James Reasoner

Blood on the Wire

Johnny Colt #1

by

James Reasoner 

The open range is dying, strangled by fences, greed, and men willing to slaughter homesteaders for what was never theirs. Johnny Colt rides into the middle of that bloody battleground carrying a reputation he didn’t ask for—and a gun he knows how to use. He’s fast, deadly, and determined to live by his own rules, but fate has other plans for him.

When rustlers, hired guns, and merciless land barons take over land and cattle, Johnny finds himself pulled into a brutal struggle as sharp as the barbed wire cutting across the plains. Every fence post hammered into the ground leaves another body in the dust. And the powers behind it believe killing and intimidation will clear the way for their empire.

Problem is, they’ve underestimated Johnny Colt.

As the killing escalates and alliances fracture, Colt is forced to choose between riding away clean or standing his ground against enemies who won’t stop until the range is flowing with the blood of innocents. With towns caught in the crossfire and lives at stake, Johnny discovers that survival in the new West demands more than speed—it demands an immunity to fear and terror. And Johnny Colt can deliver both to his enemies.

Hard-hitting, fast-paced, and steeped in classic Western grit, Blood on the Wire launches a hard-driving series about a man forged by violence and driven by his own unrelenting code of honor.

The story opens with Johnny Colt and his friends riding out to cut the wire Vince Atkinson’s Flying A hands have strung across open range. Instead of a simple night job, they ride straight into an ambush. Gun‑thunder rips the dark wide open, Johnny is wounded, and suddenly he’s running for his life.

Just when it seems he’s finished, salvation comes out of the shadows in the form of his uncle—Captain Esau Parker, known to his men as Captain Brimstone for the fire and brimstone he can sling from a Bible. Before Johnny can catch his breath, he’s sworn in as a Texas Ranger and sent straight back into the rattler’s nest. His mission: learn who murdered his friends and, if the trail leads that way, haul Verne Atkinson in to face the law.

What Johnny doesn’t expect is Atkinson’s sharp‑tempered daughter, or the foreman, Blake Trask, a man with secrets of his own.

Something’s rotten on the Flying A, and Johnny Colt will need every ounce of grit and gun‑sense he’s got if he aims to stay alive.

James Reasoner delivers a terrific opening chapter to the Johnny Colt series. It has the flavor of the classic westerns of the ’50s and ’60s—very much in the spirit of Bradford Scott’s Walt Slade—backed by a strong cast of characters.

I enjoyed every page, and by the end I was already eager for the next installment. Hopefully it’s the first of many. The story is action‑packed, fast‑moving, and Reasoner’s prose goes down easy—like slipping into a well‑worn shirt and settling in by a warm fire.

Left me wanting more. 5/5.

Brent Towns & Robert Vaughan

 Rails into Hell

A Faraday Western

By

Robert Vaughan

Brent Towns

Preorder here! 

This is my second Faraday book, the first being The Buffalo Train. The other books in this series were written by various authors, including James Reasoner and Robert Vaughan.

Set during the 19th-century railroad boom, these stories delve into sabotage, murder, espionage, and political intrigue tied to the steel rails stretching across the continent.

Faraday’s agents, often undercover, navigate hostile terrain, corrupt officials, and deadly ambushes while safeguarding the railroads' interests.

Each book is a standalone story, unconnected to the others, making it easy to pick up the series at any point.

My first book, The Buffalo Train, is based on historical facts with a good dose of fiction. The Buffalo Train was a real concept, a stunt devised by Joseph McCoy to attract buyers back to Dodge City.

McCoy organized a trainload of live buffalo, elk, deer, and other wild animals to be shipped eastward—reportedly to Chicago—as a dramatic display of the railroads’ capacity and the frontier’s abundance. His goal was to reignite buyer enthusiasm and draw attention back to Dodge City, which had started losing prominence as cattle routes shifted and competition from other cow towns intensified.

This wasn’t just a spectacle—it was strategic marketing. McCoy understood how the romance of the frontier could be leveraged to boost business. By showcasing exotic wildlife alongside cattle, he made Dodge City seem like the vibrant heart of the Wild West, brimming with opportunity and untapped resources.

This premise inspired me, and I ran with it.

Now with the second one, I've returned to what feels like a more classic 50s movie vibe, featuring an undercover agent who used to be a hired gun, a range war, and a murderer determined to derail the railroad's progress.  

Blurb: The railroad’s arrival promised progress, but in Sagebrush Creek, it came riding on a tide of blood.

A surveyor lies dead, murdered to halt the iron rails’ advance. Matthew Faraday knows one man who can uncover the truth—former gunfighter Jack Quade. But Faraday’s reasons aren’t entirely about justice. Trouble’s brewing in the hills: a range war with Quade’s estranged father, Vince, at its heart.

Years ago, Vince Quade disavowed his son. Now Jack must face a father who wants nothing from him—least of all help. But with a killer on his trail and tensions ready to explode into open war, Jack has no choice but to fight on two fronts: mending a broken bond and stopping a murderer before Sagebrush Creek becomes a graveyard.

Will Jack Quade bring peace to a town on the brink—or will the railroad carry him straight into hell? 

Writing the new story was a lot of fun, and I hope it resonates with readers as I intended. I aimed to capture the feel of an old 50s western movie, so fingers crossed I pulled it off. Now, all that's left is to wait for October 14 and see how things unfold. 

James Reasoner

 Blood and Gold

Outlaw Ranger #3

By

James Reasoner

Get it here from Wolfpack Publishing.

A savage ambush...twenty men slaughtered in a brutal massacre...a fortune in gold stolen! This was a crime big enough and bold enough to bring the Outlaw Ranger to the wide-open settlement of Cemetery Butte, where a powerful mining tycoon rode roughshod over any who dared to oppose him. But even that atrocity doesn't prepare G.W. Braddock for the evil that awaits him, stretching bloody hands out of the past.

The third book in the Outlaw Ranger series is a thrilling ride. Braddock, seeking peace in the quiet village of Esperanza, spends his days playing chess with the local priest. However, tranquility is short-lived when Senora Dominguez approaches him for help. Her grandson was killed in an ambush, where a fortune in gold was stolen, and she believes Braddock is the perfect man to seek vengeance. But revenge isn't hers alone—Martin Rainey, the man behind the mining operation, becomes an even bigger target as the thieves use the massacre and stolen gold as a way to strike at him.  

This was another fantastic story by an author who truly knows his craft. It’s shorter than some others in the series, but it kept me hooked and flipping pages (digitally) right to the very end. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a bad story by James Reasoner. The best part is that all the Outlaw Ranger books are available in an omnibus edition. Load up your boots (or Kindle)!

James Reasoner

James Reasoner

 Outlaw Ranger

by

James Reasoner

New York Times Bestselling author and legendary storyteller James Reasoner introduces a man haunted by his past and fighting to make a place for himself in the violent world of the old west.

G.W. Braddock was raised to be a Texas Ranger and never wanted anything else. But then he's stripped of his badge through no fault of his own and a corrupt system turns the vicious killer Tull Coleman loose on the people of the Lone Star State.

Now Braddock has to decide if he's going to follow the law or carry out the job he was born to do--even if it means becoming an outlaw himself.

I'll admit, I've only read the first book in this series. However, I'll be following up very soon. As with all his writings, Reasoner shows once again why he's at the top of the tree in this genre. Great scenes, plenty of action, and overall, a great story that will keep you interested until the last page.

You can buy the series here for a paltry 99 cents from Wolfpack Publishing.