Showing results by author "J.A. Johnstone" in All Categories

It's the kind of job Luke Jensen hates. A millionaire mine owner is willing to pay $5,000 to the man who captures the half-breed outlaw Tom Eagle. Normally, Luke would turn down an offer like this-it smacks too much of being a hired gun. But when the millionaire tells him that Eagle is responsible for killing his son, Luke agrees to take on the job. Which means he'll have to take the road to hell itself - a.k.a. Hard Rock, Montana. Hard Rock is supposed to be a ghost town. But when Luke arrives, the ghosts are alive and well - and gunning for his hide.

Duff MacCallister fled the Scottish Highlands for a new world in Wyoming Territory. Betrothed to a good woman, Duff has the bad luck to be standing in the Chugwater Bank when a violent robbery explodes around him. With one man dead by Duff's gun, and another under arrest, a team of bandits swarms outside of town. As witnesses, Duff, a banker, and a beautiful barmaid are whisked into the town's hotel for safe-keeping as the outlaws threaten the defenseless town with a bloodbath if their fellow bandit isn't set free. Except no MacCallister has ever run from trouble.

When Luke Jensen traps fugitive Ben Craddock in Arapaho Springs, he's ready to collect on his bounty. But the job's not done - not by a long shot. A raid by a savage gang known as the Legion of Fire has left the peaceful settlement looted, burned to the ground, and the ashes scoured for female hostages - including the marshal's daughter. For Luke this is more than a hunt. It's now a rescue.

After Conrad Browning, known as The Loner, takes down the men who killed his beloved wife, he hightails it to New Mexico to visit her grave. There, he gets the surprise of his life: His ex-fiancée, Pamela Tarleton, backed up by a vicious gang of gunmen. Turns out the beautiful Miss Tarleton has a long memory — and she’s never forgiven Conrad for breaking their engagement and marrying another. On top of that, she blames Conrad for her father’s death.

Lawmen don't last long in the town of Doubtful, Wyoming Territory. The last one quit, another ended up in a hangman's noose, and one more was backshot by the hired guns at the Circle L Ranch. But the town of Doubtful has never seen the likes of the man who's known only as Cotton, who aims to take the badge for $125 a month, save himself a nice chunk of money over the next year, and be on his way. At least, that's his plan.

Perley’s elder brother, Rubin, who manages the Triple-G Ranch decides to try breeding some Hereford cattle with the ranch’s longhorns. He asks Perley to deliver the contract for the Herefords, a simple task. But nothing ever remains simple when Perley is involved. And for the reluctant fast gun, it means a nightmare journey through hell itself . . .

Matt Cavanaugh was 9 years old when a band of outlaws slaughtered his family. Now Matt is 18, honed by hardship, schooled in the mountain ways and carrying the last name of the man who raised him: Smoke Jensen. With Smoke's wisdom, Matt's own courage and just enough money to start a life, Matt Jensen begins a relentless hunt for the outlaws who murdered his family in cold blood.

There's something rotten in Wyoming, and it's not just the smell of cow pies - the first whiff is coming off the Laramie County Cattlemen. Right off the bat, Duff notices something odd: no small-time ranchers allowed. It's big leaguers only. And none are bigger than Brad Houser, owner of the sprawling Twin Peaks ranch. He's up in arms over the small-timers claiming the unbranded mavericks who escape their herds. Which is perfectly legal. Houser has a plan to stop these former cowboys from taking their runaways. For $1,000, Houser will make the small ranchers go away - six feet under.

Someone is terrorizing the Arizona border. Burning down ranches. Butchering travelers. Blazing a trail of bloodthirsty raids and robbing the railroads blind. His name is Melichus. A ruthless half-breed outlaw with a mile-long record of cruelties and crimes, he’s the most wanted man in the territory. And the massive price on his head has attracted the attention of every trigger-happy, would-be bounty hunter this side of the Rio Grande. But Luke Jensen knows something they don’t: The bigger the bounty, the deadlier the prey.

Preacher has agreed to escort Barnaby Cooper through Dakota Territory’s hills to establish a trading post. Accompanied by his friends Lorenzo and Tall Dog, the mountain man hopes they’ll be able to protect Cooper from Sioux warriors who don’t want any white man trespassing on their sacred grounds. But the Sioux aren’t the only hostiles staking their claim in the region.

