 1928, the son of a miner who was killed in an accident when John was nine. He left Shirebrook Selective Central School at 14 to work in a stone quarry and joined the Army four years later. As a sergeant in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Edson served in Kenya during the Emergency, on one occasion killing five Mau Mau on patrol. He started writing in Hong Kong, and when he won a large cash prize in a tombola he invested in a typewriter. On coming out of the Army after 12 years with a wife and children to support, Edson learned his craft while running a fish-and-chip shop and working on the production line at a local pet food factory. His efforts paid off when Trail Boss (1961) won second prize in a competition with a promise of publication and an outright payment of £50. The publishers offered £25 more for each subsequent book, and with the addition of earnings from serial-writing for the comic Victor, Edson was able to settle down to professional authorship. When the comic's owners decided that nobody read cowboy stories any more, he was forced to get a job as a postman (the job had the by-product of enabling him to lose six stone in weight from his original 18). Edson's prospects improved when Corgi Books took over his publisher, encouraged him to produce seven books a year and promised him royalties for the first time. In 1974 he made his first visit to the United States, to which he was to return regularly in search of reference books. He declared that he had no desire to live in the Wild West, adding: "I've never even been on a horse. I've seen those things, and they look highly dangerous at both ends and bloody uncomfortable in the middle. My only contact was to shoot them for dog meat." His heroes were often based on his favourite film stars, so that Dusty Fog resembled Audie Murphy, and the Ysabel Kid was an amalgam of Elvis Presley in Flaming Star and Jack Buetel in The Outlaw. Before becoming a recluse in his last years, JT's favourite boast was that Melton Mowbray was famous for three things: "The pie, Stilton cheese and myself but not necessarily in that order."

Savages


Robert Vaughan - 2014
    Ryan Flynn knew what was right, not what the law said, not what the generals dictated, not what the Indian agents proclaimed with their lies and cheating, and he knew than many Apaches were not only great warriors, but honorable men of their word...and he fought for them, married into the tribe, and never, never quit.

Widowmaker Jones


Brett Cogburn - 2016
    Marshal Rooster Cogburn comes an authentic new "True Grit" Western classic.With a bag full of gold dust, Newt "Widowmaker" Jones is set for life. Then he makes his first mistake, trusting a cheerful stranger. By dawn the stranger--Javier Cortina, the son of the famous Texas border bandit, Juan "Red" Cortina--is gone. So is the gold. So are Newt's horse and even his fearsome Colt .44. It's enough to make a man want vengeance. And vengeance will be Newt's. Newt chases Cortina into Mexico, where the man is legendary for the horses he's stolen, the women he's bedded, and the men he's killed. As for Newt, he has a unique talent for choosing the wrong partners, from an angry, addled judge named Roy Bean to a brother and sister pair of circus gypsies, Fonzo Grey and Buckshot Annie. The more Newt pursues the cunning and deadly Cortina, the angrier he gets, until somewhere on the border the whole crazy journey explodes into an all-out battle of bullets and blood. . .. Praise for Spur Award winner Brett Cogburn:"Fans of frontier arcana will revel in Cogburn's readable prose and lively characters." --Publishers Weekly on Rooster"Cogburn amazes and astounds." --Booklist

Outrage at Blanco


Bill Crider - 1998
     Before the sun went down, the livery stable was torched, an outlaw gang robbed the bank, two men were killed, and young newlywed Ellie Taine was raped. One of the dead was the man who planned the robbery - the son of dying, legendary Texas Ranger Jonathan Crossland - the other was Ellie's husband, an innocent bystander. The dead don't know fear. Ellie is dead inside. She takes a gun and rides out after the desperadoes, cold-blooded and fearless, determined to kill the men who ruined her life. She's joined by Jonathan Crossland, who only has days left to live... but would rather die in his saddle making amends for his son than rot in his bed. Together, Ellie and Jonathan set out on a mission of vengeance and justice, one that neither of them expects nor hopes to survive. "In the hands of Bill Crider, noir seems as atmospheric and doomful as ever," Publisher's Weekly "Bill Crider is one of the most unpretentious and versatile pure entertainers in the mystery field." Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

The Blue Mustang


Will Henry - 1955
    The only friend he can rely on is a blue mustang with the cunning and heart of a fighter.

Dark Homecoming


William Patterson - 2016
    Their honeymoon was idyllic and Liz is blissfully happy—at first. But she feels increasingly uneasy in her lavish new home. Huntington House and its staff still seem to be in the thrall of David’s first wife. In fact, the housekeeper, Mrs. Hoffman, has made it clear that Liz can never measure up to the stunning, sophisticated, deceased, Dominique. Though Dominique drowned in a yachting accident, Liz still senses her spirit in the house. She hears unexplained noises…sees shadowy figures vanishing down the long corridors. The scent of Dominique’s favorite flowers fills the air. But Liz’s fears are more than insecurity. Two young women connected to Huntington House have already met terrible deaths. More will die—and soon. Because behind the house’s polished façade is an unimaginable secret and a love turned to twisted, unnatural obsession…Praise for William Patterson’s The Inn "The Conjuring meets The Shining in William Patterson's deliciously creepy thriller.  Fast-paced, horror-filled, clever and impossible-to-predict, this heart-pounding tale will leave you breathless." --Kevin O’Brien, New York Times bestselling author

