Book picks similar to
Gabe Owens by C.J. Petit


fiction
hugh-borrowed
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westerns

Saddle Mountain


Paul L. Thompson - 2013
    From 1873 until his death in 1896, Judge Isaac Charles Parker policed seventy-four thousand square miles, with two hundred or so lawmen. The area was called by several names; Last of the Western Frontier, Hell’s Fringe, The Nations and Indian Territory just to name a few. Several more names were used, but should not appear in print at this time.

Seven Fingers a' Brazos


Eric H. Heisner - 2018
    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.

Harper's Justice in Canyon


William Black - 2018
    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?

Gideon Johann


Duane Boehm - 2018
     Gideon Johann is a man tortured by his past. Staying on the move is the only thing that keeps his demons at bay. As Gideon tries to outrun his past, he arrives in the rough and tumble cow town of Ellsworth, Kansas. He takes a job as a deputy and finds he has his hands full dealing with all the mayhem in the town and a young woman that could change his life. Will the love of a woman bring Gideon peace or will his demons keep him running? Duane Boehm has written another western novel with enough humor, heartbreak, love, and outlaws to keep you turning the page.

Preacher's Corner


Bruce G. Bennett - 2016
    The door opens and you find a man holding a book. That book is called “Preachers Corner: Gunfighter of the West Book 1,” and the owner tells you this is the latest western bestseller from Bruce G. Bennett. You are stuck in Cheyenne for the day—you sit down and you start to read. Why is railroad magnate, Leonard Green, suddenly so interested in sleepy little Preacher’s Corner? Find out in this action packed story about the Wild West when it was really wild. Are Apaches behind burning out and murdering settlers or is some insidious plot afoot? It’s going to take cavalry Major Gabriel Torrent and a host of colloquial characters to figure out the puzzle. Throw in renegade Apaches and you have a great mix of Americana reminiscent of Zane Grey. Be there when the moment of truth is revealed in Preachers Corner. Filled with action-packed drama, great gunfights and the writing of Bruce G. Bennett you will not be able to put down “Preachers Corner.” Stake your claim now, and spend your hours with one of the best western books of the year.

Mountain Man


Mike Mackessy - 2018
    His early home life, until age 17 where he heads west, to the mountains. His journey is told through his meetings with both bad and good elements of typical westerners of that time, Indians, Mountain Men, and Outlaws. Reaching the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains in the company of seasoned Mountain Men his goal is in sight, Rendezvous. His adventures include encountering grizzly bears, hunting buffalo, and typical arms, weapons, and accessories associated with mountain men and trappers. An encounter with a golden eagle, held sacred by the Crow people, wins favor with a party of Crow warriors returning from Rendezvous. Succeeding as a hunter and a warrior earns an invitation from the Crow warriors to winter over with their small band. While living in the Crow village we follow this band to summer and winter camps, buffalo hunts, horse stealing adventures, and with fighting their mortal enemies, the Blackfoot.

The Town Marshal


Robert Vaughan - 2018
    Its two main participants, James Cooper and Henry Newton Brown, form a close friendship when, along with Billy the Kid, they fight in the Lincoln County War. After that, James and Henry move on, their bond of friendship growing even stronger as James becomes a crusading newspaper editor and Henry, a town marshal feared by outlaws and lauded by his peers and the towns he served.But something goes wrong, and in an emotive moment, the two best friends find themselves face to face in a dramatic and poignant confrontation.

Guns of Apache Springs


John Legg - 1988
    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.

West of the Dead Line: Tales of an Indian Territory Lawman


Phil Truman - 2017
    It ran straight south from Caldwell, Kansas to Fort Reno, I.T., then down through the Cheyenne and Comanche and Kiowa lands, crossing the Red River into Bowie, Texas. It was a line on the map, a demarcation. West of it no law existed, only outlaws. On trails out there, outlaws put notes on trees and posts to let lawmen know they'd be killed if they continued their pursuits west of the Dead Line.In the storied times of the American West, in what was called Indian Territory, no place came close to matching the dangers and mortality U.S.marshals faced doing their jobs. Those who survived became titans in the legends of the West, particularly one man called Bass Reeves. These stories are fiction; the encounters this lawman faced, and The Dead Line, were not.

The Searcher: He's there when the Law can't help


Rand Osborn - 2017
    He was a Searcher of men who possessed a unique skill only a few possess. When not working he was self destructive and a town drunk. Jethro McDougal needed the services of a Searcher of the caliber of Reed Justus' ability. He found him in a saloon and his unkempt appearance made him wonder if this man could do the job. McDougal decided he would take the chance but only time would tell if Justus was really the one known as the Searcher!

Letter of the Law


C.K. Crigger - 2010
    To this end, they ambush Sheriff Pelham Birdsall, leaving him for dead. But Birdsall, thanks to his young wife Delight, doesn't die, and as she strives to get him back on his feet in time for the inevitable showdown, more and more of the sheriff's duties fall on her shoulders. In this, she is assisted by an unlikely deputy and a three-legged dog, but in the end, it takes all of them to vanquish the outlaws. As an historical aside, a sheriff's wife was often called upon to provide meals and other amenities for prisoners in her husband's jail. In return, depending on the prisoner's character and his crime, he might chop wood for the stove or do other chores. Neither the sheriff nor his wife was paid extra for prisoner provisions or for her work.

JL Tate, Texas Ranger


Lou Bradshaw - 2015
    A short time later we find him up to his chin in the embrace of a lovely lady outlaw. He’s able to get himself untangle, only to come face to face with nearly a half ton of stolen Civil War gold, which the great State of Texas has placed a claim on. JL and his Ranger partner, Spade Carson, become involved with the gang seeking to recover the gold and a rival gang seeking to take it, by whatever means necessary. A sweet young lass is right in the middle of the fray, and Tate is of course, in no way immune to the charms of Eve. From Odessa to El Paso, there is no safety for Tate and Carson. Ambushes, night raids, and lust for the yellow gold, keep the two Rangers living on the raw gritty edge. But they must keep going forward because there’s no going back.

Return of the Coyote (The Coyote Saga, #2)


Ron Schwab - 2017
    Death. Destruction. Despair. He vowed to seek out the barbarians who laid waste to the small Sioux village, leaving but only a very few women and children alive. Assembling a rag-tag search party, Ethan embarks on a journey to find the killers while maintaining a glimmer of hope that he has not seen the last of someone near to his heart.Return of the Coyote, the sequel to Night of the Coyote, is a story full of twists and turns. Readers of the first book will delight in the convergence of paths of characters both old and new, and the promise of the vision of the coyote looms over Ethan's journey.

Lost in the Storm


Mark Stone - 2017
     Detective Dillon Storm is headed back to Naples for the first time in a dozen years, and the occasion is not a happy one. The illegitimate son of the richest man in America’s richest city, Dillon spent his entire life in the shadow of a family that would never accept him. Now he’s come to bury the man who neglected him and in doing so, put that part of his life behind him forever. But the past has a way of sticking around, and things don’t stay forgotten in sun soaked Florida for long…even when they’re buried. When the lawyer dealing with his father’s estate is murdered and Dillon’s number is found on his phone, it sets the detective on a path that will unearth family secrets, bring long gestating scandals to light, and expose a murder that will change everything Dillon thought he knew about his past forever. There are bodies in these swamps, and it’ll take just the right kind of Storm to give them justice.

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.