Sundown Riders Books
Between Kansas City and Montana Territory were a thousand ways to die-and a few bold men who would never turn back. Miners dug for fortunes. Soldiers died on open plains. And a few brave men drove the wooden freight wagons into the wild land. Now, master Western novelist Ralph Compton tells the real story of the touch-as-leather men who carried supplies, guns and gold into the untamed frontier. Dutch Siringo rose from modest beginnings and proved his skill with a team of horses and a gun. Betrayed by a woman, hunted by a desperate man, Dutch led a group of hard-fighting teamsters where no other shippers would go-through the heart of the Sioux territory, into the teeth of winder along the murderous Bozeman Trail. Now, between Fort Kearny and the mining camps in the Bitterroot Mountains, Dutch and his teamsters faced Montana blizzards, hungry wolves and the kind of enemies you have to bury to outrun.
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!
The lives of three people are intertwined with the journey of one stagecoach-and the $100,000 cargo inside that can solve all their problems...or create more.
Two money hungry bounty hunters bite off more than they can chew in this Ralph Compton western... Charley Pickett was cleaning up the West — working on a farm shoveling you-know-what. Then he met Tony Fabrizio, bar sweep extraordinaire. In need of more money and more respect, they declared themselves bounty hunters—but the job is easier said than done. Going after one of the most wanted outlaws in the West—with a dollar value on his head bigger than they’ve ever seen—they’ll have to learn the tricks of the trade in no time flat… or lose their good-for-nothing lives. More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!
Welcome to Nowhere in this Ralph Compton western... It’s a small town that sits on the border of Texas and the Oklahoma territory. It’s a haven for cutthroats and thieves on the run and looking to raise some hell. It’s a hideaway where outlaws believe the law has no jurisdiction—and justice has no voice. But the citizens who’ve suffered under the boot heels of these desperadoes have had enough. Their unwanted guests have overstayed their welcome. Now it’s time to put Nowhere,Texas on the map… More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!
Across rivers of blood and plains of tears, he led a wagon train toward a country fighting to be born. . . Miners dug for fortunes. Soldiers died on open plains. And a few brave men drove the wooden freight wagons into the wild land. Now, master Western novelist Ralph Compton tells the real story of the tough-as-leather men who first blazed the way into the untamed frontier. Texas! For the pioneers who streamed out of Missouri it was a land of dreams and freedom. Veteran wagon boss Chance McQuade, a man deadly with a pistol and Sharps, had signed on to take a hundred families there. But the man who hired McQuade was joining the wagon train, and turning it into a brawling, rolling city of sin and violence. Now, on the hard drive West, McQuade faces Kiowa, lightening storms, and killers behind his back-all to reach a promised land that's erupting into war.
Two men on opposite sides of the Civil War make their new home on an even more dangerous battleground in this Ralph Compton western... After the surrender of the Confederacy—and the death of his wife—Jed Adams stikes out for the west to find a new home and to build a new life for himself and his sons. Tom Waldron fought to keep the Union intact—and now believes the unsettled land of the West can be cultivated into good fortune for his family. The former soldiers—and enemies—have decided to call the fertile valley of the Guadalupe Mountains their home, on an adjoining piece of land where Jed and Tom each plan to build a cattle ranch. But the only thing they have in common is their battle scars…and the chance that the valley might just be home to another Civil War. More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!
On a frontier torn by war and renegades, they carried a cargo more valuable than gold... Miners dug for fortunes. Soldiers died on open plains. And a few brave men drove the wooden freight wagons into the wild land. Now, master Western novelist Ralph Compton tells the real story of the tough-as-leather men who blazed the way into the untamed frontier. Once they drove longhorns. Now Mac Tunstall and his band of Texans must take a shipment of Winchesters by rail and wagon all the way to the U.S. Army in Austin. But from the moment the wagoneers set out, violence and treachery stalk their trail. From Dodge to the Brazos, half the outlaws on the frontier are aiming to get hold of an arsenal that could blow the West wide open. And Mac and his men don't see one danger until it's too late-four beautiful, headstrong women determined to share a trail of courage and tears all the way to the end.
