Bøger af William W. Johnstone

"As sleepy as Buffalo Peak's been, legendary marshal Elwood 'Firestick' McQueen, and his deputies 'Beartooth' Skinner and 'Moosejaw' Hendricks never expected a couple of drifters to wake it up--by kidnapping two lovely ladies in town. Hardly the sharpest quills on a cactus, these dim drifters call it courtin'. Firestick doesn't see it that way. Now the woman-snatchers are heading for West Texas with their reluctant brides-to-be--and unwittingly plunging trackers Firestick and Moosejaw headlong into a rescue"--Back cover.

"It begins in the Pacific Northwest. A deadly wave of massive wildfires are raging out of control, killing hundreds in their path, and showing no sign of stopping. This time, the fires are manmade. In Portland, Oregon, a sleeper cell of terrorists have recruited a disgruntled Forest Service smokejumper to train their army. To spread the fear coast to coast. To make America burn. Those who flee the hot flames are gunned down in cold blood. But one man--Forestry Service smokejumper Cory Cantwell--is fighting back"--Back cover.

"If anyone can get a shipment of brides to the church on time, its Bo Creel and Scratch Morton. But this time, they'll have to cross hell and high water to escort four marriage-bound beauties to a remote gold mining town in Alaska. The brides-to-be include a dangerously attractive widow, her sweet-hearted niece, and two of their friends. The roadblocks to the altar include a lecherous saloon owner, a lovesick sailor, and a gang of hired guns. And thats just for starters . . . The real trouble begins when they reach the Alaskan boomtown. Its a hotbed of gold and greed, as wild as any Texas frontier. Its clear to Bo and Scratch that the ladies eligible bachelors are definitely not as advertised. But - to Bo and Scratch's surprise - neither are their mail-order brides. Before anyone starts exchanging vows and tossing rice, this gold-hungry wedding party will be swapping lead. And the RSVPs will be RIPs."--Jacket.

A thrilling new Western series from William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone featuring the Last Gunfighter himself, Frank Morgan. WESTERN JUSTICE. JOHNSTONE FURY.In this explosive new series, William W. and J.A. Johnstone bring together two of their greatest legends. The Drifter and the Kid. A gunslinging father and prodigal son, united at last, they are the Morgans. And the only thing thicker than a Morgan''s blood is a Morgan''s bullet...FAMILY FIRST. EVERYBODY ELSE DIES.There''s nothing particularly unusual for a legendary gunman to be summoned to the lawless, bullet-riddled territory of Arizona. But when Frank Morgan, aka the Last Gunfighter, rides into Tucson, he finds himself ambushed and kidnapped by ruthless Mexican bandit Ramirez''s army of thugs. The only way out is for Frank''s son, Conrad Browning, heir to the vast Browning fortune, to ransom his father free. But Conrad isn''t giving up one cent. He''s got a far deadlier currency in mind...Conrad heads down to the border and infiltrates the compound. But to prove himself, he has to hold up a train with the rest of the gang. Ramirez catches on to Conrad''s ruse, and the only way out is for Frank to come to the rescue. It''s a wild turn of events for sure, but for the Morgans, when it comes to killing their enemies, it''s all in the family.

Johnstone Country. Loaded for Bear. Ex-Rebel tracker Hunter Buchanan and his faithful coyote Bobby Lee come face to face—and tooth and claw—with the biggest, fiercest killer they’ve ever known... CURSE OF THE GRIZZLY MOON 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 Buchanan... To end the curse, Hunter must hunt down the grizzly and kill it—before it kills him and everyone he loves. With his coyote Bobby Lee by his side, he sets off into the wilderness for the final showdown between predator and prey. But this time, Hunter is the hunted...

Legendary bestselling Western authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone return with the blazing sequel to By the Neck, a new adventure featuring Stoneface Finnegan, the former Pinkerton agent now serving up shots of justice as the owner of a boomtown saloon in Idaho Country.  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 BARStoneface 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. No, he''s a big handsome devil from San Francisco, Giacomo Valucci. Valucci fancies himself an actor, but his all-too-dramatic arrival is no act. He''s come to kill Stoneface Finnegan...Finnegan''s gut tells him that someone''s put a price on his head. Maybe one of his cutthroat enemies from his Pinkerton days. Or maybe not.Giacomo Valucci seems more interested in playing the role of Jack the Ripper. He''s carving a path of mayhem and murder across the American West--and saving Stoneface Finnegan for the last act...and the final curtain.Live Free. Read Hard.

