Two old ranch hands lead one last trail drive but they can't escape death along the way in a brand new thrilling western in Ralph Compton's trail drive series.Big Jake Motley had been running the Big M spread in Texas for over 30 years. In that time, he's driven thousands of head of cattle to market in Kansas. Now, while both the Nineteenth century and the era of trail drive are coming to an end, Big Jake is determined to make one last drive to Kansas. The only thing is, he doesn't have the cowhands to move that much beef. He drafts his old friend, Chance McCandles, into service, and together, the two aging cowboys put together a crew.The trail to Kansas is fraught with dangers both natural and man made, but when Chance is killed by rustlers, Big Jake has one more task in before him, extract vengeance for his old friend.

In this tantalizing installment of Ralph Compton’s Sundown Riders series, someone—or something—is haunting a struggling ranch   Drifter Lucas Avery isn't looking for a new home. He goes wherever the wind blows him, taking jobs as they come and cutting ties when he moves on. But at Ghost Hollow Ranch he finds more than just a job—he finds a family that reminds him of the loved ones he lost in the earthquake of ‘68.   Alongside the MacGill clan, Lucas works to repair the quake damage as well as repeated mishaps that might be accidents or deliberate acts of sabotage. Some people think it’s the work of the spirits that are known to haunt the hollow. Lucas doesn’t know what to believe, but as the attacks escalate, he has to decide whether to put himself on the line to protect people he never planned on caring for.

There's a thin line between the law and the lawless in this Ralph Compton western...Newspaper reporter Lester T. Booker traveled to Santa Fe to interview legendary gunfighter and dime novel hero Ransom March. But the quick-drawing "Prince of the Plains" Booker meets turns out to be little more than an old ex-lawman of questionable moral fiber who doled out death to unsuspecting—and sometimes unarmed—outlaws. One outlaw who escaped Rance's brand of justice is the man known as The Gravedigger, who earned his moniker for burying his victims alive. Now, the unrepentant murderer has resurfaced, compelling Rance to come out of retirement and put his old enemy six feet under once and for all. For Booker, it's the story of a lifetime—and an education in learning just how the west was really won...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

Saddle up with legendary gunfighter Doc Holliday in this Ralph Compton western.Buck Fletcher plans to race his horse for a $10,000 prize—money he needs to send his sick daughter to a faraway clinic. Then some outlaws steal his steed, and his daughter's last hope with it. Though it's been ten years since Buck slapped leather and traded lead with the badmen of the frontier, he's quick to fasten on his gun belt again for the chase.The thieves are led by Port Austin, a man who fears no retribution for the lives he takes—not with a ruthless band of brothers guarding his back. But Buck is not alone either. Doc Holliday, a legend of loyalty and ferocity, rides beside him, eager to help on a mission of vengeance—and a quest to save a little girl's life....More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books in Print!

In this thrilling installment in bestseller Ralph Compton's Trail Drive series, a small ranch owner drives his herd into Mexico and is startled to find that human life comes cheaper than beef on the hoof. Andrew Buchanan has a problem. His modest ranch in Southern California is being pressured by an unscrupulous competitor and the encroaching wave of the future—orange growers. The only chance he has to sell his cattle for real money is to take them south into Mexico. The Empire Trail is five hundred miles of misery that crosses scorching deserts and clings to treacherous cliffs—and it's Andrew's job to find the best way across. But physical barriers are not the only thing he must contend with. A group of dangerous men are trailing the herd, determined to take the cattle or die trying. But this is Andrew's livelihood that hangs in the balance, and he won't go down without a fight.

A medicine man turns vigilante when he sets out to take revenge against the gang who took everything from him, in this pulse-pounding new Western in Ralph Compton's bestselling Sundown Riders series.Jerome Frederick Kincannon is a medicine man—an apothecary by trade and a healer at heart. But when his wife and young son are murdered by the notorious Benjamin Gang, his world crumbles around him. Kincannon can't forgive the four Benjamin brothers for their transgressions, and he'll never forget.  His ambitions from that day forward are simple: kill them all.  For a year, Kincannon has searched high and low for Hank, Leland, Curtis, and the unidentified fourth Benjamin brother. But the gang has proven to be more wily than expected. But Kincannon's content to wait, coiled and ready to strike, until the perfect opportunity comes around. After all, a snake will mind its business if you mind yours—but when provoked, you'd...

Two bothers face off in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse—one is out for justice...the other is out for blood, in this gripping new Western in Ralph Compton's bestselling Gunfighter series.They say blood is thicker than water and that family always comes first. But what if your family is the one that wants your blood?Sheriff Jacob Wilkinson loves his younger brother, William, but it's not easy when he's constantly trying to shoot him. Will blames his brother for the death of his young wife and has nothing left to live for—except vengeance. For his part, Jake is trying to do the right thing and track down the Collier gang, the ones actually responsible for the incident that robbed Will of his wife.But with Will sabotaging him at every turn, the odds that Jake will get justice for his brother seem nigh impossible. Jake has to find a way to get through to Will before it's too late and one of them ends up dead.

