Akron Public Library

A harsh and deadly land... Rye Tyler was twelve when he saw his father cut down in an Indian raid. Taken in by a mysterious stranger with a taste for Shakespeare and an instinct for survival, Rye is schooled in the lessons of a hard country. Then tragedy forces him to live a loner's life in a wild land of canyons and buttes, and on dust-choked cattle trails. But his skill with a gun has earned Rye a bloody reputation he can't escape. Though he's...

Kilkenny wasn't looking for trouble when he entered the Clifton House stage station, but trouble found him when a reckless youngster called Tetlow challenged him, drew his gun, and paid for it with his life. Looking to escape the fast-draw reputation he never wanted, Kilkenny settles in the lonely mountains of Utah, planning to ranch in a high, lush valley. Jared Tetlow is a powerful rancher who is determined to run his vast herd on the limited grasslands...

New Englander Wayne Cameron longed for the wide open spaces. He heard of the daring feat proposed by Western Union to join the two oceans by telegraph wire. He siezed the chance to work for them and to explore the Wild West. Soon the savagery of the Indians, the raging torrents and devastating prairie fires, the stampeding beasts and the bloody fueds betweent the ranchers and the settlers almost sent him packing.

Rafe Caradec - gambler, wanderer, soldier of fortune - was as hard a man as the battlefields and waterfronts of Latin America could fashion, but he was as good as his word. As Charles Rodney lay dying in a dank ship's fo'c'sle. Rafe swore to make sure that Rodney's Wyoming ranch went to his daughter, Ann. In Painted Rock, Wyoming, Caradec found land for a man to love, miles of rolling grasslands and towering mountains. He also found that one of the...

Tap Duvarney fought in the War Between the States, then signed on as an Indian fighter with the frontier army. Now he's settled in Texas, working a ranch as the partner of his old friend Tom Kittery -- and in the middle of a blood feud between Kittery and the vicious Munson clan. Around Matagorda, most folks are either on the side of the Munsons -- or laying low. With Kittery and the Munsons out to spill each other's blood, and Kittery's woman stirring...

Harbin was the gunslinger. All he wanted was the gold. Badger was just a little weasel, waiting to see where the chips fell before he made his move. Nora was an orphan, searching for news of her lost parents. But Kid Rodelo? He was the man of mystery. Who was he? What did he want? Ahead of them was fifty miles of desert hell. Behind them was a band of savage, bounty-hunting Yaquis. Only Rodelo could save them. But would he?

Lance Kilkenny's is believed to be the fastest gun in the West, but once the gunfight is over, he disappears. Most folks don't even know what he looks like. Some time back, Mort Davis saved Kilkenny's life after he was shot up. Now Davis needs Kilkenny's help. He has filed a claim on a water hole near Lost Creek in the live oak country. The district is dominated by two wealthy cattlemen, Webb Steele and Chet Lord, each one claiming for himself the...

Shanghaied into forced labor on a merchant vessel, Charles Rodney dies aboard ship from repeated beatings -- but not before deeding part of his ranch to Rafe Caradec, who he hopes will protect his family.

An Easterner on his way West did not reckon on gamblers, rustlers, thieves, and gunslinger, Tex McCall. When he took over McCall's woman, he learned how to dodge bullets and shoot to kill.

"Across the ranchlands and cities of his home state, Rory Yates's discipline and law-enforcement skills have carried him far--from local highway patrolman to the honorable rank of Texas Ranger. A tough case in Waco has jeopardized Yates's chances at promotion, and he decides to take time off to recharge with his family in their small-town hometown, Redbud. He arrives and finds a horrifying crime scene--and a scathing accusation: he is named a suspect...