Thriller writing of the highest order" —Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author of the Caitlin Strong series "An action fan's dream. Non-stop excitement. Wonderful characters. A terrific locale. And a startling bulletin about how your car is watching you." —David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood There is no peace in the hard country Tucker Snow is as tough as they come, hardened by decades working as an undercover narcotics agent for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Through special dispensation from the governor, he and his brother Harley cut a wide swath through the criminal element of Northeast Texas. But tragedy comes calling after taking a dream job as a special ranger with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, when Tucker's wife and toddler are killed in a horrific traffic accident caused by a drug addled felon. Close to breaking, Tucker sets his badge aside to move his surviving teenage daughter outside of Ganther Bluff, a quiet town with enough room for them to mourn their unexpected loss. But peace doesn't last long for a man like Tucker Snow. Instead of settling into small-town life to heal from such an unimaginable loss, a fresh kind of hell hits them with full force. Crimes and secrets strangle this rural community, and when a new form of meth with the street name of gravel gets too close to home, it's enough for Tucker to put his badge back on and call Harley for help. The town will ultimately be better off with him as a resident lawman, but this unforgiving landscape will threaten everything Tucker holds dear.
Part Western, part mystery, all action." —Kirkus Reviews The endless Texas landscape hides all manner of sins... Special Agent Tucker Snow knows there's big money roaming the fields under the wide Texas sky—and the cattle rustlers committing large-scale thefts on remote ranches know it, too. But when a prominent local rancher dies unexpectedly and his property is quietly sold to an unknown buyer, Tucker suspects there's something more sinister going on in his jurisdiction than the usual steal-and-resell racket. Still raw after the tragic death of his wife and young daughter, the lawman can't bear the thought of more innocent lives destroyed by people whose greed poisons everything around them. Working alongside his brother, Harley, Tucker uncovers a dark ring of organized crime that goes well beyond cattle rustling—a breed of deception and greed that has turned into a silent killer and will take down anyone who crosses its path. The question is whether Tuck and Harley will be able to shut it down before it finds the people they love the most...
First in a new historical series from the highly acclaimed, award-winning author praised as "the genuine article" (Craig Johnson) and known for his "literary voice delivered with a warm and knowing Texas twang" (CJ Box). In a land with no law, there’s only two things a man can count on—a deadly sense of justice and an even deadlier ability to outdraw the most dangerous lead-spitting gunslingers. Texas cowboy Cap Whitlatch has never shied away from hard work. Whether driving cattle or busting broncos, he gets the job done right. When he hires on with a ranch, he earns his pay with blood and sweat, keeping him honest. And when a friend is in dire need, Cap will move the tallest mountains to defend and protect them from harm. Gil Vanderburg has known Cap since they were children. Now, he’s in jail for murder in a small Oklahoma town. To see justice served right, Cap volunteers to escort his friend to South Texas where he will stand trial for robbery. But they’re not quite traveling alone along the unhealthy trail in Indian territory. Three bloodthirsty Cherokee brothers want revenge on Gill for killing their sibling. A pair of vicious outlaws are after the gold in Cap’s saddlebags. And the marshal pursuing them all is determined to bring every lawbreaker in—dead or alive. Cap is not about to let any man—no matter which side of the law he falls on—deter him from fulfilling his righteous mission. And he will show no mercy to anyone who tries . . .