The war is over, but the fight has just begun in this western in Ralph Compton's USA Today bestselling series. They came back from the war, and their land was gone. The Texas soil they’d nourished with years of backbreaking work had been snatched away. And in a moment of fury at this Yankee plunder, Mark Rogers and Bill Harder cut down a pair of tax collectors…and wound up behind bars in Fort Worth. But then the former Confederate soldiers are offered a choice: they can face their sentences—or infiltrate a gang of whiskey runners who’ve been evading the law between St. Louis and Fort Smith. If they succeed, they’ll gain their freedom…and their confiscated land. But when they meet up with Wolf Estrello and his fellow bandits, they just might wish they’d taken their chances with the firing squad… More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!
The chase is on and the stakes are high in this western in Ralph Compton's USA Today bestselling series. They’re ex-cowpunchers looking to strike it rich—and not having much success. When they deliver a wagon of scotch to a shantytown saloon, the bartender drops dead before paying. No sooner do they take over the bar as payment than it burns to the ground. The cloud above Arlo Wells and Dallas Holt has no silver lining… They finally get a break when they receive a message from an old friend, along with a map. It seems the grizzled prospector finally hit the mother lode in the Superstitious Mountains, only to die shortly thereafter. His last wish was for the two boys to find his beloved nieces and share the claim with them—easy money, except for a few minor problems… Like the despicable stepfather who’s got the nieces, a gang of hired gunmen, and the other half of the map and the Apaches who’ll slaughter anyone daring to tread the ground of their sacred mountains. For Arlo and Dallas, this lucky break may be the worst thing ever to happen to them… More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!
A man rides a path of vengeance in this all-new Ralph Compton Western in the Sundown Riders series. Luke Hadley never imagined he would be left for dead with a chest full of bullets on the day of his wedding. All he wanted to do was tend to his farm with his new wife, Audrey, and begin their lives together. But when the Rhodes Gang crashes his wedding party, they wreak havoc and abduct his bride, leaving the lifeless bodies of his guests. Luke has only a sparse trail of clues to follow, but with help from a phony Pinkerton badge and a mysterious woman with many skills—including breaking him out of jail—he finally rides down those who’ve wronged him.... “The greatest Western writer of them all.”— The Tombstone Epitaph
A brand new, wild and thrilling Western in Ralph Compton's Sundown Riders series! His wife is gone to tuberculosis, his reputation was lost in the war, most of his life has already passed by, and now even his horse has been taken by colic. All Carpenter has left are the men from his Army company. During the journey to California to reunite with them, he strikes up a friendship with Rafael Silva, an educated man making for the same town to start up a rifle factory. When they arrive, Carpenter's former brothers-in-arms actually try to run Silva out of town, despite the much needed factory. There's trouble afoot, and Carpenter has to choose between his new friend and the ones who stood with him through the war. His old comrades just aren't who they used to be but, then, neither is he.
In this thrilling new Ralph Compton Western, the fate of a small town rests in the hands of a gambler who’s ready to risk more than money. The people of Meridian, Colorado, live and die by coal mining, and when the railroad bypasses them, their livelihood is in peril. However, they discover that for a hefty sum of money they can create a spur line and save the town. A hefty sum that the town does not have. Their only hope is former gambler Asa Newcombe. The townspeople pool their money so Newcombe can enter the big poker game in Golden Junction, and as much as he wants to leave his past life behind, the whole town is counting on him. Winning the big pot will burnish his reputation, but his goal is simple: Get the money and get out alive. His opponents include wealthy ranchers, tinhorn gamblers, and men who are outright criminals—and many of them will stop at nothing to make their fortune, even if they have to cheat, drug, or kill to do so....
