Bøger af William W. Johnstone

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE DEATH RIDES FASTER THAN THE WIND. For the greatest trapper in the country, there's no place like the Rocky Mountains. Preacher and his son Hawk are riding the High Lonesome when the clear mountain air is split by a girl's savage screams. A gang of ruthless trappers has kidnapped a Crow woman, but before they escape with her, Preacher and Hawk burst out of the tree line, guns spitting fire. They drive the trappers off, only to find that she's not Crow, but white. Caroline has been raised by the Crow since childhood, the only people she's ever known. To get her home, Preacher and Hawk will have to blast their way off this mountain, gunning down kill-crazy trappers and merciless Blackfeet warriors. Because it's never really quiet on the western front. The First Mountain Man PREACHER'S RAGE

"He blew into town like a tornado-a mysterious stranger with money to burn and a sadistic streak as wide as the Rio Grande. He says his name is Benson and he's come to invest in the town's future. First, he showers the banks and local businesses with cash. Then, he hires a pair of drunks to fight and get arrested so he can check out the local lawmen. After that, he warms up to a lady of the evening-with deadly results. That's just the beginning. By the time Slash and Pecos return to town after a quick-and-dirty cargo run, Benson has enlisted half the outlaws in the territory for his own private army. The local lawmen are quickly slaughtered and the US marshals are no match. With looters amock and killers festering on every corner, a person would have to be stupid or crazy to try to take the town back . . . Luckily, Slash and Pecos are a little of both. They've been around long enough to see the worst in men-and they know that the best way to stop a very bad hombre . . . is to be even badder"--

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. HOMESTYLE JUSTICE WITH A SIDE OF SLAUGHTER.In this explosive new series, Western legend Luke Jensen teams up with chuckwagon cook Dewey “Mac” McKenzie to dish out a steaming plate of hot-blooded justice. But in a corrupt town like Hangman’s Hill, revenge is a dish best served cold . . .BEANS, BOURBON, AND BLOOD: A RECIPE FOR DISASTERThe sight of a rotting corpse hanging from a noose is enough to stop any man in his tracks—and Luke Jensen is no exception. Sure, he could just keep riding through. He’s got a prisoner to deliver, after all. But when a group of men show up with another prisoner for another hanging, Luke can’t turn his back—especially when the condemned man keeps swearing he’s innocent. Right up to the moment he’s hung by the neck till he’s dead . . .Welcome to Hannigan’s Hill, Wyoming. Better known as Hangman’s Hill.Luke’s pretty shaken up by what he’s seen and decides to stay the night, get some rest and grab some grub. The town marshal agrees to lock up Luke’s prisoner while Luke heads to a local saloon and restaurant called Mac’s Place. The pub’s owner—a former chuckwagon cook named Dewey “Mac” McKensie—serves up a bellyfull of chow and an earful of gossip. According to Mac, the whole stinking town is run by corrupt cattle baron Ezra Hannigan. Ezra owns practically everything. Including the town marshal. And anyone who gets in his way ends up swinging from a rope . . .Mac might be just an excellent cook. But he’s got a ferocious appetite for justice—and a fearsome new friend in Luke Jensen. Together, they could end Hannigan’s reign of terror. But when Hannigan calls in his hired guns, it’ll be their necks on the line . . . or dancing from the end of a rope.

"Tinhorn, Texas, is a small town, quiet and peaceful. Sheriff Buc k Jackson and Deputy Flint Moran go to great pains to keep it that way. So when two drifters arrive in town--one nursing a bullet wound--the lawmen suspect trouble ain't far behind. Bart McCoy and Roy Tate claim to be cattlemen and have more than enough cash to prove it. But Buck and Flint don't believe Tate's story of accidentally shooting McCoy while cleaning his gun. Then four more men arrive, armed to the teeth, looking to fill the supposed ranchers full of lead. Turns out six outlaws robbed a Wells Fargo Office and murdered a guard. Then the thieves turned against each other--and McCoy and Tate's escaped with the loot. Now their former friends have hunted them to Tinhorn and will massacre everyone in town to retrieve their ill-gotten gains. Buck and Flint have sworn to protect Tinhorn to the fullest extent of the law. And in the wild west of Texas, the only law bandits and killers understand comes from the business end of a gun"--