Top 10 Modern Westerns for 2016 by True West Magazine Top Books for 2015 by Strand Magazine "Reavis Z. Wortham is the real thing: a literary voice that's gut-bucket Americana delivered with a warm and knowing Texas twang." —CJ Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author At the tail end of 1967, the Parker family once again finds it impossible to hide from a world spinning out of control. Fourteen-year-old Top still can't fit in with their Center Springs, Texas, community or forget recent, vicious crimes. His near-twin cousin Pepper, desperate to escape her own demons, joins the Flower Children flocking to California—just as two businessmen are kidnapped and murdered in the Red River bottoms on the same night a deadly hit and run kills a farmer. Constable Ned Parker wonders if these crimes are connected, but he goes after Pepper, leaving the investigation with Sheriff Cody Parker. Parker hires Deputy Anna Sloan, an investigator with an eye toward detail as everyone is eyeing her. Yet it is instinct that propels her after killers through a world nearly forgotten, the hunt's backdrop one of continuous rain, gloomy skies, and floods. When she's ambushed, the investigation accelerates into gunfire, chases, and hair-raising suspense. What of Pepper? Out on Route 66, the Mother Road to California, a man named Crow isn't what he seems. Lies, deceptions, and a band of outlaw motorcyclists proves to the Parkers that no matter where you turn, no matter what you do, the world is full of such darkness that even grandmothers are capable of unspeakable deeds. Best Small Fictions of 2015 by The Dallas Morning News Will Rogers Medallion Award 2016 Honorable Mention, Western Fiction
Top 5 Modern Westerns by True West Magazine "Loaded with healthy doses of humor, adventure, and intrigue, populated by a remarkable cast of characters both good and bad and featuring one heck of an electrifying climax is a throwback to the pulp era in the best possible sense." —Owen Laukkanen, bestselling author By October 1967... the Summer of Love is history, rock and roll is dark and revolutionary, and people in the small East Texas community of Center Springs want only a quiet life. Unluckily, two years earlier, Anthony Agrioli met newlyweds Cody and Norma Faye Parker in a Vegas casino and heard their enthusiastic descriptions of Center Springs as the perfect place to settle down and raise a family. Now handsome hit man Agrioli and a blonde bombshell full of surprises need a place to hide out and, if possible, duck retribution from his Las Vegas crime boss. Thirteen-year-old Top Parker has what his grandmother, Miss Becky, calls a Poisoned Gift. His dreams, though random and disconnected, always seem to come true. This time Top dreams he's a wagon wheel with spokes converging from all directions. To him, the spokes symbolize that something is coming. And it is—Center Springs will soon become a combat zone when a squad of gangsters arrives. Oddly, they're after something else. Not Agrioli—yet. Add a sheriff crooked as a dog's hind leg, an unsolved murder in the river bottoms, counterfeit money, and a bank robbery to this country-noir Shakespearian comedy, cast it with Wortham's real and sometimes wacky characters including a constable and a judge, and the outcomes become unpredictable.
A sleeper that deserves wider attention." —The New York Times As 1965 draws to a close, Constable Cody Parker of Center Springs, Texas, has a frightening sense of gathering storm clouds. His dreams prove accurate when he is ambushed and nearly killed on a lonely country road during an unusually heavy snowfall. The attack leads locals to worry that a terrifying killer known as "The Skinner" has returned. As his nephew, Cody, recovers, Constable Ned Parker struggles to connect a seemingly unrelated series of murders, and the people of northeast Texas wonder why their once peaceful community has suddenly become a dangerous place to live. Investigating, Ned, Cody, and deputy John Washington cross paths with many colorful characters: cranky old Judge O.C. Rains; the jittery little farmer Isaac Reader; the Wilson boys, Ty Cobb and Jimmy Foxx; and a mysterious old man named Tom Bell. Of course, Ned's preteen grandchildren, Top and Pepper, are underfoot at every turn. When Cody follows his main suspect across the Rio Grande into Mexico, Ned understands that to save his nephew, he will have to cross more than a river: he will have to cross over to the right side of wrong.