In this raucous new book in Ralph Compton’s Gunfighter series, the only thing Dan Karr can’t shoot down is his suspicion about the man who’s paying him.   George Kingsley has more money than sense, and when he’s in trouble he turns to the infamous gunslinger Dan Karr for protection. Dan reluctantly accepts, and he kills every would-be assassin without hesitation or remorse. He’s superstitious, not sentimental, but Kingsley has kids, and Dan doesn’t want to see any child grow up without a father.   As the killers keep coming and the bodies stack up, it becomes clear that something is very wrong. Luck favors the prepared, and Dan starts to realize just how little he knows about the family he’s risking his neck for. He’s always been good at dodging black cats and broken mirrors, but he’s spent enough time around gamblers to know that a hot streak can’t last forever. Sooner or later, every...

In this Ralph Compton western, a man discovers that Bluff City is the place to find one's fortune—or one's grave...Bluff City is a prosperous silver-mining town-and a place of opportunity for those willing to exploit its hard-working citizens. Harve Barker is the wealthiest man in the territory, offering irresistible vices to anyone willing and able to afford them. Outlaw Jesse Stark has grown fond of the town's surrounding mining camps, leading a gang of desperadoes on a violent spree of robberies-and staying one step ahead of the law at all times. Between the megalomaniacal entrepreneur and the brutal bandit stands the enigmatic Clay Adams. And he has a score to settle with both of them.More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

Two men try to escape a town of terror in this western in Ralph Compton's USA Today bestselling series.The bustling town of Rawhide Flat is bursting at the seams with hard men and their hard-earned cash from working the nearby Comstock Lode. So when the bank is robbed and two civilians cut down, a posse delivers its own justice—leaving only Judah Walsh alive. Walsh knows the only hand he can play is to tell where his gang hid the money. In return, he wants a horse, a hundred bucks—and a free ride out of the state. But the people of Rawhide Flat would rather torture the information out of him. Lucky for Walsh, protection arrives in a hail of bullets from U.S. Deputy Marshal Augustus Crane, who has come to bring Walsh into federal custody. But Crane getting Walsh out of jail is one thing—getting out of town alive is another... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

Highly educated—and totally clueless—young Fletcher Ralston inherits a brothel and his thieving father's deadly enemy in this suspenseful new novel in Ralph Compton's Gunfighter series. Young dandy Fletcher Ralston's privileged life of education and ease in the East comes to an abrupt end when he's summoned to the dried-up Wyoming town of Promise to inherit a run-down bordello and a lifetime of debts. The old woman he's known only via correspondence as his "aunt" is in truth the madam of the brothel. After their meeting, she is found with her throat slit, and Fletcher is suspect number one. But the old lady's paramour, crusty Gunnar Tibbs, believes in his innocence and sets about mentoring the tenderfoot. Fletcher is a quick study with the revolver, and the unlikely pair set out to clear Fletcher's name and track down the real killer. What they don't know is that someone is stalking them in return: Skin Varney, the notorious, unsavory brute his...

Two men on opposite sides of the Civil War make their new home on an even more dangerous battleground in this Ralph Compton western...After the surrender of the Confederacy—and the death of his wife—Jed Adams stikes out for the west to find a new home and to build a new life for himself and his sons. Tom Waldron fought to keep the Union intact—and now believes the unsettled land of the West can be cultivated into good fortune for his family. The former soldiers—and enemies—have decided to call the fertile valley of the Guadalupe Mountains their home, on an adjoining piece of land where Jed and Tom each plan to build a cattle ranch. But the only thing they have in common is their battle scars...and the chance that the valley might just be home to another Civil War. More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

In this compelling new installment of bestselling author Ralph Compton's Gunfighter series, Marshal Ben Dalton travels to Fort Worth to prove an old friend innocent of murder.It's been ten years since the worst day of Ben Dalton's life. After four grinding years of war, the Confederate veteran returned to his hometown of Aberdeen, Texas, to find that his girl, Mandy, had run off with his best friend, John Rawlings. Dalton recovered from the betrayal and spent the next decade settling down to life as the town's marshal. That quiet life is shattered with the arrival of one stunning telegram. Mandy begs her old friend to come to Fort Worth, where her lawyer husband has been arrested for murder. Without a second's hesitation, Dalton heads to the big city, where he will discover that the forces who want Rawlings convicted won't hesitate to commit a second murder to silence a visiting lawman.

Revenge is a rocky road in this nonstop adventure in Ralph Compton’s bestselling Gunfighter seriesJasper Duncan’s stagecoach is the fastest one in California; at least that’s what he tells folks looking for a ride between the Stanislaus mines and Sonora. But he needs a windfall of cash to stay in business, and he needs to stay in business to continue his hunt for the outlaw Alec Casey, who murdered Jasper’s father. He’s learned Casey has a base of operations in the Stanislaus woods and he’s determined to find it.  An unexpected solution presents itself: a lucrative job transporting three passengers and “dangerous cargo.” When Jasper finds out the cargo is actually a handcuffed Slip Casey, he’s elated. Slip insists he’s not a killer like his brother, but Alec will surely come to his rescue, offering Jasper his best chance for revenge. But after an accident, a shootout and more misadventures, , can...

