Books by William W. Johnstone

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE DEATH RIDES FASTER THAN THE WIND.   A blazing new series takes you back to the lawless frontier where every stagecoach was a moving target. Where every passenger needed protection. And where every hired gun who rides along better be fast on the draw—or be dead on arrival . . .RIDING SHOTGUN If anyone knows the road to purgatory, it’s Red Ryan. As a stagecoach guard, he’s faced holdups, ambushes, and all-out attacks from every kill-crazy outlaw, Indian, and prairie rat. But even he’s a bit reluctant to take on his next job: riding shotgun with his driver Buttons Muldoon on a stage bound from Fort Concho, Texas, to Fort Bliss. Word has it, the Apaches are on the warpath. They’re being led by the vicious war chief Ilesh, which means “Lord of the Earth.” And this lord means business, as in slaughtering every Texan from here to El Paso. Red wants to postpone the stage. But an army major’s beautiful but stubborn wife insists they leave—or she’ll go it alone. So Red has no choice . . . Thus begins a nightmare journey into 400 miles of harsh, unforgiving terrain, blood-drunk killers, and one scheming devil who plans to paint the town of El Paso red—starting with Red’s blood . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Where Legends Fight or Die. Bounty hunter Luke Jensen has always relied on his guns, his brains, and his guts to bring in the deadliest outlaws in the West. But when a family needs his help, he'll have to use something else: his heart . . . BLOOD IS THICKER THAN SLAUGHTER Luke Jensen has seen some sorry looking bounties in his time, but this one takes the cake. A wanted poster is offering a reward of one dollar and forty-two cents-plus one busted harmonica-to capture Three-Fingered Jack McKinney. Turns out, McKinney's twelve-year-old son Aaron wants revenge on his daddy for abandoning him and his mom. The reward is all the money Aaron can scrape together. Luke can't say no to the poor boy-or his beautiful mother-so he agrees to go after McKinney and his bank-robbing gang. Good deeds, however, are like good intentions-the road to hell is paved with them. And when Aaron McKinney decides to tag along, it puts Luke in the middle of a father-and-son reunion that's life-or-death, blood-for-blood, and kill-or-be-killed. . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

JOHNSTONE JUSTICE. MADE IN AMERICA. A Jensen family holiday takes a dark and dangerous turn-on the infamous Donner Pass-in this thrilling epic adventure from the bestselling Johnstones . . . It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the High Sierras. But Smoke Jensen and his children, Louis and Denise, won't let a little snow stop them from heading to Reno for the holidays. There are two ways for them to get there: the long way, going around the Sierra Nevada Mountains, or the short way, going right through them. Smoke decides to take a gamble. They'll follow the trail that, decades earlier, brought the legendary Donner Party to a gruesome, tragic end . . . And so the journey begins. The Jensens share a stagecoach with a stranger who's planning to rob a bank. Smoke wants to stop him, as well as his notorious gang of outlaws. But he's outgunned and outnumbered. And when a blizzard traps them in the mountains, he's out of luck too. Like the Donner Party before them, the Jensens will be forced to do whatever it takes to survive. This time, they're hoping history doesn't repeat itself. But sometimes, the ghosts of the past just won't stay buried . . .

