Showing results by author "Ralph Cotton" in All Categories

 They gunned down his father in cold blood. They are his most elusive enemies, the outlaws known as Los Pistoleros. And they're still at large. But Federal Deputy Hart will not give up the chase...until they hang. 

Adventure, action and dark humor galore, delivered Ralph Cotton style, in his fictional take on the real-life DEA - FBI joint Operation Swordfish, a covert effort launched by the two agencies in the early 1980s. Meet Eddie Vango - Chicago gambling debt collector for the Outfit, the lovely Leslie Wright, and ex-con Delbert Moss as they make their way through the ranks of South Florida Drug Lords and take a giant share of the underworld’s operating capital while the drug world is busy 'replacing' its leadership.  

When Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack arrives in Mesa Grande with a few outlaws in tow, he finds the town in chaos. The sheriff's just been shot, and the new deputy - supposedly out in search of the gunman - is acting suspicious. Now it's up to Burrack to sort out who can be trusted and who needs to be put behind bars. But just as he starts putting the pieces together, a new kind of threat descends on Mesa Grande: Scalp hunters ride in - with a band of wrathful Apache warriors hot on their trail.

Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack is a predator lying in wait. He's undercover as an outlaw to infiltrate a pair of vicious border gangs and bring them down. This mission has already had its share of casualties, and if Burrack has his say, there will be more. A cloud of dust rises as four men ride toward the Twisted Hills. The only thing between them and certain death at the hands of the Apaches is Sam, who also wants those men dead.

When wanted men don't want to be found, they hole up in Agua FrIa, Mexico. Nestled in the twisted hills of the Blood Mountain Range just across the border from Arizona, the town is divided by two ruthless gangs of thieves and killers. On one side stands Texas Red Madson, and on the other is Raymond Segert. Between them stands Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack. He rides into Agua FrIa in the guise of a vicious gunslinger with a plan to ingratiate himself with both gangs - and stir up the bad blood between them into a war that will leave Burrack the last man standing .

Still disoriented from a recent gunshot wound, Fast Larry Shaw happens across the Dexter Lowe Boys on their way to steal some weapons. Knowing he can’t take these guys on alone in his condition, Shaw contacts U.S. Marshal Crayton Dawson and Deputy Jedson Caldwell for backup.

Ralph Cotton casts a long shadow as one of the finest practitioners of Western fiction to ever set pen to paper. Burnished with the unmistakable character of the Old West, Escape from Fire River showcases Cotton at the height of his form. There’s not a man alive who can outdraw Lawrence Shaw, but that doesn’t mean he’s invulnerable. Garris “The Cat” Cantro and his band of miscreants are hellbent on securing a fortune in gold.

The Western tradition of Ralph Cotton lives on in Fast Guns Out of Texas. After Cray Dawson sets out to stake his claim in Black’s Cut, Montana, he learns his old friend Fast Larry Shaw faked his death to escape his notoriety as a gunfighter. But as Dawson soon discovers, his own prowess with a six-shooter could come back to haunt him as well.

Fast Larry Shaw incurs a huge debt when a Mexican girl shouts a life-saving warning during a firefight. Outlaws have put the girl through hell, and now Larry is her only hope. But after offering his services, Larry gets caught in the crossfire between federales and banditos—and even his well-practiced gunhand might not offer enough protection to ensure survival.

In Crossing Fire River, Cotton introduces Lawrence “Fast Larry” Shaw, a quick-drawing gunslinger tormented by his past. Reeling from the death of his wife Rosa, Fast Larry turns to whiskey to drown his sorrows. But even with a drink in one hand, he’s still the fastest shot around. So when he becomes a target for a Mexican bounty hunter after killing two banditos, Fast Larry will have to protect himself the only way he knows how.

When Texas Bob Krey gets a hot hand in cards, his good luck sparks a gunfight. Once the smoke clears, two men are dead, including the brother of Judge Henry Bass. Now Texas Bob is an outlaw, and only Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack has the firepower to save him.

Lawrence "Fast Larry" Shaw was the quickest gun alive until his beloved Rosa died. Turning to the bottle for solace, he takes a job helping a widow tend her ranch. But when the Barrows Brothers Gang tears a bloody trail across his path, it's time for Fast Larry to find his steady hand and blast his way to justice.

In Guns on the Border, Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack heads out into the Mexican badlands to track down the dirtiest scoundrels to ever strap on a six-gun and laugh in the face of the law. But Burrack is anything but amused, and retribution is soon to be paid.

Lawrence Shaw still has the reputation as the fastest gun alive. But since the death of his beloved Rosa, his shots have come out of a bottle. Then a friend gets Shaw a job helping a widow with her ranch, and Fast Larry sees the glimmer of a second chance.

Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack has something of a reputation for finishing what he sets out to do - usually with a shot from his Winchester. He'd been on the trail of five gunmen for days. Then there was four. And he doesn't plan on stopping until every member of the notorious Golden Riders is behind bars or underground. But when a few of the riders escape in a jailbreak, word gets back to gang leader Braxton Kane that his brother fell under the gun of a lawman. Now Burrack is both hunter and hunted.

Trouble follows horse trader Will Summers as soon as he sets foot in Dark Horses, Mexico. A party of men is intent on hanging Summers, believing him to be a horse thief, but not before they take him to their boss - Ansil Swann, the very man Summers is delivering four horses to. Will is saved from the hangman's noose when the men are waylaid by Ansil's beautiful wife, Bailey. Only Bailey has an agenda of her own, one that lands Will right in the middle of a deadly shootout.

Like father, like son. Arizona Territory Ranger Sam Burrack rides the border badlands to Iron Point hoping to capture Ozzie Cord, a mercenary who killed a sheriff back in Mesa Grande. Cord escaped jail once but won't get away this time.... But as Sam nears his prey, the trail of scalped bodies makes it clear that someone else has a vendetta.

Arizona Territory Ranger Sam Burrack knows all too well that criminals don't concern themselves with consequences. So it's no surprise to him when Big Silver's sheriff, Sheppard Stone, makes an enemy of wealthy cattle rancher Edsel Centrila, whose son thinks he's above the law. After Stone refuses a large payoff to let Centrila's son out of jail, Centrila throws all of his money into buying up Big Silver, putting gunmen on every corner, aiming right at the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Sheppard Stone once saved the life of Territory Judge Albert Long, but the judge has heard stories of Stone turning into a reckless drunk - stories that are confirmed when Burrack rides into town. Holed up in his office on a days-long whiskey bender, Stone has been terrifying the townsfolk and firing bullets into the street.

The Traybo brothers have a reputation for being gentleman outlaws - the kind who will make polite chatter as they take your life savings. But Ranger Samuel Burrack has no sympathy for those who show poor manners when it comes to obeying the law. He's traveled as far as the Mexican Badlands to pick up the Traybo brothers' ex-cohort, Fatch Hardaway, to lead him to his prey. Burrack isn't alone in his pursuit.