Western Mystery

In his introduction to the book, best-selling author Loren D. Estleman says "It's hard work being Deborah Morgan". A multiple award-winning author in both the mystery and Western arenas, Morgan has collected here in Junction a selection of stories guaranteed to show you why.

Sgt. Bren Allred has seen all manner of criminality in beautiful Graham County, Arizona. He has managed to keep the worst of it from his wife, Monica, who is having a troubled pregnancy. But it will be difficult to keep the devils at bay as a new kind of trouble erupts across the region . When deputies Sanchez and Haley go undercover to investigate a rash of copper theft, they unwittingly stumble across a shadowy spy network. Meanwhile, Apache Police Sgt. Al Victor is confronted by a murder case involving a diplomat as he grapples with the ever-present problem of alcohol on the reservation.

The Lovely Bones meets the wild, Wild West in this haunting tale inspired by a true story. Pregnant out of wedlock, 16-year-old Annie Moore is sent to live at a convent for fallen women. When the nuns take her baby, Annie escapes, determined to find a way to be reunited with her daughter. But few rights or opportunities are available to a woman in the 1860s, and after failing to find a respectable job, she resorts to prostitution in order to survive.

After years of military service, cowboy Ken Jensen is ready to return to where he belongs—saddling broncs. But a two-day rodeo in the Utah desert turns into a crazier ride than he anticipated when he meets a private investigator, Dallas Welch. Dallas is familiar with Ken’s work as a military investigator and needs his help; there has been a major rash of cattle theft on local ranches, and Dallas needs a right-hand man to assist in his investigation. But before Ken can respond, the bullets start flying, leaving him no choice but to get involved.

Reece is a drifter. A man with a past, seeking peace and quiet after the horrors of the war. He finds none of these in the town of Whitewater, and is soon embroiled in the mystery of a nearby mine, one wrapped up in a legend of gold and death. The mystery of what happened at the mine has remained unsolved until Reece, recruited by the local sheriff, unearths a labyrinth of lies, envy, greed, and murder. Growing closer to the owner of the local hotel, Miss Bessy, can Reece discover what happened in the mine so long ago, or is he digging too deep?

Alto, corpulento, con barba y melena, sombrero de ala ancha y botas de vaquero, el texano Roy Cady lleva unos años ejerciendo de matón profesional en Nueva Orleans. Roy es un tipo tranquilo, comprensivo, capaz de ver el lado filosófico de las cosas, lo cual no le impide ser implacable cuando la ocasión lo requiere. Pero su vida da un giro radical el día que le diagnostican un cáncer avanzado. De pronto, sus puntos de referencia se trastocan, y el relieve de la realidad cobra una nueva dimensión.

Five desperate young women...Katie, Joanna, Eve, Evangeline, and Adelaide meet on a stagecoach on their way to Cheyenne, Wyoming as mail order brides. As they talk to each other, Katie and Adelaide become suspicious. Are they correct to be suspicious or are they overreacting? One man with an evil plan...Ross has been planning this for months and the stagecoach is finally on its way. After this, he’ll have succeeded in his most devious plot yet and be on the top of his game. Maybe he’ll even be able to come out of the shadows, despite his brother being a detective.

Tex Larimee is a grizzled Arizona sheriff who’s leaving the deserts of Cactus County behind, blazing a trail east to mix it up with The Slickers in the canyons of Manhattan. Tex’s welcome to New York is a rude one. Robbed of his cash, gun and badge, he’s locked in a room in back of a run-down bar. Breaking out of the bar, he goes looking for his best friend...only to find him dead, his throat cut. And the cops accuse Tex of committing the murder.

Adelaide Willowby is having a bad day. It’s a week before Christmas, and she has just kicked out the love of her life. Her sister and her daughter are barely speaking to her, one of her best girls is getting married, and ownership of the Wylder County Social Club is in jeopardy. Now she has landed in jail—for murder.

Jake Logan is a drifting free-wheeling cowboy who is just passing through town. He is recruited by a damsel in distress to help discover what happened to her missing uncle and his ranch. A powerful enemy tries to stop the investigation by getting rid of anyone that stands in the way. After reading them from the good book, Jake must make good on his promise, but first he must stay alive!