Two struggling miners may have just found their ticket to fortune—if they can keep it—in this riveting new Ralph Compton Western. England Dan Rutledge and his partner John Cooley have worked their claim for a year and are barely eking out a living. When Cooley shows up with a map of the abandoned Irish Lord Mine he drunkenly bought off a shady cowboy, England Dan is sure it’s a complete fraud. After all, no one knows what happened to the most valuable gold mine in the Superstition Mountains after a banshee frightened off the last owner. But when England Dan gets a good look at the map, details start clicking into place. Maybe they have the key to a fortune after all! But soon an infamous bank robber shows up looking for this mysterious map he claims is his. Now England Dan and his partner will have to fight off hostile Indians, miners, and a dangerous felon to find the cache of gold and strike it rich.
In this roller-coaster new installment in bestselling author Ralph Compton's Sundown Riders series, a young cowhand faces a trial by fire on his way to a new home and an old love. Fresh from a successful trail drive, cattle hand Seth Coe is feeling flush, especially after a lucky streak at the poker table. But his good fortune earns him a dangerous enemy, notorious tinhorn gambler Hannibal Fisher, who is none too happy about being cleaned out. The innocent Coe starts the long ride back to Texas with big plans to buy his own ranch. All he needs now, he figures, is a wife. To his amazement, in tiny Prairie Fire, Kansas he meets the perfect woman, his childhood love Josette Dubois. But she is under the thumb of her brutal father, who will stop at nothing to prevent her happiness, including killing Coe—that is, if Fisher doesn’t get there first. . .
In this brand-new Ralph Compton Western, a hard-bitten gambler and a hard-luck kid begin a treacherous journey to new lives. In Omaha, Tom Calvert boards a riverboat to play high-stakes poker, but accusations of cheating cause some serious trouble, and a deadly gun battle ensues. Tom is injured and knows that his enemies will be looking for him, so he reluctantly accepts a bargain from young stowaway Asher. In exchange for Calvert teaching him gunslinging skills, Asher will guide them to a possibly mythical town of peace and plenty called Friendly Field. To get there they just have to battle assassins, dangerous Shoshone, and the rough wilderness of the Oregon Trail.
In this brand-new, suspenseful Ralph Compton Western, a reformed gambler races to unmask a murderer. After years as a professional gambler - and a deadly shootout on a riverboat casino - Tom Calvert and his young protégé, Asher Smith, have survived an arduous journey across the frontier to Friendly Field, Idaho. The bucolic Quaker community welcomes them with open arms, and soon Tom is courting a widow and learning, to his surprise, to enjoy the quiet life. Then an elder of Friendly Field is found murdered, and the townsfolk start whispering about the work of the devil. Tom doesn’t believe in the devil, just the evil that men do, and he resolves to solve the gruesome crime before fear causes the people of peaceful little Friendly Field to turn against one another.
An ambush leaves a motley group of stagecoach riders fighting for their lives in this new Ralph Compton Western. A quiet stagecoach run between two Texas towns turns bloody when the riders are attacked by bandits and renegade Comanche. They are forced off the main trail and take cover in an abandoned bunkhouse once used for vaqueros when the land was part of a great estate. The stage was not only hauling a strongbox filled with Army pay, but a couple of dozen crates of new rifles for the cavalry. Unfortunately, the guns are useless as the team's ammunition is limited. Now the besieged stage riders have to join forces to fight off the surrounding desperados. The cast includes a veteran freight driver, an impatient disgraced Army captain looking to regain his standing, a newly promoted sergeant in his first battle, and the man riding shotgun, who has a horrible yet useful set of skills. When a vaquero riding outlier for a cattle drive rides out to investigate the siege on the old bunkhouse, he finds himself in the middle of a pitched battle for survival between the ragtag freighters and desperate outlaws.