Rollie Finnegan is a man of few words. As a Pinkerton agent with two decades of experience under his belt, he uses his stony silence to break down suspects and squeeze out confessions. Hence the nickname Stoneface. Over the years, he's locked up plenty of killers. Now he's ready to make a killing--for himself...There's gold in the mountains of Idaho Territory. And the town of Boar Gulch is a golden opportunity for a tough guy like Finnegan. But when he arrives, the local saloon owner is gunned down in cold blood--and Finnegan makes a cold calculation of his own. Instead of working in a mine, he'll buy the saloon. Instead of gold, he'll mine the miners. And instead of getting dirty, he'll clean up this grimy little boomtown once and for all--with his own brand of Stoneface justice...

Stagecoach guard Red Ryan has managed to survive every dirty, danger-filled trail in Texas. But this time, the journey is hell on four wheels. And the next stop could be his last...BIG TROUBLE IN A SMALL TOWNIt starts with an unusual request: "On this trip there will be no cussing, no drinking, no gambling, and no loose women." No problem. Or so Red Ryan thinks-until he meets the passengers. They include four holy and silent monks, one beautiful lady tutor, and a drunken, washed-up gunfighter. Even worse, they're crossing the wild Texas hill country where bloodthirsty Apaches are on the loose and a mad-dog killer is on the prowl. But that can't compare to what's waiting for them at Fredericksburg. In this quiet little town, every man, woman, and monk will reveal their true colors. Green for greed. Yellow for cowardice. Black for pure unadulterated evil. Which leaves Red-gunning for his life . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Includes a preview of Red River vengeance: a Perley Gates western.

Includes an excerpt from: Hell for breakfast, a Slash and Pecos western.

Three men of honor. One impossible mission. No turning back. The Jackals ride again--in the Johnstones' gunblazing chronicle of the wild and lawless West...In Texas's Big Bend country, every man has a price. For crime lord Harry Holland and his ruthless gang of cutthroats, that price is $20,000--a ransom demand for the kidnapped daughter of a retired Army colonel. So far, neither the Army, the Rangers, nor bounty hunters have been able to penetrate Holland's guarded fortress. In desperation, the colonel turns to the Jackals. As a longtime friend, retired cavalry sergeant Sean Keegan is determined to bring the man's daughter back alive--with or without the ransom money--but first he needs to convince his partners, former Texas Ranger Matt McCulloch and bounty hunter Jed Breen. This is no ordinary job. There's a very good chance it's suicide...When word gets out that the Jackals are on the case, all hell breaks loose. They're up against trigger-happy mercenaries, marauding Apaches, and one final, jaw-dropping surprise--a kidnapping victim who doesn't want to be rescued. This time, the Jackals have no one to save...but themselves.

Former Pinkerton agent Buck Trammel has made quite a name for himself in the Old West. Now he''s got to live up to his own legend--or get gutshot trying...Johnstone Country. The Bullets Stop Here.There are two things a man can never escape: his past and his destiny. For Buck Trammel, that past includes a fatal mistake that ended his career as a Pinkerton--and a deadly shootout with the Bower gang in a Witchita saloon. Call it luck or call it fate, but the famous Deputy Wyatt Earp was there to give Buck some advice: Run for your life. Maybe it was Earp''s warning that saved him from the gang''s wrath. Maybe it was destiny that brought him to the town of Blackstone, Wyoming, where his biggest problem is a father-son brewing war. But Trammel''s luck is about to run dry...The gang''s ruthless boss, Old Man Bower, knows where Trammel lives. He''s assembled a small army of gunslingers. He''s hired a Pinkerton with a grudge against Trammel. And he''s coming to town to bury the hatchet...