Not only does Wortham write exceptionally well, but he somehow manages to infuse Unraveled with a Southern gothic feel that would make even William Faulkner proud... A hidden gem of a book that reads like Craig Johnson's Longmire mysteries on steroids." —The Providence Journal Blending the racial topicality of the Sixties crime classic In the Heat of the Night with the coming-of-age poignancy of To Kill a Mockingbird, Unraveled presents a gripping investigation into the extremes of human nature—both at its most repulsive and at its redemptive best. It's 1968; a time of race riots across America, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in Memphis, and polarizing demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In the rural Northeast Texas community of Center Springs, a car lunges through the guard rails on Highway 271's tightest curve and flings its two occupants down the new Lake Lamar Dam. What stuns the town's residents isn't the tragic accident but the identities of the two victims: Mayor Frank Clay, a white man, and Maggie Mayfield, a black woman who worked in his office. Each of them married to other people. What were they doing in Frank's car together? Living with his grandparents, Ned and Miss Becky, in a little farmhouse near the Red River, fourteen-year-old Top Parker finds himself caught up in another adult situation. The war escalating between the Clays and the Mayfields is frightening in its intensity. More horrifying is a man calling himself the Wraith, who moves through the region at will, invading homes and watching the Parkers. The Wraith has his own deadly agenda. And it soon becomes clear to Top that, for some reason, he is part of it.
“There’s a term we use in the west, the genuine article, and those words fit Reavis Wortham to a Texas T.” —Craig Johnson “If you look for authenticity in your books, you’ll swoon over Reavis Wortham. He’s Texas true.” —C. J. Box “Think: Elmore Leonard meets James Lee Burke.” —Jeffery Deaver Judge. Jury. Executioner. One man is taking the law into his own hands. His targets are criminals who slipped through the justice system. From California to Texas, this relentless avenger hunts down the unpunished and sentences them to death. But now he’s on Sonny Hawke’s turf. A Texas Ranger committed to his job, Hawke will not abide vigilante justice—especially when innocents are also in the line of fire. The trail of bodies stretches across the Lone Star State to the most savage clan East Texas has ever seen. And Hawke is the only one who can stop them . . . “Wortham knows how to ratchet tension with pitch-perfect West-Texas flavor.” —Lone Star Literary Life
Some men are destined for danger Texas Ranger Tom Bell is simply tracking a fugitive killer in 1931 when he rides into Kilgore, a hastily erected shanty town crawling with rough and desperate men—oil drillers who've come by the thousands in search of work. The sheriff of the boomtown is overwhelmed and offers no help, nor are any of the roughnecks inclined to assist the young Ranger in his search for the wanted man. In fact, it soon becomes apparent that the lawman's presence has irritated the wrong people, and when two failed attempts are made on his life, Bell knows he's getting closer to finding out who is responsible for cheating and murdering local landowners to access the rich oil fields flowing beneath their farms. When they ambush him for a third time, they make the fatal mistake of killing someone close to him and leaving the Ranger alive. Armed with his trademark 1911 Colt .45 and the Browning automatic he liberated from a gangster's corpse, Tom Bell cuts a swath of devastation through the heart of East Texas in search of the consortium behind the lethal land-grab scheme.
Named one of the Top 12 Mysteries of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews Finalist in the Benjamin Franklin Awards (Mystery) It's 1964: farmer and part-time Constable Ned Parker combines forces with John Washington, the almost mythical black deputy sheriff from nearby Paris, to track down a disturbed individual who is rapidly becoming a threat to the small Texas community of Center Springs. Summoned to a hot cornfield one morning to examine the remains of a tortured bird dog, Ned finds a dark presence in their quiet community. Ned is usually confident when it comes to handling moonshiners, drunks, and domestic disputes. But when the animal atrocities turn to murder, the investigation spins beyond his abilities. After a dizzying series of twists, eccentric characters, and dead ends, Judge O.C. Rains is forced to contact the FBI. Worse, sinister warnings that Ned's family has been targeted by the killer lead the old lawman to become judge and jury in order to end the murder spree in the Red River bottomlands.
