Book picks similar to
Tonto Basin by Zane Grey


western
westerns
zane-grey
fiction

Utah Blaine/Silver Canyon


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    Then he found new trouble by saving the life of a Texas rancher. The would-be executioners were the rancher’s own men, looking to steal his land. Now Utah has a unique proposition: Have the wealthy Texan play dead, introduce himself as the spread’s new foreman, and take care of the outlaws one by one. The wage to fight another man’s war? Generous. The cost of falling in love while earning that wage? Utah will soon find out—unless the bad guys get him first. Silver Canyon“You’re not wanted in Hattan’s Point,” Matt Brennan was told moments after arriving in town. “There’s trouble here and men are picking sides.” But Matt wasn’t going anywhere until he found out what the dispute was about—and got to know Moira Maclaren. She considered him nothing more than a drifting ranch hand, and he wanted to prove her wrong. To do it, he’d have to solve the mystery of the growing violence—a mystery that could make a man rich…or dead.

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.

Long Ride Home


W. Michael Gear - 1988
    In the fierce and lawless Western frontier of 1874 these traits were what was needed to stay alive. Haunted by the ghosts of the men he's killed, there is one man he has set out to destroy... Louis Gasceaux, the man who murdered his parents while a younger Theo watched. But the trail Theo's following is long and bloody... and Louis always seems to stay a few steps ahead.This is how it was—from gritty buffalo and gold camps to brawling, building towns like Denver, Cheyenne, and Dodge City, populated with ambitious dreamers, deluded fools, and pragmatic women.W. Michael Gear brings the past alive in Long Ride Home—a gripping western tale.

The Border Empire


Ralph Compton - 1997
    The Sandlin gang kicked up that dust as they rode back laughing into Mexico, where the U.S. law couldn't touch them and local law didn't want to.Behind him Nathan Stone left his horse, his Winchester, his custom-made Colts, and his name. The son who had grown up without him took them all. His name is Wes Stone. He used to be a lawman, but when he picks up his father's guns, he takes down the star from his chest.Wes knows the impossible odds of going against the outlaw army and its empire of evil. But he knows something else too. He's his father's son, and he's going to teach his father's killers exactly what that means...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

Barbed Wire


Elmer Kelton - 1980
    And neither side takes prisoners!

Summers' Horses (Ralph Cotton Western Series)


Ralph Cotton - 2011
    When the coldblooded Bendigo Brothers make off with his horses, they don't know what they're in for. Summers has a history of tracking down animals, and when he finds them he'll be sure to give them his own special brand, and let them live long enough to feel the burn...

A Town Called Fury


William W. Johnstone - 2006
    He just wants to head back east, where he has a real shot at a better life. But halfway across Oklahoma the wagon train is attacked by bloodthirsty Comanche, and Jedediah Fury -- the leader of the settlers and Jason's father -- is counted among the dead. Before he knows it, Jason's leading the wagons into Arizona Territory, where the squabbling settlers decide to stop for good and start a town they'll name Fury in honor of Jedediah. It is going to be a hardscrabble life, what with the ruthless Apaches always on the attack and the harsh country they've chosen. Jason knows he can't just leave these defenseless pioneers to be slaughtered - among them a certain young lady he's taken a real shine to...

The Scout


Harry Combs - 1995
    a towering tale of dreams unfettered, of mustangs running free, and of young men riding hell-bent-for-leather into Indian country for no other reason than they were young, brave and wild.By 1900 the Old West was vanishing, but the man many called its fastest gun was still alive.  By then Car Brules had shut himself and his secrets away in a cabin on Colorado's Lone Cone Peak.  Only one person knew his real story, a boy of eleven who became his friend and heard his extraordinary tales in 1909.  The Scout is that unforgettable story, just as young Steven Cartwright heard it, just as Brules told it: hard and gritty, wry with a cowboy's humor, and true to the spirits of all those who loved the west--and died for it--from Custer to Crazy Horse.Many hard, hurting things had driven Cat Brules to become the man he was.  The death of his beloved Shoshone bride, Wild Rose, was one of them.  Months after Brules lost her--brutally and far too soon--Wild Rose still came to him in his dreams.  With a void in his heart and a reckless spirit, Brules signed on as a Scout for General George Crook, whose cavalry was headed into the Badlands. Then, the U.S. Army still didn't know that there were fifteen thousand Sioux and Cheyenne in those Wyoming foothills, and under chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, every one of them was willing to fight to the death to live free.Brules's account of the violence that ensued, told with eyewitness immediacy and chilling authenticity, is one of courage and shame as he rides the trail toward the Little Big Horn and the battles that followed.  Seeing for himself the dying of a way of life, Brules tells a searing truth about America's history: the betrayal of Custer to the Sioux, the hunting of Geronimo, and the U.S. Army's cruel pursuit of Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce.  And here too are the women who loved Brules: White Antelope, the gentle Indian maiden who wanted what Brules felt he could never give again--and Melisande, the saucy Mormon girl who might be too much for even Cat Brules to handle.Debunking the myths of the Old West and the romanticism of movies, renowned Western writer Harry Combs creates a vision at once more complex, magnificent and genuine--from the make of the rifle to the caliber of the bullet that cut Custer down.  A novel unmatched in excitement and adventure, The Scout lets you smell the cordite, feel a man's hard need for a woman, and discover that the real flesh and blood inhabitants of those legendary days were tougher, bolder and more fascinating than we ever dared to imagine.