The latest thrilling installment in Ralph Compton's bestselling Gunfighter series.The law only caught up with the Red Trail Gang and their bitter rivals, the Venom Snakes, because they were so busy killing each other. And after twenty years in prison, Ashford Sinclair is broke and broken. Without his gang behind him, the once fearsome leader of the Snakes learns to eke out a solitary living as a fur trapper. One day, news comes that his son has married the daughter of Henry Odell, erstwhile leader of the Red Trail Gang. Sinclair is furious at this betrayal and vows never to speak to his son again. But when his son is murdered in a land dispute and a gang of hired guns starts threatening to kill his grandson next, Sinclair has no choice but to join forces with his most hated enemy, as the two grandfathers ride for justice!

A man with a hidden past doles out a dangerous dose of frontier medicine in this new western in Ralph Compton's Gunfighter series.Young doctor Gabriel Kincaid has come west to help an aging colleague who is straining to deal with the demands of a growing town, but Kincaid is looking to do more than just experience the challenges of frontier medicine. He’s determined to start a new life.But the trials he faces aren’t confined to the doctor’s surgery. After an incident in a saloon, Gabe finds himself with a new nickname: Dr. Death. It’s dangerous to have a reputation as a good man with a gun. In this world, there will always be someone who wants to test you.The West has a way of revealing a man’s true character, but it can also expose secrets that are best left hidden.

A former soldier tries to outrun a gang out for blood in this novel in Ralph Compton's USA Today bestselling series.Years ago, Charlie Pike witnessed the horrors of the War Between the States from the losing side. Now, all he wants to do is work his cattle ranch and marry the spirited local schoolmarm. But when his old commanding officer calls him to action, he cannot refuse.Confederate Brigadier General Henry J. Dryden was a blustery, demanding leader—and he saved Pike's life in the war. After, Dryden became a judge in the wilds of New Mexico Territory. Now he's dying, and he wants Pike to escort him back to his native Texas. It's a simple request—and a deadly one. Because the powerful gang leader Clem Dredge wants vengeance on Dryden, who sentenced to his brother to hang. And Charlie Pike is about to find out that paying some debts can cost a man everything... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the...

When the money dries up, a wrangler looks toward the Pacific for new opportunity in the latest installment of Ralph Compton's bestselling Trail Drive series.Clay Forsythe never even knew there was such a thing as a paniolo—a Hawaiian cowboy—before two of them save his life. But when he meets Jose Vasquez and Leo Suarez he quickly realizes two things: they're talented and worldly—Clay's never even seen the ocean. With no job offers on the horizon, things aren't going as well for Clay as they are for the paniolo. So when the pair offer him a job helping them drive new breeding stock to the coast, he sees no reason to decline. But there is a long way to go before they hit the saltwater trail to Hawaii. And not everyone wants the to see Barker Ranch prosper; in fact, they'll do almost anything to stop the trio. But Clay and the paniolos aren't to be trifled with. If they can get the herd to their safe patch of land...

In this fast-paced new installment in bestselling author Ralph Compton's Trail Drive series, a trail drive boss faces many challenges. Luke Ross is determined to drive his herd to the trailhead, but along the way he'll have to cope with rustlers, bandits, and warlike Indians.

A ruthless rancher crosses the wrong man in this western in Ralph Compton's USA Today bestselling series...Haunted by memories of the Civil War, Coy Jennings just wants to find work as a ranch hand and to begin saving for a small farm where he could finally enjoy peace and quiet. Arriving in the Texas settlement of Phantom Hill, Coy soon befriends a damaged but likable stable hand by the name of Ira Dalton and hopes for a future with a lovely widowed mother and her eight-year-old daughter. In order to make the Hill a decent place to settle down, Coy must wage a new kind of war and take a stand against ruthless ranch owner Lester Sinclair, his sadistic sons, and the murderous band of cattle rustlers who work for them. And after the Sinclairs turn on innocent Ira, Coy is driven to seek justice for his trusted friend...cost what it may.More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

When young Jarret Pekoe aims to bring a band of violent border-jumpers to justice, his sister hires rifleman Lem Beauchamp to scare some sense into him. But when trouble arrives, they must work together to defeat the outlaws once and for all.