Red Ryan is one of the fastest guns in the West. But this time, he''s in for the longest, hardest ride of his life. Where danger lurks around every turn--and all roads lead to hell . . .Gold. Silver. Cold hard cash. Stagecoach guard Red Ryan and his driver Buttons Muldoon have ridden shotgun on some pretty valuable cargo in their day. But they''re about to learn--the hard way--that the most dangerous cargo of all is human. They''ve been hired to escort a cowardly traitor facing an army court martial in New Orleans. Every hired killer in Texas wants him dead, including gun-handy Hannah Huckabee, a woman with a mysterious past and an agenda of her own. But she''s just one of the dangers they''ll face along the way. There are cutthroat gangs bent on slaughtering anything on two legs. And 700 miles of the deadliest terrain Red Ryan has ever had to shoot his way out of...

In this blazing new series, William W. and J.A. Johnstone tell the tale of a man who became a myth--and a myth that became a legend. This is the epic story of Nathan Stark, Army Scout...They slaughtered his family. Killed his young bride. And ever since that tragic day, Nathan Stark has devoted his life to fighting the hostile tribes who massacred those he loved. As a civilian scout for the Army, he's served with such famous commanders as Custer and Crook. He's battled against such notorious war chiefs as Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. Among the fiercest natives of the untamed west, Nathan Stark is a living legend--one that must be destroyed...Against his better judgment, Nathan agrees to be teamed up with a rival Crow scout named Moses Red Buffalo. Their mission: to forge a trail deep into Indian territory under the command of a bloodthirsty army colonel. But the mission is not what it seems. If Stark and Red Buffalo want to stay alive, they'll have to work together as a team--if they don't kill each other first...

Once upon a time in the Old West, Slash and Pecos were two of the wiliest robbers this side of the Rio Grande. Now they're fighting three of the nastiest killers this side of Hell...Not many men get a second chance at life. But thanks to a Chief U.S. Marshal who needs their help, the bank-robbing duo of Jimmy "Slash" Braddock and Melvin "Pecos Kid" Baker are on the right side of the law. As unoffical marshals, they've agreed to pick up three prisoners from a Milestown jail and escort them to Denver. Sounds easy enough--until they learn the prisoners are an unholy trio of sadistic cutthroat killers known as Talon, "Hellraisin'" Frank, and the Sioux called Black Pot. And they've managed to escape before Slash and Pecos even show up...The three convicts have turned Milestown into their own savage slayground. Drinking, killing, ravaging--and worse--they're painting the town red with blood and burning it to the ground. Slash and Pecos manage to stop them in a nick of time. But getting these three to Denver is another story--because the trio's leader has offered a thousand-dollar bounty to anyone who can kill Slash and Pecos. This is going to be one wicked ride that Slash and Pecos will never forget--if they live to tell about it...

The bestselling Johnstones deliver their second book featuring Ben Savage, a former Texas Ranger-turned bar owner in the rough and tough town of Buzzard's Bluff. The Texas Rose Saloon has a reputation for attracting the wildest characters the Wild West has to offer. But there's a new owner in town, and when a former lawman like Ben Savage is at the bar, there are two kinds of shots on order: the kind that come from a bottle of whiskey...and the kind that come from the barrel of his gun.At the Texas Rose Saloon, you can bet your bottom dollar that some lowlife will try to cheat you, beat you, or defeat you. But bar owner Ben Savage won't let a few bad customers ruin a good time. And he's got the guns to prove it . . .JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. HOTTER THAN HADES.DRINK WITH THE DEVILLocated in the bullet-riddled heart of Texas, the Texas Rose Saloon in the town of Buzzard's Bluff, is a magnet for drifters, grifters, and outlaws on the run. That's why the bar's manager, the beautiful Rachel Baskin, is glad the new owner is Ben Savage. A former Texas Ranger with a fast draw and low threshold for trouble, Savage knows how to keep the peace. But when notorious hellraiser Malcolm Hazzard is released from prison-and heading to Wolf Creek to kill the local sheriff-the whole town knows the lawman doesn't have a prayer. There's only one way to stop a devil like Hazzard. It's hard. It's mean. And it's Savage . . .Live Free. Read Hard.

