Ralph Compton The Reluctant Lawman

A gunman wants to hang up his Colts in this fast-paced installment of Ralph Compton’s Sundown Riders series. Luke Lessing was told his career at the Pinkerton Agency was assured, thanks to his skill with pistol and rifle. But when his partner got ambushed, Luke was widely blamed. Discouraged with Pinkerton politics, he moved on to a job as sheriff in a “sleepy” little town in Colorado, only to barely escape with his life. So Luke happily traded wearing a badge for cooking at the Comstock Café in Virginia City, hub of the fabled Comstock Lode. He’d put his past behind him—until a bushwhacked marshal and a confrontation with an old enemy drag him into a whirlpool of corruption, missing miners, and concealed treasure, where you can never tell who will betray you next. Luke’s pressured to pin on a badge yet again, not only by the Secretary of the Nevada Territory, but the Secretary’s boss, who happens to be President of the United States. There’s a lot of dough on the line, but not the kind he’s got a talent for. What does a fella have to do to get back to baking biscuits? More than eight million Ralph Compton books in print!

In this rousing new Ralph Compton Western, a young man must learn to lead if his companions are to face a band of outlaws—and survive. Back home in California after a failed attempt to strike it rich in the silver mines of Colorado, the last thing Eugene Castor wants is to be recruited to join a manhunt. But Castor finds it impossible to turn down his father's old friend, Marshal Arthur Adams. Besides, the reward is sizeable. Not only did a band of outlaws rob Old Man Herbert, the richest man in town, but they kidnapped his new wife, too! The posse is a volatile mix that includes Herbert's hot-tempered son, the family's cold-eyed hired gun, a crack shot rancher with no time for a loser like Castor, and Geneva Harriot, the town's controversial lady doctor. Out on the trail of the fugitives, the group encounters a traveling medicine show, a band of rowdy prospectors, and a whole passel of bloody trouble. As they race to catch up to the outlaws, Castor starts to realize things may not be what they seem. After his previous failures, will he be able to trust himself enough to get to the bottom of what really happened?

Two men brave the unforgiving frontier in this western in Ralph Compton's Sundown Riders series. 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. More Than Eight Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

A woman seeks revenge for her father’s murder in this tense installment of bestselling author Ralph Compton’s Gunfighter series Eight years ago, vicious bandits killed Marshall Tobias Cassidy and left his daughter for dead. They thought they got away clean. Now a contest to determine the top shootist in the Wild West is set to take place in Fortune’s Cross and lady gunslinger Hope Cassidy has come to town…only it’s not for glory, it’s for vengeance. After gunning down one of the men who murdered her father, Hope is given a stark choice: swing from a rope, or take the dead man's place in the contest. As the number of guns in play dwindles, Hope learns the identity of the person who ordered her father’s death all those years ago. She will make him pay for what he’s done, just like she did the others. But first she must survive a competition in which there can be only one competitor left alive...

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 man’s luck runs out...

A keen judge of horseflesh takes a wild ride in this suspenseful new Western by USA Today bestselling author Ralph Cotton Two deputies fresh from a hard-won gunfight with the gang of notorious outlaw Dolan Coyle stroll into a saloon in the dusty little town of Broken Hat, inquiring after one Will Summers. The men are looking to swap out their exhausted horses, and they could use extra men, too. Just on the outskirts of town, Axel Coyle waits with the remnants of his brother’s crew, ready to shoot down the men who captured their leader. The deputies offer Summers a paid position in the posse escorting Dolan into federal custody. If they only knew how well acquainted the horse trader once was with the killer chained up out front, they might second-guess their proposal. Dolan had chosen a reckless trail for himself, like Summers and many others had done in their early years. Summers could not say exactly what had directed him off that trail before it managed to settle into his blood, but he’s grateful. He just doesn’t know if that resolution will hold now that his past has landed on him out of a clear blue sky… More than four million Ralph Cotton books in print!

A young cowboy finds gold—and a whole lot of trouble—in this action-packed adventure in Ralph Compton’s Sundown Riders series. It’s the bitterest winter anyone can remember, and Earl Tyrone can barely hold back the wolves preying on his family’s last few cattle. He gets no help from his older brother, Byrd, who’s only interested in striking out for California. Leaving Earl the sole protector of their ma and sister, Byrd finally reveals the secret source of the funds for his ticket West: he found gold on the ranch, and now it's Earl’s fortune to mine—if he’s strong enough and smart enough to hold on to it. Earl realizes he’ll have to weave a fabric of lies to protect his family and keep prospectors from swarming his land. He hits on a clever plan, but its unintended consequences are rife: painful misunderstandings, conflict with the Utes, and outright murder. Earl’s stash of glittering gold has become instead a black cloud over his family. Can he come up with a new plan to dispel that cloud and find peace and stability at last?

Two bandits are forced to put aside their rivalry to find a hidden cache of gold in this suspenseful installment in Ralph Compton's bestselling Gunfighter series. Outlaws. Assassins. Thieves. That is how Chris Burr and Katie Roper are known. Ordinarily they’re enemies and competitors. But when they each find themselves in possession of half a map that will lead them to a fortune in hidden gold, they’re left with no choice but to work together. Their alliance is tenuous at best, and what begins as a tentative, untrusting partnership will soon become a game of cat and mouse through a sun-scorched land ravaged by the fiery conflict of the civil war. As Chris and Katie learn that survival may depend on trusting each other, they are pursued across the desert by both a sheriff and a relentless, cold-blooded killer. With their fortunes and futures hanging in the balance, the hunters and the hunted find themselves on a collision course that will culminate in a final, deadly reckoning!