Black Horse Westerns - July 2012

The Gun Runners by Paul Green

The Civil War over, Captain Sam Curtis just wants to return home, but instead finds himself embroiled in a covert operation to smuggle weapons to Mexican rebels, fighting to rid themselves of Emperor Maximilian I and the French forces who have invaded their country. Betrayed and left for dead, by the ex-Confederate, Henry Fontaine, he faces many obstacles in his quest to recover the weapons and complete his mission. Aided by Sergeant Ben Boyd and the fiery Consuela Martinez, he battles bandits, the French Army and royalist guerrillas, commanded by the ruthless Colonel Dupin, before facing his enemies in a final showdown at the rebel held town of Tacambaro.

Drifter by Steve Hayes

When El Carcinero and his outlaw gang raided the Mercer ranch, they turned life upside-down for young Emily Mercer, who was away at school at the time. The mystery man known as Drifter was an old friend of the Mercers. But much as he wanted to get even with El Carcinero, he just didn't see how it was possible. Aside from the fact that he'd be hopelessly outgunned, the bandits had long-since fled back across the border into Mexico. Still, he hadn't reckoned on Emily. Wise beyond her years, she was determined to get back the horses the outlaws had stolen - especially her beloved stallion, Diablo - and no one was going to stop her. So she and a lawman, well past his prime, rode out after the bandits. Since Drifter couldn't let them go by themselves, he went right along too. And when the gun-swift Mesquite Jennings joined their small army, he almost started to feel sorry for El Carcinero. Almost...

Hour of the Black Wolf by Mark P. Lynch

Sheriff Gus Dudgeon finally has a witness who can identify the masked outlaw Black Wolf, who has terrorized Autumn Jericho for years. Gus must keep the witness safe until a wanted poster artist arrives and a likeness of the outlaw sketched. It should be simple. But Black Wolf has influence across town and Sheriff Dudgeon finds he can trust no one but his closest men. While the sheriff is protecting his witness, Black Wolf sends Big Jim Deal to prevent the artist arriving. But it seems Big Jim is also having trouble trusting his men, and there are people lurking in the shadows and willing to help Dudgeon, too. With tensions rising, time running out, the hour of the Black Wolf is at hand.

Road to Rimrock by Chuck Tyrell

The town of Rimrock lay dying, and its local drunk lay in the gutter, passed out again. As usual, Marshal Matt Stryker put Stan Ruggart in the hoosegow to sleep off the whiskey like a regular lowlife. But Ruggart has a family, and a fortune. When Ruggart's throat is cut and the will turns up in Stryker's pocket there are serious problems on the horizon. The marshal needs to keep ahead of three gunmen looking for vengeance, and stay alive long enough to probate the will. Two women also want him dead, and one wants to go with him on the road to Rimrock...

The Outlaw's Daughter by C. J. Sommers

Matt Holiday was riding a dangerous trail. He had a kidnapped boy and a woman to worry about, a quartet of robbers behind him, $20,000 in missing gold to find and an unwelcoming outlaw town ahead of him. With the gunfighter, Frank Waverly, searching for him it would be a lucky day if that gold was ever returned to the Butterfield Stage Company. And the most dangerous gun on the range belonged to the beautiful Serenity Waverly, Frank's daughter. She rode with Matt, but he suspected that would last only as long as it took them to recover the stolen gold. She had outlaw blood in her and knew only outlaw ways.

The Rose Canyon Gang by Owen G. Irons

Rose Canyon was far more forbidding and desolate than its name implied. A rugged notch carved into the face of Arizona's Yavapai Mountains, it sheltered few living creatures in its depths, other than for Dane Hollister and his small band of men, all recently fired without reason from their jobs on the MM ranch. Dane didn't like the feel of any of it. The MM owner, Madison McGraw lay in his bed dying slowly. His foreman the brutish Frank Baker had taken what seemed a series of high-handed actions, including their firing. Some of Dane's crew were ready to give it up and ride out to new country. Dane was just about to forget the matter himself when young Roberta Madison was driven from her own land by Bruno and his men. Then the Rose Canyon gang - men and women alike - knew that it was time to head into battle.

Tanglefoot by Logan Winters

It was a long way from Kansas to Las Palmas, New Mexico Territory, but Chad Dempster had trouble brewing at home and was hoping the trip would be worth it. He wanted a new town, new ways, and a new name. On emerging from the Overland stage, he got all three at once, but not in the way he could have expected. He stumbled out, hit the ground and became the immediate butt of the local wits who dubbed him 'Tanglefoot'. Fortunately, or so he thought, Glen Walker, one of the town's first citizens came to his aid, dusted him off and offered him work. What Chad could not have known was that Walker had chosen him as the ideal dupe to help him loot the town of Las Palmas, using a badge and a gun.

Invite to a Showdown by Terrell L. Bowers

After a bizarre double killing forces her into exile, Rowena Jansen is living like a hermit in Keylock, Colorado, and concentrating only on survival. Travis Clay went off to war and witnessed the terrible suffering of men and his country. Afterwards, he joined his friend to work on a ranch, but when a deadly ambush costs Clay a herd of cattle and leaves him near death, he sets out to find the men responsible. Inadvertently ending up in Keylock, his fate is joined with that of Rowena. Four men are searching for her, intent on a killing, while Travis is on the trail of five or six murdering rustlers. The only way to win such a war is to invite both sides to a showdown.