"South Texas, 1854. Regis Royle is determined to turn eighteen-thousand acres of raw prairie into the greatest cattle ranch in the world. But he can't do it alone. The region is wilder than a herd of mustangs--and crawling with rustlers. Teaming up with the Cattlemen's Justice Consortium, Regis hopes to stop the rustling and start laying tracks for a new railway. Problem is, the cattlemen--including Jarvis "Bone" McGraw, Regis's own ranch manager--can't help but lock horns with the Texas Rangers. And it doesn't take long for this brewing pot of very bad blood to get a whole lot worse ... First blood is spilled in Corpus Christie. Regis's reckless young brother Shep is wounded by the beautiful daughter of their fiercest enemies, the powerful Valdez family. The news of a possible rail line has divided the ranchers into warring factions. And Regis Royle has to keep the peace with McGraw, take a gamble with his business partner, and keep his wayward brother in one piece. But things really heat up when Regis learns that the Valdez family are claiming rights to the Royle Ranch's land. And they'll do anything to get it back. Even kill ... The brothers Royle may be newcomers but they're no greenhorns. They've got what it takes to be Texans. And that means never stop fighting for your dream"--

"Something fishy is going on with the beef at Circle P. After a quick-and-dirty shootout with a small band of rustlers, Ty Brannigan and his son Matt do another count of their cattle -- and find they have over one hundred head more than before. Seems the rustlers were hiding stolen cows from other ranches among the Brannigan herd. And that's just the tip of the cowpie. In jail, the rustlers rat out their partners to the local marshal. They're not just stealing cattle. They're plotting the biggest bank robbery in the county's bullet-riddled history. And this time, they're going to make a real killing . . . Months in the planning -- and just days away -- the countdown to doomsday has begun. The Brannigans and the town marshal must race against time to track down the robbers before they strike -- or innocent people will die. But the Brannigans aren't afraid of danger. When the clock runs out -- and the shooting starts -- every man's days are numbered . . ."--

Includes an excerpt from: MacCallister Chrismas.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE BLOOD RUNS COLD John Holt is a traveling gunslinger. He's been liberating dirty towns west of the Mississippi of murdering outlaw trash ever since the Civil War ended. No questions asked. Payment on demand. The only way out of this town is in a pinewood box. Holt's latest job is in Devil's Gulch in Colorado Territory. But wiping out bands of bank robbers is just the beginning. More disorder is brewing, and the skittish mayor has handpicked Holt as the new sheriff. Holt is what the town needs: a mercenary with a badge, a loaded Remington, and a deadeye-aim for trouble. Devil's Gulch has the vigilance committee. The man behind it--Joe Mullen, the largest rancher and mine owner in the valley--isn't keen on an outsider like Holt muscling in on a good thing. Mullen already has his hand in all the crime in Devil's Gulch. He also triggers it. He likes keeping things wild. With the barbaric Bostrom brood under his command, he's hoping it stays that way. Holt quickly finds himself on familiar ground: up against cutthroats on the other side of the only law that counts. Holt's law. Devil's Gulch is his town now. And he's itching to clean it till it sparkles.

"When greed overtakes men's souls, it falls to the righteous mountaineer known as Preacher to rain fire and brimstone upon them from the barrels of his guns . . . Preacher has agreed to escort Barnaby Cooper through Dakota Territory's hills to establish a trading post. Accompanied by his friends Lorenzo and Tall Dog, the mountain man hopes they'll be able to protect Cooper from Sioux warriors who don't want any white man trespassing on their sacred grounds. But the Sioux aren't the only hostiles staking their claim in the region. Englishman Albion Shaw knows there's gold in the hills. And with a band of cutthroat killers to do his bidding, Shaw has enough manpower and firepower to keep both trappers and tribes from settling on the land where he can build an empire. But Shaw didn't reckon on crossing a man like Preacher. A man who not only knows what it takes to survive in the wilderness, but a man who will fight for freedom and justice to his very last breath--and his very last bullet . . "--