A rare breed of bulldog and bloodhound, private detective Luke Starbuck has been hired to ferret out the Judas working for the Central Pacific—a mastermind behind a string of train robberies. The target: gold shipments from the Frisco mint. All Starbuck has to do is pass himself off as an outlaw and infiltrate the pack. But chumming up to a gang leader like Denny O'Brien means that Starbuck must follow him into the vice pits of the notorious Barbary Coast. Getting inside this hellhole of crime is easy if you make the right moves. Make the wrong ones, and getting out could be murder.

In the Wild West, the heat of passion between Detective John West and Emily Adams is threatened by a sinister mystery. Sparks fly as they join forces to unravel the case on Adams Ranch, but a rival ranch owner casts a shadow of doubt and suspicion over their investigation. With danger lurking around every corner, can their love endure? Find out in "Rancher's Seduction," where hearts are tested and true love conquers all.

When Eleanor Wooley's best friend Rette suddenly disappears, Eleanor abandons her job as a crime reporter for the Gold Strike Tribune in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and sets off in desperate pursuit. What begins as a search and rescue operation quickly becomes an obsession and a personal quest for truth. Spurred by gut instinct, Eleanor scours Northeastern Nevada during the worst heat wave in recorded history. Obscure signs appear-an intruder's dire warning, a casino's mysterious graffiti, a random sighting of a killer on the run.

Highway roadhouse waitress Holly Duncan's life is on hold - until she can accept her mother's disappearance of five years ago, decide where her future lies, and move on. Loner truck driver Tom Searle's life would sure be looking up, and close to blessed, if the stunning roadhouse redhead didn't seem so uncertain about his approaches. When new information and revelations rock Holly's world, Tom seizes the opportunity to step up and offer support.

Charlotte Mason, also known as Charley, is the headstrong, independent heiress of Bar M, a family-run ranch with high traditions and morals. But all is thrown to the Montana wind when two cowboys claim the same bloodline runs through their veins. When the only person who can support their claim is murdered, Charley must team up with those in question to find the truth. Soon, Charlotte will learn that knowing the truth has consequences. Set in a beautiful horse ranch in Montana, Pamela D. Hart's Heritage and Honor is a compelling mix of light Western romance and cozy mystery.

Colorado, July 1878. The nationally famous solar eclipse is almost upon the country, and a peak overlooking the fledgling town of Elkhorn is one of the centers of attention. In the midst of boisterous and chaotic frontier pre-celebrations, Caleb Marlowe - reluctantly deputized for the coming event - learns that local power broker Judge Horace Patterson is being targeted for assassination by agents of a financial magnate.

Marshals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch haven't seen much trouble of late. Fact is, burgeoning Appaloosa and the territory had been without incident for months. But with recent reports of village raids, coupled with the arrival of a young widow from San Francisco, the lawmen are about to be put to the test. Rose McMaster, the feisty daughter of Virgil's half-brother, ushers in a whole new unsuspected brand of trouble.

Will is missing and a minor beef has developed between Oliver, Lisa, and Evelyn. Lisa strongly believes Oliver is to blame still, even though she’d lost any evidence to make him plead guilty. Evelyn, on the other hand, after Oliver reveals Lisa’s former cases of mental illness, is unsure of who to trust. She feels alone and vulnerable. Oliver tries to make her feel better, and they end up kissing at the foot of a mountain. Lisa realizes that her sister has been brainwashed by Oliver, and goes on a one-man stalking mission, which eventually leads her to where Will is being kept captive.

When a plane crashes at the base of Black Tooth Mountain during a wicked summer storm, Patrick Flint’s moral compass leads him away from a trail ride with his family and to the wreckage in a search for survivors. But what he finds may teach him that not everything is what it seems, and not every life is worth saving.

In these dozen mystery short stories, you’ll find a newcomer’s ignorance used as a murder weapon, a modern, murderous twist on an O’Henry story, an old Irish myth that haunts a teen in an Idaho ski resort, the myriad ways to die in the desert, and much more.