The Downtown Desperadoes

When Ricky and his friends and family forego a planned vacation to return to New York City to help an old friend, they become involved in a mystery which includes blackmail, arson, and lost love.

Twelve-year-old Ricky receives a strange phone call from a street preacher he knows in New York City and is drawn into a confusing tangle of arson, blackmail, and kidnapping. Sequel to "Lost Beneath Manhattan."

The award-winning author of The Two Civil War Battles of Newtonia “mine[s] the rich vein of bad men—and succeeds because of solid research.” —Fred Pfitser, editor, Ozarks Mountaineer This collection of events carries readers through an era of bootlegging, highway robbery, and vigilante courts. From the cow town of Baxter Springs, Kansas, to the booming mining camp of Granby, Missouri, the Ozarks were a magnet for lawlessness. Though some stories contain gory details, the author’s intention in narrating these events is not to pay tribute to the likes of the Tri-State Terror, Bloody Britton, or the Missouri Kid. Instead Larry Wood aspires to come to terms with the region’s violent past, learn from it, and move forward. Among tales of desperate characters and brutal murders is a strengthening of law and order. As the area’s criminals wreak havoc, the Ozarks become the staging area for the last public hanging in the United States and the FBI’s first killing of a criminal. Each chapter is filled with the grisly excitement of flying bullets and mob lynchings as vengeance is dealt by the betrayed, but the book also captures the changes made to protect law-abiding citizens. “Full of damnable acts, but they make for some darn interesting reading.” —HistoryNet

In October 1935, three prairie farm boys embarked on a deadly trail of robbery and murder that stretched across three western Canadian provinces and made newspaper headlines from coast to coast and as far away as Los Angeles. By the end of the spree, seven people were dead, including the fugitives themselves and four law-enforcement officers. For the next 70 years, these Depression-era “farm-boy killers” held the distinction of being the RCMP’s deadliest adversaries. In Dirty Thirties Desperadoes, Rich Mole recounts the full story of these young men who achieved notoriety as bandits and killers. In telling their tale, and that of the men who fought for their lives near the gates of Banff National Park, he also chronicles the economic, social and political challenges of the Great Depression that turned men on both sides of the law into victims.

"A thrilling true crime narrative and groundbreaking historical account, Dime Novel Desperadoes recovers the long-forgotten story of Ed and Lon Maxwell, the outlaw brothers from Illinois who once rivaled Jesse and Frank James in national notoriety. Growing up hard as the sons of a struggling tenant farmer, the Maxwell brothers started their lawbreaking as robbers and horse thieves in the 1870s, embarking on a life of crime that quickly captured the public eye." "A stunning saga of robbery and horse stealing, gunfights and manhunts, murder and mob violence, Dime Novel Desperadoes also delves into the cultural and psychological factors that produced lawbreakers and created a crime wave in the post-Civil War era. By pointing to social inequities, media distortions, and justice system failures, John E. Hallwas reveals the complicity of nineteenth-century culture in the creation of violent criminals. Further, by featuring astute, thought-provoking analysis of the lawbreaker's mindset, this book explores the issue at the heart of humanity's quest for justice: the perpetrator's responsibility for his criminal acts."--BOOK JACKET.

The lives of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow started in Texas, but their stories have become legend across the country. They, along with a band of other ne'er-do-wells from other Texas towns, grew to national infamy during the Great Depression. West Dallas's Ralph Fults smuggled hacksaw blades into jail to break out Raymond Hamilton. In Galveston, the Downtown Gang, Beach Gang, Maceo brothers and others hustled and smuggled liquor for their speakeasy casinos. In 1940, bank robber and Texas Public Enemy Number One Red Goleman led authorities on a wild chase through Texas's Big Thicket. But behind the headlines lived real people and a Texas legacy. Author Bartee Haile weaves the stories of the well-known Barrow Gang, along with other notorious criminals of the day, together with their Texas roots..

Desperado was something of a wild child. He explored the territory around his birthplace because there was no lock he couldn't pick. That early exploration would later save lives. Desperado had two loves in his life. One was his 80-year-old owner Hilda. The other was his 14-year-old rider, Todd. His biggest fear was Hilda's children would sell him to a man he despised after her death. Unfortunately an incident occurred that let Desperado prove beyond doubt what he felt in his heart. He ran into danger when all other creatures ran the other way. He ran through fire to protect the ones he loved. He hoped it would be enough to ensure his future with Todd on the land he called home.

Risking his neck—and falling in love!—is all in a day’s work in New York Times bestseller Diana Palmer’s classic Desperado Cord Romero lives for the adrenaline rush that comes with being a mercenary for hire. But this time the job is personal. Having barely survived a murder attempt, Cord is determined to neutralize his foe. In order to get closer to his target, Cord joins forces with the Lassiter Detective Agency, where he’s reunited with childhood friend Maggie Barton. Maggie is no longer the impressionable young woman he once knew. She is strong, independent and in charge of her own life—and, professionally, Cord’s equal. But Maggie has one vulnerability: a tragic secret from her past that threatens her relationship with Cord…and sets her up as a pawn for his deadly enemy. As sparks fly between them, he vows to save her—at any cost.