William W Johnstone

"For generations, the Jensens have struggled to build their home, their land, and their dreams. But now the family is forced to fight fire with fire, bullet by bullet, blood for blood. For Smoke and his daughter Denny, life on the Sugarloaf Ranch is more valuable than all the gold in the world. Which works out fine, since all the gold mines in Big Rock were squeezed dry years ago. Even so, that won't stop a pair of smooth-talking businessmen from...

"On the blood-stained battlefields of a divided nation, Dr Samuel Knight used his surgical skills to treat wounded Confederate soldiers. In the brutal prison camps of the Union Army, he offered his healing services to fellow captives who'd given up hope. But now, with the war over and the South in ruins, the good doctor faces his hardest challenge yet: to save himself. Penniless and hungry, Knight has to beg, borrow, and steal to survive in a post-war...

"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...

Lawmen don't last long in the town of Doubtful, Wyoming Territory. The last one quit, another ended up in a noose, and one more was backshot by hired guns. But Doubtful has never seen the likes of the man known only as Cotton, who aims to take the badge for $125 a month, save himself a nice chunk of money over the next year, and be on his way. At least, that's his plan. Problem is, Cotton has just stuck his nose in the biggest hornet's nest in the...

William W. Johnstone's vivid, uncompromising novels stand as violent portraits of the rugged American frontiersman and the forces that forged him. In this powerful novel, Johnstone tells the story of a young Missourian forced by fate and violence into lawlessness—where he sees a chance to right the wrong that shattered his family and his soul...

Smoke Jensen is a young man raised on loss and bitterness, nurtured by a mountain man named Preacher.

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"Flint Moran was fourteen years old when the Civil War ended. He was fifteen when his family bought a plot of land near Tinhorn, Texas. He was barely nineteen when he caught a pair of rustlers stealing cattle - and singlehandedly brought them to justice. How did a teenaged boy track down and capture two hardcase thieves without any help? That's what Tinhorn sheriff Buck Jackson wants to know. He can't help but be impressed by Flint's sharp eye and...

"Missouri, 1860. Rumors of war between the North and South are spreading across the land. In rural Green County, many of the farmers are already choosing sides. But not John Zachary. His loyalties lie with his family first--and his heart is telling him to go west. Hoping to build a new life in the fertile valleys of Oregon, he convinces his best friend, Emmitt Braxton, to pack up their families and join him on a wagon train across the Oregon Trail....

In the fall of 1873, a wagon train of immigrants sets off from Missouri for the Montana Territory. Leading them is wagon master Jamie Ian MacCallister, a giant of a man who swears he can get them there by Christmas -- come hell or high snow drifts. The journey is plagued by brutal storms and rugged terrain, outlaws and hostile Indians. Just when things look nearly hopeless, two unlikely saviors arrive: an old mountain man known as Preacher and legendary...

"Like most families, the Jensens gather together to celebrate the holidays. This year, since half the clan is scattered across the American West, they've decided to split the difference and meet up in Tucson. Matt and Luke will be there, for sure, and maybe Ace and Chance, too. That leaves Sally, Preacher, and Smoke Jensen, who've reserved three seats on a westbound stage to make sure they don't miss out on the festivities. What could possibly go...

"The Kerrigans have fought long and hard to carve out their own piece of heaven on the Texas frontier. And when evil comes knocking at their door, with guns blazing, there'll be hell to pay . . . NO SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL It begins with a simple act of kindness--and ends in a shocking night of violence. A homeless family shows up on Kate Kerrigan's doorstep, seeking refuge from a vengeful rancher's wrath. Seeing their desperation--and fear--the West...