Saturday 31 October 2009

Black Horse Westerns - October 2009


A Colt for the Kid by John Saunders
Johnnie Callum was a half-grown boy when Donovan's riders stamped his parents' homestead flat and sent him running terrified into the night. He ran far and fast over the trackless range that was Donovan's empire and fetched up in the hands of Josh Manders, a brutal sheepherder. Manders worked him hard and in six years came near to breaking Johnnie's spirit. But not near enough. Finally, there came a day when Johnnie's resentment took charge and his big, bony hands wrapped around Manders' throat in an unshakable hold. Johnnie took Manders' horse and then worked for Sam Stevens. But when Donovan was all set up to wipe out Stevens' ranch Johnnie began to get gun-minded!


A Coffin for Santa Rosa by Steve Hayes
Dying of typhoid fever, Ingrid Bjorkman asks Gabriel Moonlight to bury her beside her late husband in Santa Rosa. Knowing he's an outlaw with a rope awaiting him in New Mexico, she makes him promise to hire a Pinkerton to escort the coffin. But Gabriel loves her too much to let anyone else handle the burial and accompanied by her rebellious teenage daughter, Raven, he takes the coffin to Ingrid's former farm where her husband is buried. But the shadow of the rope looms over Gabriel. Faced with betrayal, can he escape with his life?


Hangtown by Logan Winters
Of what use is a deserted ghost town? None at all unless like the old desert rat, Josh Banks and his young partner, Wage Carson, you have nowhere else to go and are tired of sleeping out with the rattlesnakes. In Hangtown, at least, they would have some shelter from the elements, some water for their weary mounts. In the spirit of things the two saddle bums vote Josh mayor of Hangtown and appoint Wage town marshal. They weren't alone for long. Within days the painted ladies arrived, followed by a detachment of soldiers. Things were already out of control when four rough-looking strangers arrived seeking a brief respite from the harsh desert. There was to be no respite for any of them, especially for Josh and Marshal Carson. It was not long before gunplay erupted and the silent town was prodded to violent life.


The Staked Plains by Billy Moore
When buffalo-hide hunter, Quentin McLeod, rescues Carlotta Mainord from Comanche raiders, their struggle is still far from over. They must face further hostility from the Indians, flash floods and white brigands, only to find themselves in even greater danger when they arrive in the apparent safety of New Mexico. Carlotta Mainord is attacked and left helpless in a coma and McLeod is blamed and accused of being a Comanchero. Can he convince the hanging jury of his innocence and will he escape the lynch mob in time?


Sweep of Fury by Dempsey Clay
Killer Jimmy Tucker wanted to die. 'Do It now, Gant,' he begged the stone-faced lawman. 'Don't let 'em swing me off their gallows. Just shoot me now!' He was pleading with the wrong man. The Marshals' Manual was Gant's bible. 'The law says you're to hang, Tucker,' he pronounced, 'and I'll see you do it.' 'You ain't human, Gant!' Gant nodded, Maybe Tucker was half-right but he'd still swing. The next badman to receive mercy from Marshal Gant would be the first.


Iron Eyes Makes War by Rory Black
The infamous bounty hunter, Iron Eyes, is forced to chase the wanted outlaw Joe Brewster down into an arid desert even though he has been badly wounded in a showdown with Brewster's brothers. Losing his pony, Iron Eyes is forced to follow on foot. To his surprise, he discovers an oasis in a valley. Iron Eyes trails the outlaw into the valley and soon finds that a few families are living there under threat of death by Don Miguel Sanchez and his army of vaqueros. Will Iron Eyes leave or fight until the bloody showdown?


The Battle for Skillern Tract by Matt Laidlaw
When desperate ex-Confederate officer Zac Hunter rides into Nacogdoches, he has his mind set on bank robbery. What he finds when he walks into the bank is a robbery already in progress and town marshal Dan McCrae dying from gunshot wounds. Hunter is accused of murder by councillor Morgan Jarrow, then abruptly offered the job of town marshal. He is forced to serve notice on businessmen drilling for oil on the Skillern tract, crosses swords with lawyer Tyne Coburn and the two gunslingers Yantze and Levin, and must decide if Deputy Quint's strange confession is the truth. As the various factions in Nacogdoches struggle for supremacy, Hunter is drawn into a vicious cycle of treachery and murder. The showdown would come in a blazing gunfight on the Skillern tract.

Tuesday 27 October 2009

Bestsellers on Amazon - 26 October

1. Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin (Hardcover - 31 Mar 2010)

2. Kinsella's Revenge by Mark Falcon (Hardcover - 30 Sep 2004)

3. Comanche Country by Greg Mitchell (Hardcover - 30 April 2009)

4. The Mexican Bandit: A Zococa Novel by Roy Patterson (Hardcover - 30 Jan 2001)

5. Hangtown by Logan Winters (Hardcover - 30 Oct 2009)

6. Bushwhacker by Bill Morrison (Hardcover - Oct 2004)

7. Shannon by Dempsey Clay (Hardcover - Nov 2003)

8. This Man Kills by Ben Nicholas (Hardcover - 31 Oct 2005)

9. The Frontiersmen by Elliot Conway (Hardcover - 29 Oct 2004)

10. Hell-ride by Vic J. Hanson (Hardcover - Nov 1992)

Sunday 25 October 2009

Linford Westerns - October 2009


Last Mile To Nogales by Ryan Bodie
Nogales was a hell town, in the heart of the desert. Its single claim to fame was its band of deadly guns-for-hire who lived there, especially Ryan Coder, whom some saw as the gun king. Yet Coder found his life on the line when he hired out to the king of Chad Valley and was pitted against Holly, the youngest and deadliest gunslinger of them all. Would Coder end up just another notch on Holly's gun?


