The Wicked and the Dead - by William W Johnstone & J a Johnstone (Paperback)

About the Book

"When Hack Long and his outlaws break out of jail and split up to escape, they each find themselves scrabbling along a desolated landscape, heading for Texas to reclaim their stolen gold, while being hunted by lawmen, Comanches and violent gang who also want their ill-gotten gains"--

Book Synopsis

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY.

WHERE BOOT HILL IS FULL OF MEN WHO PULLED THEIR TRIGGERS WITHOUT AIMING.


As hardworking families and ambitious dreamers set down roots across the American West, others swooped down to prey upon them. And after the smoke cleared, those who lived by the gun found themselves facing justice--and vengeance . . .


It was supposed to be a simple robbery. A fortune in gold for the taking. What Hack Long and his outlaws hadn't figured on was the Texas Rangers pouncing on them like a pack of rabid wolves. Desperate to escape, Long led his men south of the Rio Grande where they ran afoul of Mexican Rurales and were imprisoned.

Unwilling to die behind the bars of the hellish prison where life is worth less than a peso, Long's band of desperadoes break out of jail and split up to escape. Now, Two-Horses, Luke Fischer, Gabriel Santana, Billy Lightning, and Long are scrabbling along a desolate landscape, heading for Texas to reclaim their ill-gotten gains, hunted by dogged lawmen, merciless Comaches, and a violent gang of bandits who also want the stolen gold.

Though they be thieves and outlaws, Long and his men aren't nearly as deadly as their pursuers. They may not deserve forgiveness for their sins, but only death passes judgment on both the good and the bad. . .

Live Free. Read Hard.

Review Quotes

"Each chapter is short, the language lean, the storyline packed with adventure, blazing guns, and dead bodies dropping left and right all over the place. A large cast of Indians, homesteaders, and lawmen pops up along the way without much character development, but the authors weave the lives of the five desperados into an unbreakable bond of loyalty that keeps the story on track. Set during the days when Jesse James was making a name for himself, The Wicked and the Dead has plenty of gun-toting action for fans of genre western fiction." - Historical Novel Society

About the Author

William W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.

J.A. Johnstone learned to write from the master himself, Uncle William W. Johnstone, who began tutoring J.A. at an early age. After-school hours were often spent retyping manuscripts or researching his massive American Western History library as well as the more modern wars and conflicts. J.A. worked hard and learned, later going on to become the co-author of William W. Johnstone's many bestselling westerns and thrillers. J.A. Johnstone lives on a ranch in Tennessee and more information is at WilliamJohnstone.net.