Elmer Kelton

Working faithfully for a Texas rancher despite his family's warnings, Chacho Fernandez steals his payment when his dishonest employer refuses to compensate him and is falsely accused of murdering a lawman.

Ranger Andy Pickard and his partner, Logan Daggett, are sent to central Texas to investigate a series of killings and cattle thefts. The two biggest cattlemen in the area blame each other for the violence, but it seems to Andy that neither man may be guilty. The case is complicated by the rise of a gang of "regulators" - masked vigilantes - and the arrival of a notorious hired gunman whose employer is unknown.

Joe Pepper is a Texas badman with quite a past. In fact, there isn't much that Joe hasn't done in his forty years of living on both sides of the Texas law-except face the hangman. Now, convicted of murder, Joe is about to get that privilege. But before he goes, Joe has a few things he wants to say-and a few stories that he wants to set straight. With Joe Pepper, legendary Western writer Elmer Kelton tells a fine and moving tale of the history of his...

In post-Civil War Texas, Andy Pickard, once known to his Comanche "family" as Badger Boy, is now in his mid-twenties and riding with the Texas Rangers. While delivering a prisoner for trial, he becomes entangled in a feud between the Landon and Hopper families. Andy works to help Jayce Landon, while at the same time keeping the boy Scooter Tennyson from being pulled into a life of crime. Lives are at stake, loyalties tested, and the worst aspects...

The Civil War is over and Confederate Texas is reluctantly yielding to Union military peace-keepers and regulations imposed by Washington. David "Rusty" Shannon is the member of a "ranging company" attempting to protect Texas settlers from Comanche depredations. He learns that the rangers are being disbanded. He makes his way home to his farm on the Colorado River, and discovers that the land around his home is filled with hostiles Indians, Confederates,...

As a slave, Isaac Jefford went to war and saved the life of his master, Major Lytton. As a free man, Isaac became one of the major's top cowhands, respected-but never totally accepted-by fellow cowboys: when they gathered around the fire to eat their dinner, Isaac took his food and sat on the wagontongue alone. When Pete Runyan, a bitter southerner, joins the crew, Isaac has to swallow his rage more than once. But then Pete and Isaac are assigned...

Deputy Sheriff Jim-Bob McClain isn't sure he's ready to follow in his father's footsteps as the law in Coolridge County. In fact, he has a hard enough time keeping the peace between the drunks in the local saloon. But with tough Sheriff Mont Naylor to back him up he figures he can handle whatever comes his way. Jim-Bob's first real assignment is no piece of cake. He must escort a ruthless outlaw into the hands of justice. All seems well with the lawless...

Elmer Kelton's westerns are filled with authentic details and unforgettable characters. With works including The Smiling Country and Texas Rifles, he has won six Golden Spur Awards and attracted a world-wide audience of fans. By 1873, the great buffalo herds have been all but wiped out, and the hide hunters are looking for other work. So when Gage Jameson hears of one remaining herd, he sees a final opportunity to make a huge profit. But to find the...

Nothing stirs up emotions in Texas like men stealing other men's horses. Texas Ranger Andy Pickard is assigned what seems to be a routine duty. West Texas horse trader Donley Bannister has killed a thug named Cletus Slocum who stole one of his horses. Ranger Pickard is to find and arrest Bannister, and bring him to trial. But the case turns out to be anything but routine. When Pickard finds him holed up with some cohorts, Bannister saves the Ranger's...

Elmer Kelton, voted "The Greatest Western Writer of All Time" by the Western Writers of America, is a legend in the field of Western literature. Famous for his realistic characters and accurate depictions of the history of his home state of Texas, Elmer Kelton continues to write exceptional novels of American history.

In Hanging Judge, Justin Moffitt is eager to help keep the peace as a deputy marshal in small-town Texas. That is, until Justin

...