Some men are destined for danger Texas Ranger Tom Bell is simply tracking a fugitive killer in 1931 when he rides into Kilgore, a hastily erected shanty town crawling with rough and desperate men—oil drillers who've come by the thousands in search of work. The sheriff of the boomtown is overwhelmed and offers no help, nor are any of the roughnecks inclined to assist the young Ranger in his search for the wanted man. In fact, it soon becomes apparent that the lawman's presence has irritated the wrong people, and when two failed attempts are made on his life, Bell knows he's getting closer to finding out who is responsible for cheating and murdering local landowners to access the rich oil fields flowing beneath their farms. When they ambush him for a third time, they make the fatal mistake of killing someone close to him and leaving the Ranger alive. Armed with his trademark 1911 Colt .45 and the Browning automatic he liberated from a gangster's corpse, Tom Bell cuts a swath of devastation through the heart of East Texas in search of the consortium behind the lethal land-grab scheme.
Thriller writing of the highest order" —Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author of the Caitlin Strong series "An action fan's dream. Non-stop excitement. Wonderful characters. A terrific locale. And a startling bulletin about how your car is watching you." —David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood There is no peace in the hard country Tucker Snow is as tough as they come, hardened by decades working as an undercover narcotics agent for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Through special dispensation from the governor, he and his brother Harley cut a wide swath through the criminal element of Northeast Texas. But tragedy comes calling after taking a dream job as a special ranger with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, when Tucker's wife and toddler are killed in a horrific traffic accident caused by a drug addled felon. Close to breaking, Tucker sets his badge aside to move his surviving teenage daughter outside of Ganther Bluff, a quiet town with enough room for them to mourn their unexpected loss. But peace doesn't last long for a man like Tucker Snow. Instead of settling into small-town life to heal from such an unimaginable loss, a fresh kind of hell hits them with full force. Crimes and secrets strangle this rural community, and when a new form of meth with the street name of gravel gets too close to home, it's enough for Tucker to put his badge back on and call Harley for help. The town will ultimately be better off with him as a resident lawman, but this unforgiving landscape will threaten everything Tucker holds dear.
Part Western, part mystery, all action." —Kirkus Reviews The endless Texas landscape hides all manner of sins... Special Agent Tucker Snow knows there's big money roaming the fields under the wide Texas sky—and the cattle rustlers committing large-scale thefts on remote ranches know it, too. But when a prominent local rancher dies unexpectedly and his property is quietly sold to an unknown buyer, Tucker suspects there's something more sinister going on in his jurisdiction than the usual steal-and-resell racket. Still raw after the tragic death of his wife and young daughter, the lawman can't bear the thought of more innocent lives destroyed by people whose greed poisons everything around them. Working alongside his brother, Harley, Tucker uncovers a dark ring of organized crime that goes well beyond cattle rustling—a breed of deception and greed that has turned into a silent killer and will take down anyone who crosses its path. The question is whether Tuck and Harley will be able to shut it down before it finds the people they love the most...
A Texas Ranger pursues a deadly drug cartel through the badlands of Big Bend in this Western thriller by the Spur Award–winning author of Hawke’s Target. The serene beauty of West Texas’s Big Bend National Park is shattered when four hikers are brutally ambushed by a sniper. Only one survives to report the murders. When investigators come up with nothing, they’re left wondering if this is an isolated incident—or the beginning of a rampage. One week later, Texas Ranger Sonny Hawke heads into the park, determined to unearth the truth. Before he knows it, he’s in the same sniper’s crosshairs. The drug and human smuggling cartel Coyotes Rabiosos—Rabid Coyotes—have lured him to remote backcountry, looking for payback for an old grudge. Wounded and stranded in the harsh desert terrain, Sonny is hunted, outnumbered, and about to become the target of an even more dangerous enemy—one whose thirst for revenge could incite an international conflict far beyond the U.S.-Mexican border.