A family fights their demons on a dangerous cattle drive in this Ralph Compton western.Doc Blaine has signed a big contract with a cattle buyer up in Kansas. After a couple more good springs, Doc might finally be able to retire, but for now he'll have to contend with a band of marauding brothers who are out for vengeance against the Blaines. Another set of brothers might prove to be the bigger liability—his own sons. Doc needs sizeable herds from each, but Miles and Jared Blaine have been feuding for years over the same woman—even after Miles married her. And Jared once vowed that someday he would kill his younger brother—a threat he never took back... But Doc believes he can get both sons to Kansas—as long as one doesn't know the other is making the same drive...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

In the USA Today bestselling Ralph Compton series, love can be the most dangerous frontier...Hardened ex-gunslinger Taos Tommy Navarro turned away Karla Vannorsdell, a rancher's granddaugther, when she needed him most. Now, angry and full of guilt, Navarro must track down Karla in the desert before the Apaches catch her, which won't be easy. And all that's certain is that things are going to get very rough—and very bloody. Nothing will make Karla return to her arrogant, meddling grandfather now that he's run off the vaquero she was going to marry. To bring her lover back, Karla will endure the parched, blazing desert, the venomous diamondbacks, the ferocious Apaches—and the buzzards circling overhead. And she'll learn the cruelest lesson of all: In a brutal land, love can mean killing the thing you cherish...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA

THE UNFORGIVING FRONTIER Parker Stanley's family had a dream: to start a new life in the Far West. But en route, a Cheyenne band slaughters his parents and abducts his sister, leaving him for dead. Then a cowboy named Clay Springer rides to the rescue—and comes up with an idea. He's got a team ready to deliver goods to the Mormons in Utah, but he's short on funds for supplies. He knows that Parker managed to hold on to his family's savings, so he suggests a fifty-fifty partnership. With a three-wagon, seven-man team, Parker and Clay will traverse the barren land to find a secret mountain pass that will save them three hundred miles on their journey. But out in the wilderness, Parker's sister needs saving—and he has vowed to find her....

Bounty Hunter John Tone was good at his job. Some would say ruthless. But when a nefarious criminal from the Barbary Coast makes him an offer he can't refuse, Tone himself becomes the hunted one. As the bounty hunter steels himself for a showdown, he may be loading the six chambers of his Colt for the last time ]

ONE-MAN STANDAt fifty, cattle driver Sam Sawyer thinks he can finally dust off and retire, maybe open an eating house. But after a pack of Apache ambushes him and leaves him to die in Gila River country, he barely makes it to a remote ranch.The owner, Hanna Stewart, has worked the desert spread with her young daughter ever since her husband went for a ride and never returned. For years, she's been victimized by the corrupt sheriff of Lost Mine, Vic Moseley.Turns out, Moseley's evil intentions don't stop with Hannah Stewart. And things are fixing to get downright bloody. After a lifetime in the saddle, Sam's about to ride not only the hardest trail of his life—but possibly the last....

Retired gunslinger Tom Navarro is more than happy working at the Bar-V Ranch while planning a future with the woman he loves. But when a local landowner is murdered, Navarro must strap on his six-irons once more to stop an all-out range war.From the Paperback edition.

The year was 1853. For handful of cowboys turned California Gold Rushers, it was time to go home. Then Lonnie Kilgore and his fellow Texans met Western legend and former mountain man Jim Bridger, who told them of a lush range waiting to be claimed in northern Utah. Now, the Texans have purchased land on the Green river and come to San Antonio to gather up some longhorns. But with Indian trouble, law trouble, and woman trouble along for the ride, the cowboys are finding out the truth about this paradise: to live on land you bought and paid for, you have to be willing to die...

They had beaten the harsh odds of the frontier. But for the two powerful ranchers, the most formidable trail lay ahead. There had never been a trail drive like this before...The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains, brawn, and boldness to drive them to market along treacherous trails. Now, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary series based on the history-blazing trail drives.For veteran ranchers Nelson Story of Montana, and Benton McCaleb of Wyoming, it was an opportunity a man didn't pass up. In gold camps of the Black Hills, miners were hungry for beef, at boomtown prices. But within the two outfits were Indians, gunmen, Texans, lovesick cowboys, and high-spirited women. Worse, the drive would pass through Crow and Sioux territory, when Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn was just hours away. The drives were tangled by violent grudges, stampeding...

EDITORIAL REVIEW: **HIS GUN SPEAKS FOR THE OPRESSED…** Former big city detective John McBride is an easygoing man— until a cold-blooded town sheriff warns him to mind his own business, or face a lynching. Driven by his sense of justice, McBride takes on the sheriff, an evil mayor and his cruel psychotic son, and a small army of hired gunmen. Helped by a mysterious white-haired, quick-drawing preacher, McBride shoulders a task most men would flee from. But John McBride isn’t most men…

A man discovers that the lonesome road isn't always so lonely in this Ralph Compton western.Big Charlie Chilton knows better than to lose his temper, but when a loudmouth threatens to expose his long-buried secrets, he can't help but teach the man a lesson about being quiet. Unfortunately, it turns out the man was about to make an important supply run for the town's marshal, and Marshal Watt knows just enough about Shotgun Charlie's past to draft him into service in his stead.The trek north would be treacherous enough with the snow and the threat of an Indian attack, but the ragtag drunkards running the freighting outfit put Charlie ill-at-ease. When bad blood springs up between them, Charlie is left for dead on the side of the mountain. But they should have made sure he was really gone—because the wounded bear of a man isn't down for the count, and he's ready to bring vengeance on those who did him wrong...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In...

