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

A cattle ranch stalked by the ultimate predator. A heiffer gutted and beheaded by razor-sharp claws. A ranch hand crushed and shredded by powerful jaws. According to legend - foretold by Sioux Chief Red Otter - the attacks are an omen of terrible things to come. When a grizzly attacks a man or his property during a blue moon, it is a sign that the bear has been sent from someone on the other side seeking revenge against the man that killed him. And that man - the avenger's true target - is Hunter Buchanon.

In Tennessee, 17-year-old Breckinridge Wallace knew the laws of nature. When his life was in danger, he showed a fearless instinct to fight back. Killing a thug who was sent to kill him got Breckinridge exiled from his Smoky Mountain home. Brutally wounding an Indian attacker earned him an enemy for life...Now, from the bustling streets of St. Louis to the vast stillness of the Missouri headwaters, Breckinridge is discovering a new world of splendor, violence, promise and betrayal. Most off all, he is clawing his way to manhood behind the law of the gun.

It's hard country, but the pioneers of Fury (Population 112) are banding together to make it a home. With barren lands, blinding dust storms, drought, hostile Indians and violent bands of cutthroat outlaws against them, death is never far away. It's enough to make Jason Fury, whose father the town was named after, ride out for San Francisco. But a fiery young redhead named Megan McDonald keeps him Arizona bound - and just in time.

In a court of law, it takes 12 jurors to convict a killer. Two of them are Jensens. It all started when those Jensen boys, Ace and Chance, got roped into jury duty. It should have ended when justice was served with the killer dancing on the end of a rope. But no. This is just the beginning of the death sentence for Ace, Chance, and the other 10 terrified jurors. He's one of the most notorious outlaws in the west. He's also the brother of the hanged killer. Now he's here in town - and plans to slaughter the jurors, one by one.

Luke Ransom and Jug Sartain, trappers for the American Fur Company, made a formidable team when they partnered up in the grueling winter wilderness of Blackfoot Country. No hostile raids by man, no brutal obstacles of nature could stop them from snaring what they came for. The nicest surprise was that Luke came home with a wife—Willow, a lovely young Crow woman. Now, one year later, in this new trapping season of 1834, it’s Luke, Jug, and Willow who become the hunted.

It's the dawn of a new century. But on the vast Sugarloaf Ranch not much has changed since legendary gunfighter Smoke Jensen and his wife Sally tamed the land two decades ago. Raising cattle is still a dangerous business - and just as deadly as ever. When Smoke is injured swapping bullets with some cow thieves, Sally puts out a call for help to Matt, Ace, and the rest of the Jensen clan. But time is running out. The bloodthirsty rustlers are ready to strike again - and there are lots more of them. And the Sugarloaf's last defense is Smoke and Sally's next of kin....

Independence, Missouri, 1865. Seasoned wagon master Virgil Grissom prepares to lead a new group of families westward across the Oregon Trail. Among them are struggling farmer Matt Moran, his wife Katie, and their three small children. In spite of the long, treacherous journey ahead, Grissom is confident that this solid, hard-working farmer and his family are tough enough to endure the harsh elements, the rugged terrain, and the occasional run-in with hostile tribes. But he’s not so sure about the farmer’s younger brother, Clay, who plans to catch up with them along the trail.

Higbee, Colorado, population 147, is about to become a boomtown. The visionary General Wade Garrison is building a railroad to connect Higbee to the renowned Santa Fe Rail. But a rancher named Ike Clinton has his own selfish reasons for making sure these bands of steel go nowhere - and he’ll go to any lengths to derail Garrison’s plans. Falcon MacCallister owes a war-time debt to the General and answers the call to aid the man in his fight with the Clinton brood.

Wagon Master Clayton Scofield has led countless families across the dusty, wide open territories of the West, helping the brave, sometimes reckless, pioneers settle into new lives brimming with the promise of good fortune. Accompanied on his latest trail by his nephew Clint Buchanan, riding as scout, and cook Spud Williams, Scofield finds himself guiding a train of thirty wagons from Independence, Missouri, to the distant dream of Oregon.

They were innocent men, slaughtered in the Rockies. A party of land surveyors who met their grisly fate at the hands of the Crow Indians—or so it seems. Some folks think the story is a lie. And now it's up to US Army Lieutenant Ron Stanton to figure out what really happened up there in those desolate, blood-soaked mountains. As his guides, Preacher and Jamie McCallister agree to retrace the footsteps of the doomed party—come hell or high water—but first they'll have to pass through a particularly nasty piece of purgatory known as Fort Buzzard.

