Book picks similar to
Badlands by Christopher Kenworthy


western
0_western
action-adventure
historical-fiction

Bullets at Sunset


Alan David - 2016
     He rides into Bowie County to take over the ranch, hoping to leave his grim past behind him and find some sort of future for himself. But Jory soon discovers that taking over his uncle's path is no easy assignment. Land grabbing greed has overwhelmed the local ranchers, and Bowie County is rife with trouble. Jory's arrival brings things to a head and in no time at all, he finds himself up against Ben Sharkey – an expansionist rancher who is used to getting what he wants. But while the townsfolk lay the blame for recent troubles on Sharkey’s doorstep, Jory has suspicions about deeper undercurrents to the range war that threatens to erupt. Jory must get to the bottom of the mess amidst a quickly growing body count and in the face of mounting mortal perils. If Jory proves quick on the draw, he stands to find himself a sizeable homestead and a beautiful wife. But who amongst his friends can he depend upon? Will he end up losing everything that he holds dear? Bullets at Sunset is a classic western thriller – a captivating tale of gunslingers and cattle rustlers, of taciturn heroes and ruthless outlaws. Praise for Alan David ‘A classic of the genre’ - Tom Casey, bestselling author of Trade Off Alan David is a prolific writer of over 500 novels in a wide range of genres, from classic westerns, to historical thrillers. His other western novels include Fight or Die, Gun Hell, Gun Wages and Draw or Die.

Quick on the Draw


Gordon Landsborough - 2016
     Imprisoned for a crime he never committed, deserted by the woman he loved and betrayed by his own family. His bad luck seems to be running out when he is released early from prison and finds a job on the railroads. But it doesn’t last long. First he gets into a fight with a man who turns up dead. Then, while still on the run, his train is held up by his own brother’s gang. Then he somehow manages to offend the railroad boss’ daughter, the beautiful Elizabeth. With the fates out to get him, Glen has to use all his wits and strength to take control of his own destiny. Will that be enough to see him through, or will his past catch up with him before he gets a chance? Quick on the Draw is a hard fighting story of the Old West, where lives were cheap and danger was great. Praise for Gordon Landsborough 'A punchy tale coupled with plenty of action - an engaging read!' - Philip McCormac, bestselling western author Gordon Landsborough (1913-1984) was a publisher, author and bookseller. Writing tales about the exploits of gun-toting cowboys fighting out on the arid sands of the Wild West, Landsborough was himself a pioneering in the English paperback publishing world of the 1950s. He was widely known amongst his peers as the ‘maverick publishing genius’. Pioneering Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We publish new and classic westerns by authors from the US and the UK. Follow us on Twitter: @PioneeringPress Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/PioneeringPress

Hammer of God


Philip McCormac - 2015
     On this occasion, the men in question are vicious thugs and killers. They don't give in easy. And mostly he brings them in slung over a saddle. But after tracking and killing a group of merciless bandits, he realises the bloodshed is too much for him. He resigns his badge and rides south to Mexico where he hangs up his guns. The peaceful life Joe is seeking is wrecked when the notorious bandit Gomez Farias guns down his friends. The Hammer of God is roused. The blood that flowed in his former life as lawman was but a trickle compared to the flood unleashed when Joe rides out on the vengeance trail… Hammer of God is a thrilling and classic adventure story set in the Wild West. Praise for Philip McCormac 'You can taste the dust and blood of the Old West on every page.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of Trade Off. Philip McCormac lives in the East Midlands, England, is married with two grown-up children and five grandchildren. He is the author of fourteen Western novels including Son of a Gun and Vengeance Unbound. He is also the author of detective thriller Tone Death.

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?

To Face A Savage Land


John Legg - 2007
    Just six months ago, Cooper was a youth on the edge of manhood, one looking for adventure. Now he wonders if he will live long enough become a man. With a few items he had hidden-a bit of pemmican, a few strips of jerky, two shards of flint, and his penknife-he heads off into the teeth of winter. When he goes down under the weight of an attack by a pack of wolves, he figures his time has come... until he awakes in a Shoshone lodge. Nursed back to health, it is time for him to become a man, and keep the vow he had made while fighting for survival-kill Josiah Weeks.

Blood Brothers


Gary McCarthy - 1989
    Don't miss this exciting action adventure western from America's great western storyteller, Gary McCarthy!