In this Ralph Compton western, even the most rugged trailsman has to watch his steps...It's called the Whoop-Up Trail. It's a two hundred mile stretch of rough terrain between Montana and Canada, littered with spiky brushwood, crawling with clawed and fanged critters of all shapes and sizes, and traversed by hostile Indians and vicious outlaws. But for Luke Garrett—framed for a murder he didn't commit, saddled with five mail-order brides, driving what's left of his cattle herd, and pursued by vigilantes—it's the only chance for survival... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

USA Today bestselling phenomenon Captain Jack Starr served the Confederate cause with honor for four years. The town of Lost Dog Creek promised an opportunity for the war veteran to rebuild his life-and a woman to share it with. But not everyone is willing to roll out the welcome wagon...

"Compton offers readers a chance to hit the trail and not even end up saddlesore."—Publishers Weekly BLOOD TIES The life of a cowboy suits Thalis Christie just fine. A puncher for the Crescent H in Texas, he loves what he does and is damn good at it too. He doesn't even mind being away from his family—he's got good friends to keep him from getting too homesick. That is, until his folks write, imploring him to hunt down his brother, Myles, who's been shot while prospecting in the Black Hills. Thalis sets out to do his family duty and find his little brother—still alive, he hopes. Thalis has got his partner, Ned Leslie, by his side, as well as some other surprising travel companions, including the famous Wild Bill Hickok. But as he follows his brother's wandering trail across the country, leading him to encounter deadly obstacles from Texas to Blood Gulch, he begins to wonder if he can ever return to the comfortable...

Bad blood runs deep in this Ralph Compton western...Jock Kane would do anything for his buddy Chad Becker—except drive the rancher's longhorns to the Ellsworth railhead in Kansas. Having lost his fortune and his faith on the last trail, and his beloved wife, Twyla, to a killer, Jock's not looking for adventure. What gets him off his tail is finding out who's vying with Chad for the Kansas sale. It's none other than Twyla's cold-blooded killer himself—Jock's own brother, Abel, now in cahoots with a Yankee carpetbagger. Now there's no hailstorm violent enough, no Apache savage enough, and no trail-drive turncoat dirty enough to stop Jock from redefining justice and revenge... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

GOOD MONEY AND BAD MEN Outlaw Wes Cavanaugh knows that crime doesn't always pay—at least not much. That's why he and his partner, Mose, are willing to pay Jimmy Stock for information on a job that's guaranteed to pay off big. Jimmy's made a career of selling tips to bandits, but the job he sells Wes—a payroll train about to leave Omaha—requires more than information. It requires a straight shooter who can hit targets from a long distance away...and in the outlaw business, even a straight shooter can't be trusted.

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA

Danielle Strange and her brothers track the last of the men who killed her father into Mexico. But the murderer turns out to be a wealthy cattleman-and he's hired every lowlife in the territory to put the Strange family in Boot Hill.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, cash-starved Texans turned to the only resource they possessed in abundance: longhorn cows. Despite the hazards of trailing longhorns across some three hundred miles of Indian Territory, this was the only way to access the railroad...THE WESTERN TRAILBenton McCaleb and his band of bold-spirited cowboys traveled long and hard to drive thousands of ornery cattle into Wyoming's Sweetwater Valley. They're in the midst of setting up a ranch just north of Cheyenne when a ruthless railroad baron and his hired killers try to force them off the land. Now, with the help of the Shoshoni Indian tribe and a man named Buffalo Bill Cody, McCaleb and his men must vow to stand and fight. Outgunned and outmanned, they will wage the most ferocious battle of their lives—to win the right to call the land their own.

SUNDOWN RIDERS They are four hired guns who haul freight for a price into the treacherous, untamed wilderness. Having already risked their lives for the Confederacy, now they're fighting for themselves—and for a stake in the future—on the great frontier. Led by the poker-playing Faro Duval, these soldiers of fortune are about to take the biggest gamble of all: delivering an explosive cargo from Santa Fe to southwestern Utah. Their destination is Devil's Canyon...and a mountain of gold. But there's a wild card in the crew: a man who is one jump ahead of an unsavory past and one piece of silver away from selling them out. In a land of savage outlaws and hostile Utes, with a rattlesnake named Hal Durham in their midst, Duval and his men are running out of time and out of luck... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books in Print

Across rivers of blood and plains of tears, he led a wagon train toward a country fighting to be born. . .Miners dug for fortunes. Soldiers died on open plains. And a few brave men drove the wooden freight wagons into the wild land. Now, master Western novelist Ralph Compton tells the real story of the tough-as-leather men who first blazed the way into the untamed frontier.Texas! For the pioneers who streamed out of Missouri it was a land of dreams and freedom. Veteran wagon boss Chance McQuade, a man deadly with a pistol and Sharps, had signed on to take a hundred families there. But the man who hired McQuade was joining the wagon train, and turning it into a brawling, rolling city of sin and violence. Now, on the hard drive West, McQuade faces Kiowa, lightening storms, and killers behind his back-all to reach a promised land that's erupting into war.