Best of the West 2019 – 2nd Place in 20th- to 21st-Century Western Mystery Fiction by TrueWest Magazine "Wortham's writing style is easygoing, relying on natural-sounding dialogue and vivid descriptions to give us the feeling that this story could well have taken place." —Booklist As the 1960s draw to a close, the rural northeast Texas community of Center Springs is visited by two nondescript government men in dark suits and shades. They say their assignment is to test weather currents and patterns, but that's a lie. Their delivery of a mysterious microscopic payload called Gold Dust from a hired crop duster coincides with fourteen-year-old Pepper Parker's discovery of an ancient gold coin in her dad's possession. Her adolescent trick played on a greedy adult results in the only gold rush in north Texas history. Add in modern-day cattle-rustlers and murderers, and Center Springs is once again the bull's-eye in a deadly target. The biological agent deemed benign by the CIA has unexpected repercussions, putting Pepper's near-twin cousin, Top, at death's door. The boy's crisis sends their grandfather, Constable Ned Parker, to Washington D.C. to exact personal justice, joined by a man Ned left behind in Mexico and had presumed dead. The CIA agents who operate on the dark side of the U.S. government find they're no match for men who know they're right and won't stop. Especially two old country boys raised on shotguns. But there's more. Lots more. Top Parker thought only he had what had become known as a Poisoned Gift, but Ned suffers his own form of a family curse he must deploy. Plus, there are many trails to follow as the lawmen desperately work to put an end to murder and government experimentation that extends from their tiny Texas town to Austin and, ultimately, to Washington, D.C. Traitors, cattle-rustlers, murderers, rural crime families, grave robbers, CIA turncoats, and gold-hungry prospectors pursue agendas that all, in a sense, revolve around the center of this small vortex called Center Springs. Gold Dust seems to be fiction, but the truth is, it has already happened.
“Reavis Z. Wortham is the real thing: a literary voice that’s delivered with a warm and knowing Texas twang.”—C.J. Box Border patrol agents are being ambushed along the Big Bend region of West Texas, a notorious drug corridor running east and west across the Lone Star State. They’re not the only targets. A film production depicting human trafficking in the area has been attacked by a brutal drug cartel. Into this lawless frontier steps Texas Ranger Sonny Hawke, ready and willing to dispense his own brand of justice. It’s an all-out war with the thinnest line separating the good from the bad. Sonny knows the only way out is to aim straight and stand your ground . . . “There’s a term we use in the west, the genuine article, and those words fit Reavis Z. Wortham to a Texas T.”—Craig Johnson “A masterful and entertaining storyteller.” —Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Visit us at www.kensingtonbooks.com
The stakes don't get much higher than murder... It's January 1969 in the small rural community of Center Springs, Texas. Constable Ned Parker suspects a larger mystery behind the seemingly accidental death of his nephew, R .B., who was found in his overturned pickup near Sanders Creek bridge. It appears that R. B. drowned in the shallow water, but something doesn't add up for Ned, who begins turning over stones in search of what really happened the night R. B. died. The mystery leads Ned to the Starlite Club, a dangerous honky-tonk recently constructed in a no-man's land on the Lone Star side of the Red River. His investigations there uncover suspicious characters, drugs, and gambling, but even more troubling are a series of murders that seem designed to eliminate anyone who might know what really happened to R. B. on that cold January night. As he works his way through the cover-up, Ned lands himself in a high-stakes game of consequences with no good end in sight. Are the good citizens of Center Springs conspiring against Constable Parker in his search for the truth? In this thrilling addition to the historical Texas Red River Mystery Series, Constable Ned Parker bets big, but only time will tell if he'll win justice or a grave of his own.
Created by local writers and photographers, Compass American Guides are the ultimate insider's guides, providing in-depth coverage of the history, culture and character of America's most spectacular destinations. Compass Texas covers everything there is to see and do -- plus gorgeous full-color photographs; a wealth of archival images; topical essays and literary extracts; detailed color maps; and capsule reviews of hotels and restaurants. These insider guides are perfect for new and longtime residents as well as vacationers who want a deep understanding of Texas.