“Four Scalps” Ofer Tal, Mountain Man


Terry Grosz - 2018
     In 1806, the return to St. Louis of Lewis and Clark from their epic journey across the unexplored American West with their tales of untold abundance of valuable furbearers excited the populace. Manuel Lisa, St. Louis businessman and trader with local Indian tribes, responded to such tales by forming an expedition that boated up the Missouri and down the Yellowstone to the mouth of the Bighorn River to establish a fort and trading post. There he initiated trade with the Indians, the principal harvesters of animal furs in America, and sent out his company trappers. Thus begins Ofer’s adventures when his father Yossef released Ofer and his four brothers from their lives as ranchers, to go forth into the American West as fur trappers to satisfy their desires for adventure as foretold by Lewis and Clark. Shortly thereafter, Ofer and his brothers ventured upstream on the Missouri and down the Yellowstone with Lisa, helped construct his fort and then with a mentor named Jan “Bear Trap” Driessen, continued their journey as fur trappers. In the years following, Ofer and his brothers trapped beaver in the lands of the white man-hating Blackfeet and Gros Ventre Indians, battled Indians agitated by competing British fur interests, fought grizzly bears, endured extremes of weather, killed horse thieves and joined the brotherhood of adventurous explorers and fur trappers known today as “Mountain Men”. “Four Scalps” Ofer Tal, Mountain Man, is an epic story of a ‘wilderness man’ whose love for the unexplored American West burrowed into his soul and rested there forever, as did he… Terry Grosz began his 32-year career in wildlife law enforcement in 1966 as a Fish and Game Warden with the California Department of Fish and Game, and later as a Special Agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protecting ‘those’ in the world of wildlife ‘who have little or no voice’… In 1998 he retired from the Service and began a second career as a writer.

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.

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.

The Keystone Kid


Frank Roderus - 1978
    It was no surprise to anyone when he almost instantly became the butt of some unpleasant jokes in the local bar.What was surprising was that he made no attempt to fight back against the bully who had decided to make a show of it. He gained two things that day - his name, the "Keystone Kid," and his reputation as a coward. The Kid made one friend, though, who helped him learn the ropes - horses and cattle, the way the ranch was really run - and he soon took on the look and ways of a true cowhand.But there was still that sore point of his cowardice. No one could help the Kid with that. When the time finally came to prove himself, he had to stand alone...and his life depended on it.

Odds Against Tomorrow


Joseph T. Nutter
    Her father, a former territorial governor, must now make the hard decision to recruit a former friend and gunfighter, whom he tried to hang in the past, to join in pursuit of his strong-willed daughter and the violent men she seeks. The energetic and exciting story is told from both perspectives as they must fight their way through the still untamed towns and locations of New Mexico Territory and Texas of 1884. And blended into the backdrop of their journey are the final days of the spirited campaign to elect a new President—Grover Cleveland. Behind this story lies the dynamics of two former friends who grew up together and fought alongside one another as members of the Texas Brigade in the Civil War and later as Texas Rangers. But they would be driven apart later by the sides of the law they would hold to. They now come together once again in an epic tale and must reach beyond their strained relationship to the strong bonds of friendship of their youth.

Rawlins, No Longer Young


Rick DeStefanis - 2018
    Virgil Rawlins is left without family or friends as he is swept into the maelstrom that encompasses the last years of the American Civil War. Lost in a world of brutality and inhumanity, the teenaged Rawlins matures—as did many of the Wild West’s first outlaws—with revenge and hatred as his only motivations. He heads westward before the war’s end, making his way to the town of Independence and the Oregon Trail, but along the way he meets the remarkably beautiful Sarah McCaskey and learns that the rights and wrongs in his life cannot be defined simply as blue and gray.When Sarah tells Rawlins of her loss to Confederate guerrilla Bloody Bill Anderson, Rawlins begins to question his own assumptions. Joining a wagon train as a hunter/scout, he heads westward into the raging Indian War of 1865. Along the way he earns a reputation as a well-respected fighter, and he must finally decide what kind of man he will be—outlaw, lawman, or perhaps, neither.Rawlins, No Longer Young is guaranteed to stir debate and enlighten readers with the experiences of these turbulent years as seen through the eyes of a young Confederate soldier.

Okefenokee Rifles


R.O. Lane - 2021
    

Wade's War


Chet Cunningham - 2010
    Chet Cunningham is on top of the heap of western action-adventure writers with over 300 books, and Wade's War is one you won't put down.

The Crocketts': Western Saga Two


Robert Vaughan - 2020