Between Kansas City and Montana Territory were a thousand ways to die-and a few bold men who would never turn back.Miners dug for fortunes. Soldiers died on open plains. And a few brave men drove the wooden freight wagons into the wild land. Now, master Western novelist Ralph Compton tells the real story of the touch-as-leather men who carried supplies, guns and gold into the untamed frontier.Dutch Siringo rose from modest beginnings and proved his skill with a team of horses and a gun. Betrayed by a woman, hunted by a desperate man, Dutch led a group of hard-fighting teamsters where no other shippers would go-through the heart of the Sioux territory, into the teeth of winder along the murderous Bozeman Trail. Now, between Fort Kearny and the mining camps in the Bitterroot Mountains, Dutch and his teamsters faced Montana blizzards, hungry wolves and the kind of enemies you have to bury to outrun.

Through a thousand miles of dust, fists, and guns, they found the courage to keep on driving.The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains, brawn and boldness to drive them north to where the money was. Now, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary epic series based on the history-making trail drives.The Virginia City TrailWith a dream of building a ranching empire in Montana, Nelson Story sets off on one of the most extraordinary journeys in frontier history. By his side was a bunch of misfits and renegades-hard-fighting, war-bitten Texans with nothing left to lose. On his tail as the worst kind of enemy-brutal outlaws fixing to bleed his trail drive dry. Pushing his way through four harsh territories and three brutal seasons, Story would defy the Union Army, get a hold of a hundred Remingtons, and take on a thousand riled-up Sioux warriors,...

SUMMARY: Ordered to head west when a New York gangster puts a price on his head for killing his son, Detective Sergeant John McBride ends up in High Hopes, Colorado--a lawless boomtown where McBride quickly runs afoul of corrupt saloon owner Gamble Trask and his vicious hired guns. When beautiful card dealer Shannon Roark asks for his protection, it's high time for one of New York's finest to dole out some frontier justice of his own.

ODD MAN OUT Big for his age, young and impressionable drifter Charlie Chilton is taken in by the gruff leader of a gang of small-time crooks. While Grady Haskell sees something of himself in kindly, wayward Charlie, the ruffian pushes all feelings aside for a potentially big score. When Haskell's bold daylight bank job in prosperous Bakersfield turns bloody, Charlie attempts to thwart the heist—and ends up the only gang member caught alive. Sentenced to swing, Charlie makes a daring escape, determined to track down Haskell and prove his innocence. But with a mysterious marshal and a party of angry townsmen hot on his heels, Charlie must track the killer thieves through a vicious winter storm in the High Sierras—before the seething posse gets the chance to hang him high.

Armed with only a Colt rifle, a Bowie knife, and courage as big as the West, Ten Chisholm—the bold, illegitimate son of frontier scout and plains ambassador Jesse Chisholm and a Cherokee woman—arrives in the heart of Comanche country with a price on his head. His only crime: loving the beautiful daughter of a powerful New Orleans gambler who has promised her to a wealthy man she hates.Now that Ten has returned to the harsh Texas brakes with a team of battle-toughened cowboys and ex-soldiers—and a vow to return to Priscilla and make her his wife—he must round up wild longhorns, ward off angry Comanches, and survive treacherous outlaw attacks as he crosses the Red River and sets off on a brazen quest to open a new trail to Kansas on the savage frontier.

Their friendship started with a schoolyard tussle. Now, the need for revenge is what binds Luke Croft and Red Connover together.When Luke taught himself how to fire a Colt, he never imagined he’d turn into a gunman. But when his stepfather’s dodgy business dealings turn his life upside down, Luke asks Red to help him destroy the man who murdered his kin.The road to vengeance is long and hard, and the two friends who are barely out of boyhood will need all the help they can get if they want to catch a cold-blooded killer…**

Former Texas Rangers Benton McCaleb, Will Elliot, and Brazos Gifford ride with Charles Goodnight as he rounds up thousands of ornery, unbranded cattle for the long drive to Colorado. From the Trinity River brakes to Denver, they'll battle endless miles of flooded rivers, parched desert, and whiskey-crazed Comanches. And come face-to-face with Judge Roy Bean and legendary gunslingers like Clay Allison. For McCaleb and his hard-riding crew, the drive is a fierce struggle against the perils of an untamed land. A fight to the finish where the brave reach glory--or die hard.