The Buffalo Gun by Ken Brompton
Arrow Ridge is a cattle town, its ranges owned by Clay Glandon, ruthless boss of the Big Three outfit. Homesteaders are driven off their land by his men. Only Tom Cardigan's outfit, the TT, will fight for what is theirs. Then, armed with a powerful buffalo gun, Will Keever arrives in town. His reputation as a gunslinger brings unease to those fearing retribution... Keever's on a mission - and that mission will bring him into deadly conflict with Glandon.


The Devil's Rider by Lance Howard
When vicious outlaw Jeremy Trask escapes the hangman's noose, he rides into Baton Ridge on a mission of revenge and bloodlust. It had been a year since he'd murdered manhunter Jim Darrow's brother in cold blood. Now, along with the sole survivor of the massacre, a young homeless widow named Spring Treller, Darrow vows to hunt down the outlaw - this time to finish him for good. But will he survive the deadly reception the outlaw has waiting?


Showdown At Painted Rock by Walt Masterson
When a wagon train is trapped by armed men in Painted Desert, mountain man Obadiah Peabody helps out. He believes they are all just another bunch of pilgrims aiming for California. But among the innocent travellers are the Driscoll brothers - the meanest bunch of owlhoots. Obadiah realises he's got a tiger by the tail when the brothers turn on their rescuer and kidnap his adopted granddaughter. Can Obadiah succeed against seemingly impossible odds? Can he even survive?


Misfit Lil Cleans Up by Chap O'keefe
A senseless killing prevents scout and guide Jackson Farraday from investigating an odd situation in the Black Dog mining settlement. So he tricks Lilian Goodnight into spying at the High Meadows cattle ranch. Lil discovers range boss Liam O'Grady running a haywire outfit, crewed by deep-dyed misfits. She then finds she must rescue an ex-British army officer, Albert Fitzcuthbert, from renegade Indians. And Lil faces ever more problems that only her savvy, daring and guns can settle!


Rangeland Ruckus by Randall Sawka
Chet Mitchell's dream was to raise cattle, near the town of Tanning, in a seemingly inaccessible valley. However, landowner Dave Tanning didn't want strangers to ranch land that he felt belonged to his family. And people laughed at Chet's plan to access the valley, which was surrounded by mountains and enormous rock walls. Many had tried, and died. But when Mitchell unveiled his surprise, Dave Tanning had to face a man who knew how to use his head and his guns...

Friday 16 October 2009

Dales Westerns - October 2009


Track Down The Devil by Greg Mitchell
Outlaws are plaguing the Santa Rosa area and Marshal Tim Cleary is sent there to investigate the theft of military rifles. He joins forces with Sheriff Lou Braga in an attempt to break up the gang and to determine the fate of Red Baxter, the freight company driver moving the rifles. Diaz, a delusional Mexican goat herder, claims to have seen the bandit leader and believes him to be the Devil. Now the two lawmen must try to decipher Diaz's terrified ravings, and weave their way through false trails, before they finally track down and unmask the Devil and bring retribution.


The Return Of The Sheriff by Jim Bowden
Dan McCoy, Sheriff of Red Springs, is branded a coward by the townsfolk when he backs down from a gunfight with Wes Brown, foreman of the Circle C. His girl also turns against him and he leaves town. Three years later, his sick mother, worried by the influence which Wes Brown is having on Dan's younger brother, asks Dan to return. Helped by friends, he pursues suspicions he formed when he was sheriff, yet for Dan to win back the love of his girl, save his brother and clear his own name, a gun-fight showdown with Wes Brown still seems the only way.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Bestsellers at the Book Depository - 12 October

1. The Tarnished Star by Jack Martin - Jun 2009

2. Long Shadows by Terry James - May 2009

3. Nightmare Pass by Lance Howard - Dec 2006

4. Riders of the Barren Plains by I.J. Parnham - Jul 2009

5. Packing Iron by Steve Hayes - Aug 2009

6. Hell Pass by Lance Howard - Apr 2007

7. Haunted Pass by Lance Howard - Aug 2007

8. Overland Stage by Logan Winters - Sep 2006

9. Blood Creek by Lance Howard - Apr 2008

10. All Guns Blazing by Douglas Thorne - Nov 2008

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Bestsellers at Amazon - 5 October

For something different this week this list is purely for 2009's books (that's not the bestsellers of 2009, but the current bestsellers amongst 2009's books)

1. On the Great Plains by Logan Winters (Apr 2009)

2. Rio Bonito by Caleb Rand (Jul 2009)

3. Iron Eyes Makes War by Rory Black (Oct 2009)

4. Trail of the Burned Man by Thomas McNulty (Nov 2009)

5. The Short Creek Rustlers by J.D. Ryder (Jul 2009)

6. The Tarnished Star by Jack Martin (Jun 2009)

7. Gun Law by Lee Walker (Dec 2009)

8. The $300 Man by Ross Morton (May 2009)

9. The 45 Goodbye by Dempsey Clay (Jun 2009)

10. Always the Guns by Matt James (Nov 2009)