The wild bunch known as the Jackals returns for another round of justice served cold, hard, and with as many bullets as it takes. National bestselling authors William W. and J.A. Johnstone are at it again . . . Johnstone. Making the West wilder. Some say bad luck comes in threes. And if you're a bandit, bank robber, or bloodthirsty killer, that bad luck comes in the form of three hard justice-seekers known as the Jackals. Each of the Jackals has his own path to follow: Former Texas Ranger Matt McCulloch is trying to protect a young Commanche from scalphunters. Retired cavalry sergeant Sean Keegan is dodging bullets in a prison breakout planned by the notorious Benteen brothers. And bounty hunter Jed Breen is bringing in one of the bank-robbing Kruger twins-while the other one's out for his blood . . . Three Jackals. Three roads to justice. But when their paths cross near Arizona's Dead River, they've got to join forces and face all of their enemies come hell or high water. They don't call it Dead River for nothing . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

In this action-packed Hank Fallon western, the falsely imprisoned lawman finds himself holding the keys to one of America's most dangerous penitentiaries . . . Johnstone Country. Don't Be a Stranger. HE'S ALWAYS ON HIS GUARD As both a prisoner and an undercover operative, U.S. Marshal Hank Fallon has faced down some of the most vicious, terrifying, cold-blooded thieves and murderers in the West. Now, Hank is finally free and he's got no intention of setting foot inside a jail ever again. But the new federal prison being constructed in Leavenworth, Kansas, needs a warden and Hank is the right man for the job. He's got the scars to prove it-and to keep the peace. But keeping these lawless hornets in their nest is no easy feat. And when several escape before Leavenworth is at maximum security, they take Hank's family hostage. To save his wife and baby daughter, Hank will have to get as down and dirty as the devils he's pursuing-and they won't be taken alive. Live Free. Read Hard.

In the bloody aftermath of a wagon ambush, a suspect flees, a woman disappears, and a mountain man searches for truth, justice, and revenge. They call him Preacher...JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. STOP BY AND SAY HOWDY.Preacher is no hired killer. When a wagon train is brutally ambushed on the Sante Fe Trail though, he can't say no to the St. Louis businessman willing to pay him for justice. It's not the stolen gold that convinced Preacher to take the job...and it's not the missing body of one of the wagon train's crew, a prime suspect who may have plotted the ambush and taken off with the gold. No, it's the suspect's lovely fiancée, Alita Montez. She believes her fiancé is innocent--and has run off to find him. Preacher can't abide the idea of a young woman alone on the Sante Fe Trail. If the Comanche don't get her, the coyotes will. And Preacher can't have that.But to save the girl and get the gold, the legendary mountain man will have to forge a path that's as twisted as a nest of rattlers, face off with trigger-happy kidnappers, backstabbers, and bounty-hunters--and match wits with Bigfoot Wallace, the biggest baddest frontiersman of them all...

When the Civil War ended, Hunter Buchanan and his coyote sidekick Bobby Lee forged a new life in the Black Hills, Dakota. Now they'll have to fight to the death to keep it . . .THERE'S COYOTES IN THEM THERE HILLS.Ex-Rebel tracker Hunter Buchanan is down on his luck. He lost his family's ranch in a fire. He lost his gold to a thief. And he just might lose his fiancée--a beautiful saloon girl named Annabelle--to a stinking-rich rival. But Hunter's not ready to give up just yet. He's got a temporary sheriff's badge, a long-range plan to rebuild his ranch, and his loyal coyote Bobby Lee by his side to make things right. Too bad it all goes wrong--when Annabelle gets kidnapped . . .The mayhem begins with a stagecoach robbery in the Black Hills town of Tigerville. It won't end until Sheriff Hunter Buchanan gets back his girl and his gold--on a long, dusty trail of bloodsoaked vengeance . . .

The greatest Western writers of the 21st Century, William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, continue their epic tale of a Rebel doctor surviving in the lawless aftermath of the Civil War...When the war ended, Dr. Samuel Knight went home to Texas--but the life he expected was in ruins, his wife married to a carpetbagger. Trying to defend what's left of his previous existence, the good doctor is branded an outlaw and driven from Texas. Now he's laying low in New Mexico, with his image on wanted posters everywhere. But when the town explodes in violence, Knight will risk his neck to save innocent lives.After a cave-in injures a team of miners, Knight throws his cover aside to tend to their wounds. He catches the eye of Helena "Hellfire" Bonham, the mine's owner, who's wrapped up in a murderous dispute with her ex-husband over control of the land. She thinks he was responsible for the cave-in and wants Knight to prove it. She's chosen well, because if Dr. Samuel Knight is quick with a scalpel, he's even faster with a gun.