In this Ralph Compton western, riding the hard trail isn't easy...At the EJ Ranch in Wyoming, Lin Bryce has found good, honest work for himself and his temperamental brother, Chancy. A widow with two young children has a herd of cattle over two thousand acres that needs tending, and Lin believes it's the best opportunity to put their tragic and violent past behind them and start anew. But the widow and her property are coveted by a cattle baron determined to take over every ranch in the territory. And as the Bryce brothers find themselves in the crosshairs of an encroaching range war, a trio of merciless bounty hunters arrives to collect the price on their heads... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

In this Ralph Compton western, a man has two targets: the one he's looking for and the one on his back...Bighorn Point appears to be a quiet town. But when a stranger comes looking for a murderer, it turns out that not all the respectable citizens are what they seem. Down-on-his-luck rancher Micajah "Cage" Clayton has been hired to track down and kill Lissome Terry—a man who years ago left a path of death, rape, and robbery in his wake. Though he doesn't know what Terry looks like, Clayton knows his target is in Bighorn Point living under an assumed name, so finding him shouldn't be too hard. But when Marshall Will Durant only gives Clayton a week to find his man in a town where everyone knows his deadly purpose, catching the crafty outlaw will be anything but easy...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

Western legend Ralph Compton lives on in the USA Today bestselling series.ARMAGEDDON IN ARIZONABuck Fletcher is facing a twenty-year sentence for a murder he didn't commit. But he just might have one chance at freedom. Senator Falcon Stark needs a man of Buck's notoriety and gunfighting skill to travel to northern Arizona—and locate his missing daughter.Estelle Stark has joined a doomsday cult led by the charismatic prophet known as the Chosen One—and she refuses to go home. To find her, Buck must elude a band of Apaches on the warpath before descending into the lair of a possible madman. But Buck's got competition on the trail—someone who has set his gunsights on Estelle....More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books in Print

Lawdog or Lapdog?Zeke Wolpert is sheriff of Keith County, Nebraska. But he turns a half- drunk blind eye to outlaws who pay him for the privilege. Now the outlaws have set their sights on a Wells Fargo shipment. It's a chance for Zeke to get enough money to retire from this unsavory business once and for all. But it's also an opportunity for him to honor the badge he wears one last time...

An extraordinary saga of the trail-blazing cowboys who made their fortune driving cattle from Texas to the Great Frontier.They left Missouri and were headed to Santa Fe. Standing in their way was a parched desert, a land of outlaws and enemies-and one man's dangerous past.He was a wealthy englishman with two beautiful daughters. They were five dusty texans and a gambling man. And they were all on the ride of their lives.The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains, brawn and boldness to drive them north to where the money was. Now, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary epic series based on the history-making trail drives.The Santa Fe TrailGavin McCord and his brawling cowboys came to Missouri with a problem: 3,500 longhorns and not one buyer. That's where Gladstone Pitkin came in. A man with money and a...

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA

A cattle drive turns bloody in this western in the USA Today bestselling Ralph Compton series...Luke Deal and his gang are murderers many times over. And Owen, the foreman of the Bar 40 ranch, has interrupted their depravities one time too many. Now a business representative for some British cattle ranchers is buying one of the Bar 40's best longhorns, and driving it from Texas to Wyoming. Owen and three of the Bar 40's toughest cowhands are escorting the English tenderfoot on this snake-infested, rustler ambush-laden, hell-for-leather trip. For the greenhorn, it will be the adventure of a lifetime. For the cowboys, it's what they do. But for Luke Deal's pack of rabid human wolves, it will be the chance to settle a very old score... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

From bestselling author Ralph Compton—the bold saga of a trail-blazing cattle drive in the blistering heat of the California gold rush. The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains and brawn to drive them north to where the money was. But it all took a wild and dangerous turn on the California Trail, a passage overrun with dreamers, schemers, and gold... Gold fever has hit California, and suddenly the land is full of hungry pioneers. For Texas brothers Gil and Van Austin, it means a chance to sell their well-grazed longhorns after years of hard ranching and a death-defying cattle drive up through Mexico. The only thing that stands between them and California is a scorching desert, swollen rivers, a barrage of Indian attacks, and a passel of outlaws. And while the Texans are ready and willing to take it all on, there's one thing they're not prepared for: the ultimate act of treachery, greed, and...

Wes Stone was a lawman—until the Sandlin gang gunned down his legendary father. Now, he's giving up his badge for vengeance...

The trail to riches is lined with danger in this Ralph Compton western... The ranchers of Frio Springs are praying that Sam Ketchum will succeed in driving their cattle to the richer markets of Nebraska. Sure, there's no one more reliable. But ghosts still haunt Sam from his last drive—and the road north has only become tougher. Comanches and cattle thieves lie hidden in the brush, poised to ambush, and notorious gunslingers lurk in every town along the way. And to make matters worse, the Wagner brothers have picked a fight back home, sparking a deadly family feud that Sam may have to settle before the trail finally ends...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

A man of honor becomes an outlaw in this Ralph Compton western...Solomon Brakefield tried to play by the rules—and lost. When the mine Sol worked for was robbed, he went after the robbers himself. After he brought the money back, he was given no more than a handshake and a few dollars. Seemed the straight life just didn't pay. So Sol seeks out Nester Quarles, known killer and train robber, to teach him the tricks of the outlaw's trade. The old outlaw has plenty to teach the new outlaw, but there's a price to be paid—and the currency is Sol's soul. More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