Deadman's Revenge (The Deadman Series Book 3)


Linell Jeppsen - 2014
     Heartsick, he traces a convoluted trail of murder, mayhem and deceit… from the high gates of the Walla Walla State penitentiary, to Seattle and on into Billings, Montana. Although Matthew feels that he must bear the burden of a “deadman’s revenge” by himself, he will find help and succor in his travels from his friends, Sheriff Roy Smithers, Deputy Dicky McNulty, Calamity Jane, Liver Eating Johnson… and his son Chance. Deadman’s Revenge- Book three of the best-selling, award-winning series of novels, Deadman’s Fury and Deadman’s Lament

Apache Country


Christopher Kenworthy - 2013
    The worst that might happen is the Indians come after his scalp. But when he runs into the beautiful Rosemary, he finds himself pitted against ruthless enemies of every kind.Kidnappers, comancheros, and renegade Apaches are on his trail - and after his blood. But most implacable of all, there is the Sonoran Desert itself, where everything that grows either bites, stings or scratches.Murphy needs all his skill with a gun if he is to survive.

The Seventh Stone


Pamela Hegarty - 2011
    Well written and compelling.”“Thinking person's thriller – Read it!” 42+ weeks as an International Best SellerIndiana Jones meets Da Vinci Code in this action-packed thriller, with a mysterious shaman, a brutal murder, bloodthirsty pirates, vicious beasts, a ruthless villain, a gunfight at an archeological site, a brilliant, beautiful heroine and a ruggedly handsome hero—no spoilers here. These are the highlights from the opening scenes as hero and villain race to find the Breastplate of Aaron and its seven legendary gemstones. The Breastplate is the companion piece to the Ark of the Covenant. Trivia question: Where have you seen the Breastplate before? Indy's nemesis archaeologist wears it when he opens the Ark in the desert. The Breastplate, according to the Bible, is our connection between man and God. The Seventh Stone is provocative and suspenseful, and may spark controversy as it challenges the line between reality and faith.WINNER - 2012 GLOBAL EBOOK AWARD, THRILLERNote from the author: In The Seventh Stone, I tried to create the type of book I love to read, an action-packed quest not only for a powerful artifact, but for the essence of what makes us who we are. I wanted to give readers a page-turner that raises questions more than gives answers. When I was researching and writing The Seventh Stone, I stumbled across historic facts and “coincidences” that were uncanny in how they fit into the plot. It was as though the story could actually be real and had to be told. And that is what The Seventh Stone is at its core, a daring look at what is real and what is faith. Please contact me at www.pamelahegarty.com. I tweet at @pamelahegarty.

Night of the Coyote (The Coyote Saga, #1)


Ron Schwab - 2015
    It’s now 1875, however, and there has been peace in this part of Wyoming for several years, and Ethan has settled down in the small town of Lockwood. No longer working in stealth, he is the town’s lone lawyer. When two young Sioux are lynched by a makeshift posse for a crime they may or may not have committed, Ethan knows he must act quickly to prevent a bloody retaliation from their Sioux tribe. Can he gain the trust of both his former enemy and the townspeople of Lockwood so that there is enough time to unravel the mystery of the crime and ensure justice is fairly served? In Night of the Coyote, the worlds of the old and new collide, and the clock is ticking for Ethan to prevent a further descent into violence.

Texas Rifles


Elmer Kelton - 1960
    Instead, it authorized the State of Texas to raise its own troops.Many kinds of men drifted into the Texas Mounted Rifles. Some thought it might be safer than fighting in far off Virginia. Many were merely young men a-thirst for adventure. Some were settlers who saw this as the best way to protect their families and homes against the murderous thrusts of the Comanche. And some were men who still loved the Union, who had lived too long under that gallant flag to turn their guns against it now. Such a man was Scout Sam Houston Cloud...

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.

Rainwater


Sandra Brown - 2009
    She cooks, cleans, launders, and cares for her ten-year-old son, Solly, a sweet but challenging child whose busy behavior and failure to speak elicits undesired advice from others in town. Ella’s plate is full from sunup to sundown. When a room in her boarding house opens up, the respected town doctor brings Ella a new boarder―the handsome and gallant Mr. David Rainwater—but Ella is immediately resistant to opening up her home to this mysterious stranger. Even with assurances that Mr. Rainwater is a man of impeccable character, a former cotton broker and a victim of the Great Depression, Ella stiffens at the thought of taking him in. Dr. Kincaid tells Ella in confidence that Mr. Rainwater won’t require the room for long: he is dying. Begrudgingly, Ella accepts Mr. Rainwater’s application to board, but she knows that something is happening; she is being swept along by an unusual series of events. Soon, this strong-minded, independent woman will realize that the living that she has eked out for herself in the small bubble of her town is about to change, whether she likes it or not... Racial tensions, the financial strain of livelihoods in cotton drying up into dust, and the threat of political instability swirl together into a tornado on the horizon. One thing is certain: the winds of change are blowing all over Texas—and through the cracks in the life that Ella Barron has painstakingly built. This is the story of a woman who takes her life’s circumstances in both hands, but who will be forced to reckon with the chaos of her historical circumstances..