A Texas Ranger faces off with terrorists while trapped inside a small-town courthouse during a blizzard—from the author of the Red River mysteries. It’s a stunning attack, lightning quick and chilling in its execution. A merciless gang of terrorists seizes the Presidio County Courthouse in the midst of the worst blizzard West Texas has seen in a century. Loaded down with enough fire power to outfit an army, the attackers slaughter dozens, take all survivors hostage, and assume complete control. The nation—and the U.S. government—are at their mercy. Or so they think. They don’t know that a seasoned Texas Ranger is also inside the courthouse. Sonny Hawke has hauled in some of America’s Most Wanted. Now he’s up against his most dangerous adversary yet. Sonny likes his chances. The enemy is his to take down—one by one. Until he’s face-to-face with the ruthless mastermind gunning for our very freedom . . . First in the series and perfect for fans of Die Hard! Praise for the Spur Award–winning Reavis Z. Wortham and His Novels “Think: Elmore Leonard meets James Lee Burke.” —Jeffery Deaver “Wortham is the real thing.”—C.J. Box “The most riveting thriller all year!” —John Gilstrap “Entertaining and emotionally engaging.” —T. Jefferson Parker “A masterful and entertaining storyteller.” —Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
Created by local writers and photographers, Compass American Guides are the ultimate insider's guides, providing in-depth coverage of the history, culture and character of America's most spectacular destinations. Covering everything there is to see and do as well as choice lodging and dining, these gorgeous full-color guides are perfect for new and longtime residents as well as vacationers who want a deep understanding of the region they're visiting.
Lyndon B. Johnson is President, Beatlemania is in overdrive and gasoline costs 30 cents a gallon when Ned Parker retires as constable in Center Springs, Texas. But his plan to live a quiet life as a cotton farmer is torpedoed. A phone call leads Ned to a body in the Red River and into the urgent investigation headed by his nephew, the newly elected constable Cody Parker. Together they work to head off a multi-state killing spree that sets northeast Texas on fire. As the weeks pass, Ned's grandchildren, ten-year-old Top and his tomboy cousin Pepper, struggle with personal issues resulting from their traumatic experiences at the Rock Hole only months before. They now find themselves in the middle of a nightmare for which no one can prepare. Cody and Deputy John Washington, the law south of the tracks, follow a lead from their small community to the long abandoned Cotton Exchange warehouse in Chisum. Stunned, they find the Exchange packed full of the town's cast off garbage and riddled with booby-trapped passageways and dark burrows. Despite Ned's warnings, Cody enters the building and finds himself relying on his recent military experiences to save both himself and Big John. Unfortunately, the trail doesn't end there and the killing spree continues...
The stakes don't get much higher than murder... It's January 1969 in the small rural community of Center Springs, Texas. Constable Ned Parker suspects a larger mystery behind the seemingly accidental death of his nephew, R .B., who was found in his overturned pickup near Sanders Creek bridge. It appears that R. B. drowned in the shallow water, but something doesn't add up for Ned, who begins turning over stones in search of what really happened the night R. B. died. The mystery leads Ned to the Starlite Club, a dangerous honky-tonk recently constructed in a no-man's land on the Lone Star side of the Red River. His investigations there uncover suspicious characters, drugs, and gambling, but even more troubling are a series of murders that seem designed to eliminate anyone who might know what really happened to R. B. on that cold January night. As he works his way through the cover-up, Ned lands himself in a high-stakes game of consequences with no good end in sight. Are the good citizens of Center Springs conspiring against Constable Parker in his search for the truth? In this thrilling addition to the historical Texas Red River Mystery Series, Constable Ned Parker bets big, but only time will tell if he'll win justice or a grave of his own.
Named one of the Top 12 Mysteries of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews Finalist in the Benjamin Franklin Awards (Mystery) It's 1964: farmer and part-time Constable Ned Parker combines forces with John Washington, the almost mythical black deputy sheriff from nearby Paris, to track down a disturbed individual who is rapidly becoming a threat to the small Texas community of Center Springs. Summoned to a hot cornfield one morning to examine the remains of a tortured bird dog, Ned finds a dark presence in their quiet community. Ned is usually confident when it comes to handling moonshiners, drunks, and domestic disputes. But when the animal atrocities turn to murder, the investigation spins beyond his abilities. After a dizzying series of twists, eccentric characters, and dead ends, Judge O.C. Rains is forced to contact the FBI. Worse, sinister warnings that Ned's family has been targeted by the killer lead the old lawman to become judge and jury in order to end the murder spree in the Red River bottomlands.