"After thirty hard years of chasing stampedes into storms and pushing herds of half-crazy cows across the plains, longtime buddies and cattle drivers Casey Tubbs and Eli Doolin are ready to hang up their spurs. But when they get to Abilene with their final delivery of two thousand cows, the company lawyer has skipped town with their crew's entire wages. That means there's just one last job Eli and Casey will have to do... Steal it back. Sure, pulling off a robbery is a new challenge for these old boys. But they've learned a lot of tricks over the years --and they're one hell of a team. Between the two of them, they devise a scheme to hold up the lawyer on the noon train and deliver the money to the men who earned it. Except after pulling off the perfect crime--and getting away with it--an honest, peaceful retirement stops sounding so good. Casey and Eli start thinking they may have missed their calling in life. This could be the start of a whole new career . . . as outlaws"--

"From Confederate marauder to rebel gunfighter to repentant preacherman, circuit rider Taylor Callahan's road to perdition has been a hellish ride. Sinners beware. After riding with Missouri bushwhackers, Taylor Callahan vowed to never take another life. He's making good on it in Peaceful Valley. But this little settlement is about to become anything but peaceable. When the marshal takes a bullet in an ambush he pins a badge on Taylor, leaving the circuit rider open to a whole new world of hell. Railroad investors building a line from Laramie to Denver want to lay track over the top of Peace Treaty Peak. If that's not enough to set the county on fire, Taylor's trigger-happy past comes calling. The revenge-seeking Harris boys are hot on his trail. With the marshal down, Peaceful Valley is ripe for the taking -- and blasting Taylor to kingdom come is part of the deal. If keeping the peace means breaking Taylor's vow, so be it. He's looking forward to strapping on his Colt .45 again. That's the gospel truth."--

Slash and Pecos come face-to-face with the baddest hombre they’ve ever known: a kill-crazy mad man who’s paving the road to hell—with bloodlust.He blew into town like a tornado—a mysterious stranger with money to burn and a sadistic streak as wide as the Rio Grande. He says his name is Benson and he’s come to invest in the town’s future. First, he showers the banks and local businesses with cash. Then, he hires a pair of drunks to fight and get arrested so he can check out the local lawmen. After that, he warms up to a lady of the evening—with deadly results.That’s just the beginning.By the time Slash and Pecos return to town after a quick-and-dirty cargo run, Benson has enlisted half the outlaws in the territory for his own private army. The local lawmen are quickly slaughtered and the US marshals are no match. With looters amock and killers festering on every corner, a person would have to be stupid or crazy to try to take the town back . . .Luckily, Slash and Pecos are a little of both. They’ve been around long enough to see the worst in men—and they know that the best way to stop a very bad hombre . . . is to be even badder.

"There are a million ways to die in the great state of Texas. And on the lawless streets of New Hope, the odds are even worse. Once the home of Comanche, the region has been up for grabs since the settlers drove off the natives. Now it's a magnet for settlers looking for cheap land, merchants looking to exploit its resources -- and outlaws looking for a place to hide in between robbing and killing. With shootouts and showdowns being a nightly occurrence, it's one of the deadliest places on earth. And the governor ain't happy about it. He wants to clean up the town. He wants to wipe away the scum. And he knows just the man to do it. Enter Cullen McCabe. A small-town sheriff turned special agent, McCabe doesn't care what he has to do -- or who he has to kill -- to rid this hellhole of every rustler, robber, and ruthless cuss in sight. Especially the notorious Viper Gang."--

"He blew into town like a tornado--a mysterious stranger with money to burn and a sadistic streak as wide as the Rio Grande. He says his name is Benson and he's come to invest in the town's future. First, he showers the banks and local businesses with cash. Then, he hires a pair of drunks to fight and get arrested so he can check out the local lawmen. After that, he warms up to a lady of the evening--with deadly results. That's just the beginning. By the time Slash and Pecos return to town after a quick-and-dirty cargo run, Benson has enlisted half the outlaws in the territory for his own private army. The local lawmen are quickly slaughtered and the US marshals are no match. With looters amock and killers festering on every corner, a person would have to be stupid or crazy to try to take the town back... Luckily, Slash and Pecos are a little of both. They've been around long enough to see the worst in men--and they know that the best way to stop a very bad hombre... is to be even badder"--

Includes an excerpt from Bad hombres (pages 293-315).