There's trouble on the trail drive in this USA Today bestselling series...Chancy Gantry and Ollie Teal are honest cowpunchers, riding herd on fifteen hundred longhorns from Texas to Kansas. Their trail boss, Lucas Stout, is tough but fair. He's never lost a hand on a drive and doesn't aim to start now. So when a cowhand needs a sawbones bad, Stout sends Chancy and Ollie to escort the man to a town called Prosperity, which none of them has ever heard of. At first glance, the town looks deserted—but the saloon is full. The dusty denizens of Prosperity are happy to help the ailing cowboy, especially when they hear about the herd grazing a few miles away. Chancy and Ollie are about to discover that some towns are a lot easier to ride into than to ride out of....From the Paperback edition.

In this Ralph Compton western, a wagon train goes dangerously off course...Jeremiah Correy is leading his family in a wagon train to Oregon when his plans are waylaid by a group of bounty hunters led by Sam Madigan, who take a man from Correy's party—the quiet, unassuming Emmett Natham, who is actually a known fugitive. But Madigan also aims to nab the rest of the travelers and ransom them off. Now, Jeremiah must stop Madigan—and his greatest ally may be the mysterious and dangerous Emmett Natham, whose skills could save them all—or lead them to their deaths...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

In this Ralph Compton western, an outlaw tries to turn his back on crime...Eli had always led the life of an outlaw. Cutting corners and breaking the law, he knows how to get away with pretty much anything—until he's caught red handed attempting to rob a wagon set out as a trap. Imprisoned and alone, Eli is unsure whether the members of his gang have made it out alive, or if the men behind the disguised wagon are after his life. But he is sure about Lyssa—the beauty who selflessly takes care of him in prison. As Eli struggles to reform his law breaking ways, he is forced to come into terms with the man he has become and who he wants to be...More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!From the Paperback edition.

An extraordinary saga of the trail-blazing cowboys who made their fortune driving cattle from Texas to the great frontier. Hard-riding Texans were braving mountains, desert and Indian war— for the promise of a golden land called California...Over one million copies of Ralph Compton's Trail Drive novels in print!Missouri was closed to Texas cattle. Santa Fe was closed by murder. Now, they had one choice: cross desert mountains and hostile Indian land— to a place called California...The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains, brawn, and boldness to drive them north to where the money was. Now, Ralph, Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary epic series based on the history-blazing trail drives.For the ranchers riding with Rand Hayes, things had gone from bad to worse. The Santa...

A father is on the hunt for justice in this Ralph Compton western... Frontier life is hard enough without having kids to worry about—especially for a widower like Paul Meakes. Still, he's settled where he is and resolved to stay in the small Colorado town his son and daughter call home. So when his daughter is hit by a seemingly poisoned arrow during an Indian raid, Paul is determined to track down the Comanche villains who hurt his little girl—and bring them to justice with the help of Indian hunter Hank Adley, a hired gun who's got business of his own with the tribe. But when the trail leads from a close call with Indian warriors to a deadly intrigue, Paul discovers that the dangers of the West are far greater and more varied than he ever imagined. And to save his family, he has no choice but to take a stand against them all.... More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books in Print!From the Paperback edition.

KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOVE WATER Mississippi charmer Abner Mason is a professional gambler and a regular on the Delta Jack, a luxurious riverboat. But luck hasn't exactly been going Mason's way. After a disastrous loss at the tables, he owes an impossible debt to the most powerful man on the ship: mysterious, ruthless Cam Greeley. And Greeley's willing to do whatever it takes to get his fortune back—even threaten Mason's life. Now Mason has a single night to raise all the funds to pay off his debt by completing whatever ominous jobs Greeley has waiting for him. He just has to make it through alive...

Stampedes, rustlers, and hostile Indians wouldn't slow them down. They were bound for Kansas, and a Texas-sized fight!The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maerick longhorns and the brains, brown and boldness to drive them north where the money was. Now, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary epic series based on the history-blazing trail drives.The Shawnee TrailLong John Coons, the Cajun son of a conjuring woman, was driving 2,000 head of cattle north from Texas to the railroad in Kansas--through Indian Territory and outlaw strongholds. At his side was a beautiful woman with a sordid past, three ex-cattle rustlers, some renegate Indians, Mexican vanqueros and a straight-laced young trail boss. And while Long John tried to keep his hot headed crew from killing each other before they reached the end of the line, the biggest dangers was waiting up ahead--where...

FAMILY MATTERS Thad Taylor is no one's idea of a fine man. Usually drunk and shiftless, he's disapproved of by most—especially his father. But when his father doesn't return from a trip across the Kansas plains, Thad is the only one who can search for him. And he's far from ready for the ordeal. Because his father is already dead. He has fallen victim to the bloody Benders—a demented family who lures travelers into their cabin way station only to rob and brutally murder them. Now, for his father's memory, Thad must hunt the Benders down and deliver them either to the law—or to the grave.