In 1964, farmer and part-time Constable Ned Parker combine forces with John Washington, the almost mythical black deputy sheriff from nearby Paris, to track down a disturbed individual who is rapidly becoming a threat to the entire small Texas community of Center Springs. When Ned is summoned to a hot cornfield one morning to examine the remains of a tortured bird dog, he finds a dark presence in their quiet community. A farmer by trade, Ned is usually confident when it comes to handling moonshiners, drunks and domestic disputes. But the animal atrocities turn to murder, and the investigation spins beyond his abilities. After a dizzying series of twists, eccentric characters and dead-ends, Ned’s friend, cranky Judge O.C. Rains, is forced to contact the FBI. Worse, sinister warnings that his family has been targeted by the killer lead Ned to the startling discovery that he knows the murderer very well. After the failed abduction of his precocious grandchildren Top and Pepper, the old lawman becomes judge and jury to end the murder spree in the Red River bottomlands. With a heart-pounding pace, country humor and a stunning climax speaks to the darkness in us all. In bald-headed pot-bellied Ned Parker, Wortham has created an authentic American hero who will put you in mind of the best heroes and antiheroes you’ve ever experienced. The year 1964 was the end of an era in Center Springs, and the climax may well shock your civilized sensibilities.
In celebration of our 20th anniversary, Poisoned Pen Press has commissioned original short stories from thirty-five of its authors, past and present. Some names will be immediately recognizable to mystery aficionados--Kerry Greenwood with her Phryne Fisher mysteries, now also a popular television program, or Laurie R. King who has charmed Sherlockians worldwide with her beloved Mary Russell series. Some have gone on to big deals with the big leagues--Carolyn Wall, whose debut novel, Sweeping Up Glass, was purchased by Penguin Random House, or James Sallis, whose novella, Drive, was critically acclaimed and made into major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling. Several have been translated into other languages with foreign publishers. Some authors have been on hiatus, and are writing something new for the first time in years. Most have remained comfortably ensconced with us here at the Press, enjoying a modicum of fame and a steadily growing base of loyal readers who eagerly anticipate their next-in-series. This anthology celebrates our authors, their talent, and their diversity. Some have chosen to feature characters well-established within their own series-protagonists, supporting cast, and even one villain-turned-hero. Others have gone in totally different directions, inventing new characters and going dark or cozy for the first time, with chilling and delightful results. Yet as different as these authors and their stories are, they all share a common passion for finely crafted tales of crime and murder. From Greece to Italy, India to Australia, Great Britain to Canada; from the East Coast to the Pacific Northwest and New Mexico to the Savannah low country, they are a community Bound by Mystery, and we are proud to present their short fiction to you for the first time ever.
Lyndon B. Johnson is President, Beatlemania is in overdrive and gasoline costs 30 cents a gallon when Ned Parker retires as constable in Center Springs, Texas. But his plan to live a quiet life as a cotton farmer is torpedoed. A phone call leads Ned to a body in the Red River and into the urgent investigation headed by his nephew, the newly elected constable Cody Parker. Together they work to head off a multi-state killing spree that sets northeast Texas on fire. As the weeks pass, Ned’s grandchildren, ten-year-old Top and his tomboy cousin Pepper, struggle with personal issues resulting from their traumatic experiences at the Rock Hole only months before. They now find themselves in the middle of a nightmare for which no one can prepare. Cody and Deputy John Washington, the law south of the tracks, follow a lead from their small community to the long abandoned Cotton Exchange warehouse in Chisum. Stunned, they find the Exchange packed full of the town’s cast off garbage and riddled with booby-trapped passageways and dark burrows. Despite Ned’s warnings, Cody enters the building and finds himself relying on his recent military experiences to save both himself and Big John. Unfortunately, the trail doesn’t end there and the killing spree continues...
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