Smoke Jensen Books

THE GREATEST WESTERN WRITERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY For the first time, an epic account of a boy born into a struggle for survival on the harsh and unforgiving American frontier, the story behind the legend of Smoke Jensen… On the eve of the Civil War, Kirby Jensen is the youngest of three children living on a hardscrabble ranch in Southwestern Missouri. But in 1861, shots were fired in Charleston Harbor, and Kirby’s father and brother went to war. Smoke Jensen: The Beginning follows the Jensen clan during these volatile years, from Civil War battles to border state raids to the kind of frontier justice achieved only by bullets and blood. William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone chronicle the early years of Kirby Jensen—soon to be nicknamed Smoke—as he journeys from boyhood innocence into a manhood shaped by violence and a young man’s thirst for justice. Filled with actual historical events and legendary characters, the story of Smoke Jensen’s early years is a powerful, brutal, and amazing American saga.

A New York Times Bestselling Author A Smoke Jensen Novel of the West In this powerful new novel, William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone chronicle Smoke Jensen’s early years, long before he became a legend . . . In his first paying job as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Colorado Territory. Kirby ― later Smoke ― Jensen is sent to the lawless town of Las Animas. There, he finds a sheriff too cowardly to face the six-gun of outlaw leader Cole Dawson. Young Smoke feels no such fear, and he takes Dawson down fast. Then the real fight begins.

Set in the early days of the Jensen family saga, this gunblazing adventure follows Smoke and Sally from their first year of marriage to the founding of the legendary Sugarloaf Ranch... For most couples, the marriage vows end with "'Til death do us part." But when Smoke Jensen takes Sally Reynolds as his lawfully wedded wife, it's just the beginning. The tragic deaths of Smoke's first wife and child weigh heavily on his heart. Thankfully, Sally is there to give him the support he needs when they return to Colorado, where it all happened. She's ready to embrace her husband's past--for better or worse--and to welcome his friend Preacher into the family. But when outlaws make an attempt to kidnap a local girl, Sally is forced to use the gun skills she had learned from Smoke to save both of their lives, learning the hard way what it means to be married to a Jensen...

"For Smoke and Sally Jensen, the Sugarloaf Ranch is a glorious stretch of untamed land near the Colorado-Kansas border, the perfect place to stake their claim, raise some cattle, and start a new family. But when a man claiming to be an army colonel arrives in Big Rock--with a well-armed militia--the Jensens' dream becomes a living nightmare. Colonel Lamar Talbot claims there's a war looming with the Cheyenne Indians. And only he can save them from a bloody massacre--by launching a bloody counterattack...Smoke and Sally aren't sure they trust him. They suspect the colonel and his men are nothing more than brutal vigilantes with a hidden agenda of their own. But the Cheyenne war parties are a very real threat. The tribe's charismatic leader, Black Drum, is launching raids on local ranches, farms, and the railroads, too. Every day, the violence gets worse and the war moves closer--until it reaches the Sugarloaf Ranch. That's when Sally gets attacked. That's when Smoke grabs his guns. That's when the shooting starts--and the final battle begins..."--

"Building a ranch takes heart and grit. Smoke and Sally Jensen are more than capable of meeting the challenges of shaping the land, raising the livestock, and establishing their brand. But Smoke wasn't always an entrepreneur. He's more apt to settle accounts with a fast draw than a checkbook. And when he learns his old friend Preacher has been ambushed by outlaws, he wastes no time saddling up and hitting the vengeance trail with his fellow mountain men Audie and Nighthawk. Preacher's attackers have taken over the town of Desolation Creek deep in Montana Territory. Their scurrilous leader, Vernon 'Venom' McFadden, has his men harrassing terrified homesteaders and townsfolk to get his hands on nearby property that's rumored to be rich with gold. Smoke andhis helpmates drift into town one by one with a plan to root out Venom's gang of prairie rats and put the big blast on each and every one"--

When a cattle train bound for Texas is ambushed by blood thirsty rustlers, legendary mountain man Smoke Jensen vows to get the cattle back, get the killers who stole them—and get revenge for the blood they spilled . . . Johnstone Country. Where Outlaws Shoot. And Legends Shoot Back. The completion of a new railroad line from Colorado to Texas is a dream come true for Smoke Jensen and the other ranchers of Big Rock. But this dream turns into their worst nightmare when the first herd they load onto the train is stolen by a vicious gang of kill-crazy rustlers. This is no ordinary train robbery. It’s an inferno of slaughter that includes the friendly rancher who volunteered to take Smoke’s place on the trip. Now Smoke is saddling up and riding out—to get the prairie rats who murdered his friend . . . Smoke isn’t the only one who’s after these merciless killers. A pair of undercover lawmen from Texas have managed to infiltrate the gang by pretending to be dangerous outlaws. While Smoke is trying to track down the stolen herd, the undercover lawmen pretend to plot with the gang to rob more cattle trains. But there’s a hitch in the lawmen’s plan. To make sure they’re really on board, the gang wants them to prove their loyalty—by eliminating their biggest threat: Smoke Jensen . . .