Johnstone Country.  The Good Die Young. The Bad Die Younger.   In this gripping thriller, America’s greatest Western storytellers take you inside the dangerous world of an undercover agent—and the deadliest jail in America . . .   PRISON RIOT   Hank Fallon knows what it’s like to rot behind bars. To wallow in the filth of a rat-infested cell. To smell the pent-up rage of cutthroat killers and thieves. Fallon earned his freedom the hard way. He saved the lives of four guards, got released early, and became a detective. Then he went undercover, infiltrated a prison gang plotting to bust out—and barely made it out alive. Now they’re sending him back. Behind the iron. Straight to hell . . .   This time, it’s the ninth circle known as Missouri State Penitentiary. His mission: get inside the infirmary, look for a pregnant inmate named Jess Harper, and find out where her bank-robbing boyfriend hid the stolen cash. Problem is: a rebellion is brewing among the prisoners. Their rage is burning out of control. An all-out savage riot is about to explode. And Fallon’s head is on the chopping block . . .   Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Country. Where others fear to tread. Descended from Scottish Highlanders and blood kin to Falcon and Jamie Ian, Duff MaCallister forged a bold new life on the American frontier. But he will always stay true to his clan's fighting spirit-when it comes to justice . . . THE STALKING DEATH There's something rotten in Wyoming, and it's not just the smell of cow pies-the first whiff is coming off the Laramie County Cattlemen. Right off the bat, Duff notices something odd: no small-time ranchers allowed. It's big-leaguers only. And none are bigger than Brad Houser, owner of the sprawling Twin Peaks ranch. He's up in arms over the small-timers claiming the unbranded mavericks who escape their herds. Which is perfectly legal. No brand, free cow. Houser has a plan to stop these former cowboys from taking their runaways. For $1000, Houser will make the small ranchers go away-six feet under. That makes Duff MacCallister madder than a wet hen . . . and his guns will do the screaming.

From bestselling authors William W. and J.A. Johnstone comes the fiery saga of Perley Gates, a legend born out of the brutality and violence of the American West . . .   He’s the son of a cattle rancher. A restless young dreamer who, under normal circumstances, would follow in his father’s footsteps. Normal, however, is not his style. Like his famous grandfather and namesake Perley Gates—a hell-raising mountain man with a heavenly name—young Perley wants adventure, excitement, and freedom. And like his grandfather before him, he will find his dream—in the untamed wilds of a lawless frontier . That dream though might just become a nighmare . . .   After his father’s death, Perley strikes out on his own. His first order of business is to track down the grandfather whose name he shares. When he crosses into Oklahoma Territory, young Perley discovers that the trail is full of dead ends—and near-death encounters. Hostile Indians, wanted outlaws, and bloodthirsty killers are just a few of the dangers waiting for him. And the closer he gets to finding the original Perley Gates, the closer he comes to meeting his Maker at the fabled gates they’re named for . . .

Johnstone Justice. What America Needs Now. A TRAIN RIDE TO HELL When Smoke Jensen sees a gang of outlaws holding up a stagecoach, his gunfighter instincts take over and he storms in with guns blazing. He kills one of the gunmen, the rest scatter like the rats they are. Another notch on the sharpshooter's weathered grip. But the dead man is the brother of the notorious outlaw Gabe Briggs, and Briggs will want revenge . . . Tired of the savagery of the lawless countryside, Smoke's wife Sally heads back east for a spell, only to find the big city choking in filth, violence, and corruption. Before Sally can head back home, though, she's snatched right off the street. When Smoke gets word that Sally's been kidnapped, he hops the first train east. But Gabe Briggs and his ruthless bandof bad men are along for the ride. Unless Smoke can punch their ticket to hell first, they'll blow this train sky high . . .

THE GREATEST WESTERN WRITERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY From America’s most popular Western storytellers comes another adventure in the treacherous life of Breckenridge Wallace, a man as wild as the frontier he tries to conquer.   DEATH STALKS THE FRONTIERSMAN, NO MATTER HOW FAR HE ROAMS.   Exiled from the Smoky Mountains for gunning down a man in self-defense, Breck Wallace tries to make a new home in St. Louis, even tries his hand at romance, but some men are too wild to settle down. Breck is soon back on the trail, where a vicious gang of trappers, after his goods, picks up his scent and begins to dog his every step, until Breck’s only choice is to bed down for the winter with a tribe of friendly Indians. In the frigid, brutal cold of a Rocky Mountain winter, he hopes to find peace . . . but death is not done with Breck Wallace. When the trappers ambush the Indians and leave Breck for dead, the frontiersman must ride deeper into the mountains than he has ever gone before. Peace be damned. The blood will flow t until vengeance is his alone . . .   Also Available in Audiobook