A madman and a killer, Preacher Joshua Shade is on a long journey to Yuma Prison and a date with the hangman. But Matt Bodine and Sam Two Wolves doubt that Shade will ever keep that date. The outlaw has a legion of fanatical, bloodthirsty followers. Matt and Sam are shadowing Shade's convoy — just in case...

In a small Texas town in 1950, a man from the Pinkerton Detective Agency interrupts an old-timer's daily game of dominos to learn the truth about Butch Cassidy - who is still alive and well and sitting right in front of him.... So begins the novel of the West's most legendary outlaw - as told by America's master storytellers, William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone. Butch Cassidy: The Lost Years reveals the stunning secret behind that infamous shootout in Bolivia that claimed the lives of the Sundance Kid and, allegedly, Butch himself.

Deadwood, South Dakota. Miners flock there seeking fortunes, while cardsharps, bandits, and businessmen seek to deprive those who strike gold by means fair and foul. Legendary former lawman Seth Bullock plans to keep the peace by any means necessary—especially when his good friend, President Theodore Roosevelt, is expected in town to celebrate the anniversary of Deadwood’s founding.

Borders of Blood Smoke Jensen has come to Corpus Christi, Texas, to take delivery of 500 horses he purchased from an old friend. That's when a Mexican revolutionary, Colonel Bustamante Keno, brazenly crashes the border, slaughters 22 innocent U.S. citizens in cold blood, and steals a thousand head of cattle - along with two hundred of Smoke's horses. Going where the U.S. Army and the Texas Rangers cannot, Smoke crosses the border in hot pursuit of Keno.

As winter descends upon Cutthroat County, Ashton Maddox has to rely on a skeleton crew to keep his cattle from succumbing to the dangers of the cold winter months. County Sheriff John T. Drew has his hands full this time of year heading up search and rescue missions for adventurous snowboarders and skiers tempting fate on nearby Always Winter mountain range. When an unexpected blizzard covers the region, Drew finds himself babysitting a vicious gang of prisoners stranded in town. And as the storm triggers avalanches, Drew and Maddox learn their son and daughter are trapped on the mountain.

Calvin Amadeus James, aka Calamity, isn't an outlaw like his notorious brothers Jesse and Frank. He's worse—due to the bad luck that follows him everywhere he goes. Every job he takes—from army scout to gambler to cowboy and rail worker—ends in catastrophe. No matter what he does, Calamity James always seems to be on the wrong side of history.

Keeping the peace in a West Texas town like Buffalo Peak should be easy for a legendary frontiersman like Marshal Elwood "Firestick" McQueen. He’s got his longtime buddies "Beartooth" Skinner and "Moosejaw" Hendricks as his deputies — not to mention the famous rifle that earned him his nickname. But when Firestick learns that their ornery old friend “Rip” Ripley just rode into town, all bets are off.

The Indians around Fort Laramie, Wyoming, are peaceful. Or so it has seemed - until killers ambush a detail of US soldiers and an officer's wife. One man, an ambitious cavalry officer, flees the carnage and lives to tell the story - his own story, an outright lie. When Duff MacCallister and a few brave men go after the attackers, they discover the officer's wife is very much alive and at the cold merciless hands of the sadistic warrior Yellow Hawk. To free the woman, Duff touches off a fierce battle.

What started as a routine hunt and grab - putting outlaw Thorp McCluskey on a train to Cheyenne and prison - has just gone straight to hell for bounty hunter Luke Jensen. First came the beautiful prostitute who pointed her alluring attentions in Luke’s direction. Then came a man who fought by Luke’s side in the war - but the war is over and friendships can turn deadly. Luke gets bushwacked, his prisoner is gone, and so is a fortune in gold. Now Luke is riding back into the Wyoming wilderness to hunt down McCluskey and his woman to finish what he started.

In the redwood country of northern California, Frank Morgan, a.k.a. the Last Gunfighter, discovers a mutilated corpse. A killing beast roams these woods. The loggers call it The Terror of the Redwoods. A local timber baron has put a bounty on the hide of this man-beast and the woods are teeming with so many trigger-happy dolts and half-cocked drunkards that someone's bound to get hurt. Frank Morgan doesn't believe in such creatures and decides to get to the bottom of this tall tale.