The all-time masters of the classic Western cordially invite you to another trip down the aisle with America's mail order brides--and the foolhardy men who thought they could tame them...Bo Creel and Scratch Morton are mighty proud. They managed to deliver five mail-order brides to the New Mexico mining town of Silverhill in one piece. The town is so grateful, they want to make Bo their marshal and Scratch his deputy. Bo and Scratch are happy to accept the job--and even happier to attend the weddings of the fine young women they brought here...Cecelia has two young suitors--a well-off rancher and a low-born miner--but one of them is not what he seems. Tomboyish Rose has gotten herself roped into a cow-rustling scheme--with the wild young buck who's stolen her heart. Luella has a not-so-secret admirer of her own, a former journalist who's making headlines--with a gang of Mexican bandits. And the refined Jean Parker thinks she's finally found a suitable match in this raucous boomtown. But it turns out her educated doctor has a dishonorary degree--in killing.With marriage prospects like these, Bo and Scratch will have to fight tooth and nail to keep the ladies safe and sound--and a real shotgun wedding is about to begin.

Smoke Jensen: The Mountain Man, is the most enduring of the Johnstones' series and their most beloved character, known to set the standard for Western adventure. In this brand new installment, Smoke Jensen's epic battle for justice in the heart of the American Frontier takes him deep into the heart of Texas, where justice comes from the barrel of a gun...Welcome to Texas. Now Go Home.Smoke Jensen has met some down-and-dirty, murdering prairie scum over the years. But this time it's personal and it's bloody-and going to get bloodier. First, they stole fifty of the hundred horses Smoke delivered to his old friend Big Jim Conyers in Tarrant County, Texas. Then they stole two thousand cattle from Big Jim . . . and killed him just for the fun of it. Now they're going to pay . . .The leader of this unholy band of devils is Delbert Catron-but everyone calls him The Professor. Whatever he's called, he leads the most ruthless gang of vicious kill-crazy desperadoes this side of the border. Hellbent on avenging his friend's murder, nothing will stop Smoke Jensen from hunting down these killers. And celebrating justice . . .Live Free.Read Hard

