Showing results by author "Max Brand" in All Categories

King of Rats features Max Brand’s unforgettable Reata, a virtuoso of the lariat, who must steal a horse to flush out the desperado, Pop Dickerman, who wants to kill him. With some luckless partners and a gypsy girl he loves, will Reata finally deliver Pop Dickerman to justice?

City boy Frank Quigley was secretly sent west to try to break up the impending marriage of his wealthy boss’ daughter, Cecelia, to her ranch foreman. When he arrived, Cecelia’s prize bull, Red Thunder, escaped into the woods, sending the ranch into chaos. All hands were called in to try to capture the escaped wild and angry bull. How would they be able to capture Red Thunder, and who will tame this raging menace?

Having been away from Yellow Creek for eight years, Jimmy Geary was happy to see the town again. But there are three men who aren't happy to see Jimmy Geary return, and they conspire to make his stay this time very short.

A back-stabbing murderer meets Happy Jack, the deadliest fighter in the southwest, and tells him about a safe full of cash. It's too well guarded for gunplay, but a dangerous trick might work. Has Happy Jack got the nerve?

For years, Camden lay awake every night, torn with guilt over the crime he'd committed and waiting for the man who would come to take revenge. Now it's time - he's been found at last - but he won't go down easy.

The state built a dam and the water's rising. Will Pete Harrison get out of prison before it covers the $10,000 dollars he hid? 

Joseph Larrimee finally makes the gold strike that would prove his worth to everyone, but is he willing to give it up to save a mysterious woman from a gang of hard-bitten desperadoes?

This is the rousing story of Cheyenne, a gunfighter whose shooting hand was badly wounded by a bullet and now he cannot draw his gun. Word got around that he was a coward, a "yellow dog," and soon in uneven battle with his enemies, he finds his redemption.

A Caribbean hurricane smashes a revolutionary army before they can fight. Then a fearless stranger is washed ashore and leads the ragtag soldiers into battle. Who is he and why does he risk his life?

Haypress feeding is a brutal test of strength that can kill a man. Cafferty isn't worried. He's going after Frenchie's record anyway - the prize is a dream come true.

For nearly 25 years, Terry Colby has lived the refined life of a gentleman, raised by Elizabeth Cornish. He is, however, the son of an outlaw. Just before his 25th birthday, Elizabeth’s brother Vance triggers a set of events to determine whether nature or nurture has the final say.

Ronicky Doone is a western novel by Max Brand. Excerpt from the book: "He came into the town as a solid, swiftly moving dust cloud. The wind from behind had kept the dust moving forward at a pace just equal to the gallop of his horse. Not until he had brought his mount to a halt in front of the hotel and swung down to the ground did either he or his horse become distinctly visible. Then it was seen that the animal was in the last stages of exhaustion, with dull eyes and hanging head and forelegs braced widely apart, while the sweat dripped steadily from his flanks into the white dust on the street."

James Gerald Melrose, better known as Bad-Eye, was a big-headed, bad-drunk transplanted Easterner who was accidentally killed in a barroom fight in Masters’ bar and hotel. One day, Jane Melrose arrives in search of him. She is one very determined woman, and Masters does everything he can to keep her from learning the truth. The task comes with a price, a high one, that Masters realizes that he will pay, but only when it is too late!

Red Harrigan and Black MacTee have a friendship that is legendary throughout the West - that is until they both fall in love with the same woman.

It was a fool thing to do, but Jack Trainor did it. In order to help keep his sister's husband from going to jail for robbery, Jack agrees to ride out on the getaway horse, drawing suspicions away from his brother-in-law and onto himself. But eluding the posse that follows him in hot pursuit turns out to be much harder than Jack had thought. And he was not prepared to survive the winter in the Canadian wilderness.

“Pump 'em full of lead!” he said through his teeth. A cruel New York sneak thief breaks out of prison with an honest cowboy. Together they'll learn about robbing payrolls, mountain women, and a fast-shooting sheriff. But will they survive?

There is no thought of danger in young Larry Traynor's mind as his stagecoach rolls over the last few miles of the road to Little Snake. Suddenly, a piercing scream breaks into the quiet serenity of the landscape and Larry realizes with horror that the stagecoach is under attack. As he witnesses the vicious shooting of his guard and old friend Sam Whitney, the young man vows to avenge his death. But will Larry's tireless pursuit only lead him to an early grave?

Eighteen-year-old Bill Turner lands a summer job as a roustabout on a hay-press crew, and is soon exposed to the harsh realities of hard physical labor. Exhausted by the work and ridiculed for his slowness, he silently swears revenge against his chief tormentor, Jumbo. Enter Big George, whose job Bill has taken, and the young student learns a lesson in friendship and what it means to be a man of the West.

Jeremy Dice leaves New York City for the Far West. His career as a tailor had been anything but spectacular. But arriving on the frontier, he witnesses two notorious bank robbers kill each other over the division of their spoils. When the sheriff and a posse arrive, they hail Jeremy as a great hero, believing he killed both men. And then there is the hefty cash reward.

"The whip had cut him like a knife in a dozen places...." But the friar still won't talk about church gold. Is there any chance of mercy from the horrifying leader of the tomb robbers?