In the dark shadow of the Prophecy Mountains lies the ramshackle town of Rattlesnake Wells, where dreamers come to make their fortunes, and desperados come to die. The streets of this little settlement are slick with mud and stained with blood, and it will fall to Bob Hatfield to sweep them clean. The town marshal, Hatfield has a young man’s face, but his eyes are those of a killer. He is a good man, but he has a secret that weighs on his soul.

It sounds like an easy job: track down the lady friend of notorious outlaw Duke Winter and bring her in for questioning. There's just one problem: Slash and Pecos have never met a woman like Miss Fannie Diamond, a glamorous showgirl who's prettier than a French poodle, slicker than a Dodge City gambler, and more slippery than a Mojave rattlesnake. She knows that Slash and Pecos are coming for her and has no intention of being caught—not without one hell of a fight.

Johnstone Country. Draw quick, Aim true. Pinkerton. Sheriff. Lawman. Buck Trammel has spent his life fighting for justice. Now, he must defend a town against corrupt businessmen and scurrilous outlaws from turning it into a bloody battleground. Family feud. Blackstone, Wyoming, belongs to "King" Charles Hagen. The rancher bought land, built businesses, and employs most of the townsfolk. Unfortunately, Sheriff Buck Trammel is not on His Majesty's payroll. The lawdog won't be tamed or trained to accept King's position as master of the territory, but neither will he threaten his empire.

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 . . .

It was a law Cotton Pickens never asked for and never wanted to enforce. But due to the vigilance of the Women’s Temperance Society, and the timidity of their businessmen husbands, the town of Doubtful, Wyoming, is going dry. As of January 1st. No exceptions. No turning back. Doubtful’s hell-raisers will not take this lying down, and Sheriff Pickens is fighting bootleggers and vigilantes when the next boot drops. The righteous women push through an even worse law bound to spark an outright insurrection.

Here in America, life is full of surprises. Duff never expected to hear from his old friend Charles McGregor, his battalion commander from the Black Watch Regiment of Her Majesty’s army. Turns out McGregor lives in New Mexico now. And he needs Duff’s help. He’s started a new life as the mayor of Antelope Wells - a mining town that’s being targeted by a power-hungry madman Ebenezer Schofield, who wants to declare the whole area an independent principality - and himself as king.

A cattle ranch stalked by the ultimate predator. A heifer gutted and beheaded by razor-sharp claws. A ranch hand crushed and shredded by powerful jaws. According to legend—foretold by Sioux Chief Red Otter—the attacks are an omen of terrible things to come. When a grizzly attacks a man or his property during a blue moon, it is a sign that the bear has been sent from someone on the other side seeking revenge against the man that killed him. And that man—the avenger’s true target—is Hunter Buchanon.

Orphaned at the age of seven and adopted by the Indians, Jamie Ian MacCallister grew into a man more at ease in the wilderness than among men. But when the westward strike drove him across the Arkansas Territory into Texas, he finally found himself a home—in the middle of a bloody war. Texans like Jim Bowie and Sam Houston were waging a fierce struggle against Santa Anna's Mexican army, and Jamie MacCallister made the perfect scout for the fledgling volunteer force.

Johnstone country. Looking for trouble? Then look no further. As a Pinkerton agent, Stoneface Finnegan faced the deadliest killers in the West. But now that he runs a saloon, he serves them hard liquor - with a shot of harder justice. The devil walks into a bar. Stoneface Finnegan and his new partner are busy renovating The Last Drop Saloon when a very unusual stranger comes to town. He's nothing like the prairie rat drifters, world-weary miners, and would-be outlaws who normally pass through Boar Gulch.

Smoke Jensen is mighty proud of his son Louis for finishing law school. But he can't help being a little disappointed that Louis isn't returning to the Sugarloaf Ranch. Instead, he's setting up his own law practice in nearby Big Rock - a career choice that turns out to be every bit as dangerous as fending off cattle rustlers. The boy's first case lands him smack in the middle of a heated dispute between two riled-up ranchers over water rights. The whole thing could blow up into a bloody range war. Then a scheming con man shows up in town to stir up trouble - and ends up dead.