The Stalking Moon


T.V. Olsen - 1965
    Original.

A Perilous Road to her Heart


Carol Colyer - 2020
    All she ever wanted is to meet a promising young man to fall in love with. To her surprise, a secret admirer gives her hope for the first time that true love actually exists. Little did she know that her world would soon fall apart and her priorities would change drastically as her brother gets unexpectedly kidnapped. Based on the rustlers' demand, she has to be the one delivering the ransom money. Against her will, though, deputy Heath decides to accompany her to this dangerous mission. Will she find the courage to bridge her differences with the one man in town she doesn't like, in order to save her only brother?As the deputy in Charlesland, Heath Jackson is really passionate about his role while at the same time he takes care of his parents. Ever since his older sister passed away in a horrible accident, his parents have been in a constant depressed state which has seriously concerned him. What brightens his day is the girl of his dreams and his best friend's little sister, Lottie, however, he hasn't been able to express his love for her sincerely. Unbeknownst to them, fate and ruthless criminals will finally bring them closer together. Will he be able to save his friend and protect Lottie during this risky quest? Will he declare his true feelings to the woman he loves?When it all comes to a terrifying clash, lives are hanging on a ledge, while both Lottie and Heath will be forced to admit what they really mean to each other. Will the opportunity ever come for them to be together? Will Lottie ultimately choose a romance with her secret admirer or with her childhood nemesis?"A Perilous Road to her Heart" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 60,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Lawdog: The Life and Times of Hayden Tilden


J. Lee Butts - 2001
    Lee Butts! Legendary as the meanest, most fearless lawdog of the Old West, Hayden Tilden sometimes blurs the line between U.S. Marshal and hired assassin. His adventures all began with one murderous, cold-blooded bastard: Saginaw Bob Magruder. The depraved killer butchered Tilden’s entire family and hurled the young man into a ruthless, bloody crusade for vengeance and a career as a U. S. Marshal. Tracking down Magruder will be just the beginning of Tilden’s adventures, bringing his own brand of justice to the wild and lawless West. “Lawdog has it all. I couldn’t put it down.” —Jack Ballas, author of A Town Afraid “Lawdog should assume its rightful place beside other Western classics.” —Peter Brandvold, bestselling author of Once Hell Freezes Over About 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.

Cowboy


Frank Roderus - 1981
    He had been saving the pay he sweated so hard for, and he reckoned there was enough to set himself up with a spread of his own. He thought he might look into the Triple X Ranch, the one they called the Whiskey Brand. It had prime cattle land and was a bargain... or so it seemed.

The Changing Wind


Don Coldsmith - 1990
    He was called White Buffalo, and he would be the greatest medicine man the People had ever known.  The spirit of the ancient gods beat in him like a savage drum--a mystical power as old as the land, as primeval as primitive man himself.  But even as he fought to lead his people out of the darkness of the Stone Age, his world trembled on the brink of a great and terrible transformation.  It would be a century swept by the inevitable winds of change; a time when ignorant, evil men like the warrior Gray Wolf of the Head-Splitters would seek bloody vengeance, and when once man would fight against all odds to save his tribe and his heritage from brutal destruction.

Ketcham's Land


Douglas Hirt - 2002
    After a card game with Benny Gellerman, a man good with a gun, but bad with cards, Ketcham decides it is time to head out again. He finds a place to bed down on a lonely New Mexico farm run by old Corely Mattlin and his widowed daughter-in-law, Margaret. Ketcham has his eye on pretty Margaret, but he'd better keep his eyes open wide for trouble. A local rancher named Jeb Ollfinger is trying to run the Mattlins off their land, and he is not above using violence, even murder, to get what he wants. Margaret is sure her husband's killer was one of Ollfinger's men, a gunman named Gellerman. If Ketcham knew what was good for him, he would head out again. But this time he has a job to do first.

Silent Mountain Guns


C.M. Curtis - 2015
    But, when he ends up in a place where a range war is raging, he learns that it’s not easy to shed a reputation, especially when everyone wants him on their side—and the ones who don’t get him want him dead.