A sheriff in search of forgiveness faces off with a preacher who hates the sin AND the sinner. . . The Yates Gang, led by its charismatic leader, William Fox, operates by a code. They'll harm no women or children, they'll give half the money they steal to the poor, and they'll kill any lawman, banker, or trainman who tries to stop them. Then a robbery gone bad sends the gang on the run. Fox knows their days are numbered, so he leads his men to a distant town called Crowsfall, Kansas, where they can reform themselves and start fresh. He'll be the town sheriff, and atone for his past by offering a second chance to those who would normally hang. But Crowsfall has drawn the attention of another man interested in redemption. Full of righteous fury, sinister cult leader Reverend Jessup intends to purge Crowsfall of all sin—and declares war on the outlaw-turned-sheriff and the entire gang.
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?
In the tinderbox of Virginia City, fireman Morgan Mason learns the hard way that he just volunteered for the most dangerous job in town in this scorching new Western in Ralph Compton's bestselling Sundown Rider series. Thanks to the discovery of the Comstock Lode, Virginia City, Nevada has made many a rough-hewn millionaire. It seems like everyone is looking to strike it rich, but to Morgan Mason the real prize is being selected as one of the volunteer firemen who are seen as heroes in the dry, tinder box of a town. Recently inducted into the fire brigade, Mason is called to put out a blaze and stays to investigate its cause. His searing discovery? The fire was no accident--it was deliberately set. As a series of mysterious fires burns through the town, Mason begins to perceive a pattern no one else can. And when the fiery trail leads to the Wells Fargo building--holding what he suspects the arsonists are really after--Mason knows he is the only one who can take the heat and catch the crooks before the wealth of the entire town goes up in smoke.
In this compelling new installment of bestselling author Ralph Compton's Sundown Riders series, a man seeks revenge for the death of his wife and sons while caring for his traumatized daughter. Carl Novak returned to the Texas hill country after fighting in the Civil War, but unlike most of his neighbors, Carl didn't fight for the Confederacy. He was a Union soldier. Carl tries to resume his life as a farmer with his wife and three children. One day, when returning from an overnight trip to buy a calf, he finds his home burned to the ground and, even worse, his wife and sons murdered. His young daughter escaped the slaughter by hiding in the fields. She is so traumatized that she refuses to speak. Carl has one clue: a group of strangers has just left town. One man had a tattoo of a scorpion on his hand and one man was missing two fingers. Carl is determined to track them and exact his revenge.
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?
In this tantalizing installment of Ralph Compton’s Sundown Riders series, someone—or some thing — is haunting a struggling ranch Drifter Lucas Avery isn't looking for a new home. He goes wherever the wind blows him, taking jobs as they come and cutting ties when he moves on. But at Ghost Hollow Ranch he finds more than just a job--he finds a family that reminds him of the loved ones he lost in the earthquake of ‘68. Alongside the MacGill clan, Lucas works to repair the quake damage as well as repeated mishaps that might be accidents or deliberate acts of sabotage. Some people think it’s the work of the spirits that are known to haunt the hollow. Lucas doesn’t know what to believe, but as the attacks escalate, he has to decide whether to put himself on the line to protect people he never planned on caring for.
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!
A medicine man turns vigilante when he sets out to take revenge against the gang who took everything from him, in this pulse-pounding new Western in Ralph Compton's bestselling Sundown Riders series. Jerome Frederick Kincannon is a medicine man—an apothecary by trade and a healer at heart. But when his wife and young son are murdered by the notorious Benjamin Gang, his world crumbles around him. Kincannon can't forgive the four Benjamin brothers for their transgressions, and he'll never forget. His ambitions from that day forward are simple: kill them all. For a year, Kincannon has searched high and low for Hank, Leland, Curtis, and the unidentified fourth Benjamin brother. But the gang has proven to be more wily than expected. But Kincannon's content to wait, coiled and ready to strike, until the perfect opportunity comes around. After all, a snake will mind its business if you mind yours—but when provoked, you'd best watch out for its venom.