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WILDER THAN EVER. Welcome to the Lost Coyote Saloon. Saddle up to the bar and order a whiskey. Play a few hands of poker. But don’t make any trouble. The new owner is savage. Ben Savage. Once a Pinkerton, he’s always cocked and ready for some fool to come looking for payback . . . EAT, DRINK, AND BE WARY When Ben Savage receives a telegram informing him that an old friend died—and left him his saloon—he’s not sure what to think. Western saloons are as wild as it gets, full of rowdy ranchers and cocky cowboys, high-stakes gamblers and low-life drifters, hard liquor and easy women. Then there’s the occasional outlaw gang. But when Savage travels to Buzzard’s Bluff, Texas, to check out his inheritance, he meets the saloon’s lovely manager, Rachel Baskin, and has a change of heart. As an experienced lawman, he figures he can run a decent establishment. Keep things friendly, peaceful, and orderly. There’s just one problem: as a longtime Pinkerton agent, Ben has made a lot of enemies. And some of them are bound to turn up in his saloon—thirsty for whiskey . . . and revenge . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Justice. What America Needs Now.   In this exciting new series, bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone pay homage to America’s trail-hardened backwoodsmen who, like a fine grain whiskey, only get better with age . . .   REAL MEN DON’T RIDE INTO THE SUNSET   In his mountain-man days, Elwood “Firestick” McQueen was practically a living legend. His hunting, tracking, and trapping skills were known far and wide. But it was his deadly accuracy with a rifle that earned him the Indian name “Firestick.” His two best buddies are Malachi “Beartooth” Skinner—whose knife was as fatal as a grizzly’s chompers—and Jim “Moosejaw” Hendricks, who once wielded the jawbone of a moose to crush his enemies in the heat of battle.   Of course, things are different nowadays. The trio have finally settled down, running a horse ranch in West Texas—and spending quality time with their lady friends. But if you think these old boys are ready for lives of leisure, think again . . .   Firestick is the town marshal. Beartooth and Moosejaw are his deputies. And when a hired gunman shows up with bullets blazing, these three hard-cases are ready to prove they aren’t getting older.   They’re getting deadlier . . .   Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Where it’s never quiet on the Western front.   Life on the straight and narrow is easier said than done for a pair of crooks like Jimmy “Slash” Braddock and Melvin “Pecos Kid” Baker. But these reprobates are doing their damnedest to make an honest go of it. They’ve managed to safely deliver a church organ to a mountain parish when their sometime employer—Chief U.S. Marshal Luther T. “Bleed-’m-So” Bledsoe—recruits them for a job only fools would take. Marshal Bledsoe wants them to pick up a shipment of gold in the mining town in the Sawatch Mountains. Here’s the catch: Slash and Pecos’s wagon is just a decoy. When a ruthless gang ambushes the real gold shipment, it’s up to Slash and Pecos to go after the trigger-happy bandits. And they won’t be alone. A lady Pinkerton, Hattie Friendly—who is anything but—survived the ambush and is hellbent on getting the gold back. Even if she has to team up with a pair of ornery old cutthroats like Slash and Pecos. . . . The Cutthroats are back. The bad guys are history. Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Justice. Double Barreled.   When a legendary frontiersman teams up with a legendary mountain man, the wild west will never be the same. But first they’ve got to live up to their legends—or die trying . . .   THEY CAME TO KILL   There are some things in this world that can’t be stopped. Like progress, a moving train, and the American Dream. When the bigwigs in Washington decide to build a transcontinental railroad to the West Coast, they need a man who’s just as unstoppable to clear a path through Mexican territory. That man is Jamie MacCallister.  Jamie knows it’s a tough job. The territory is overrun with Apaches. The Apaches are gunning for a fight. And the first patrol sent in by the President has already been ambushed, kidnapped, and most likely killed. Jamie knows he can’t take on the whole Apache nation by himself. He needs help. He needs back-up.   He needs a non-stop force of mountain-man fury who goes by the name of Preacher . . .Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. A New Legend in the Making. The bestselling Johnstones kick off their blazing new western series with a real bang-a fatal, fateful shootout that sends a man named Buck Trammel on the ride of his life . . . WHEN WYATT EARP TELLS YOU TO RUN, YOU RUN. Once upon a time in the Old West, Buck Trammel was a Pinkerton agent with a promising future. But after a tragic incident in a case gone wrong, he struck out for the wide-open spaces of Wichita, Kansas. Working as a bouncer at The Gilded Lily Saloon, he hopes to stay out of trouble. But soon enough, his gun skills are put to the test. The Bowman gang shows up, turning a friendly card game with a Wyoming cattleman into a killer-takes-all shooting match. Buck saves the cattleman's life, but at the cost of Bowman's two sons. That's when Deputy Wyatt Earp arrives. He warns Buck that he'd better get out of town, pronto, and take the cattle baron with him. The rest is history-if he lives long enough to tell it . . . This is the story of Buck Trammel. Hunted by outlaws. Fighting for justice. Marked for death. This is how legends are born . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Home at Last. When the Jensen family sends a new generation out into the world, they always keep the homefires burning-and rifles loaded-just in case they bring trouble back with them . . . SHOT THROUGH THE HEART Smoke Jensen's daughter Denny can outride, outrope, and outshoot any man who gets in her way. But being a pretty woman, Denny sometimes attracts the attention of unsavory suitors. Like the lecherous Count Malatesta. Denny met the seductive Sicilian on her trip to Europe-and almost fell head over heels for the swindler. What's he doing in America? Seems the heartbreaking hustler has huge gambling debts to pay off-and a deadly scheme to scam money out of the Jensens. But Denny's got a plan, too-to shake off this silver-tongued stalker no matter what it takes, from a ghost town shootout to a blood-soaked showdown at the Sugarloaf Ranch. Alert: Where there's Smoke, there's gunfire . . . Live Free. Read Hard.