Publisher Description
In this powerful new novel, William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone chronicle Smoke Jensen's early years, long before he became a legend. Kirby-later Smoke-Jensen has just earned his first paying job as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Colorado Territory and is sent to the lawless town of Las Animas. There, he finds a sheriff too cowardly to face the outlaw leader Cole Dawson, whose six-gun has left a lot of good men dead. Young Smoke feels no such fear. He takes Dawson down fast. Then the real fight begins. It turns out Dawson is only a cog in a crooked plot hatched by someone hiding behind the law. For a young deputy marshal, going up against the powerful and corrupt is almost certainly a fool's mission, but doing nothing is not a choice. When Smoke strikes, he's in all the bloody way, and what follows will become the stuff of legend. Braving bullets, blood, and treachery to face down the most dangerous outlaw in Colorado Territory, Smoke will earn a reputation for justice and the rule of law in a wild, violent frontier.
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About the Authors
J. A. Johnstone learned from the master, Uncle William W. Johnstone. He was the all-round assistant, typist, researcher, and fact checker to one of the most popular western authors of all time. The Loner marked the debut of Tennessee-based J. A. Johnstone as a solo author.
William Wallace Johnstone (1938–2004), born in southern Missouri, was a prolific American author, mostly of Western, horror, and survivalist novels. He began writing in 1970 but had his first novel, The Devil’s Kiss, published in 1979. After his death, it was announced that a carefully selected author had been chosen to carry on his legacy. J. A. Johnstone is continuing William W. Johnstone’s series.
About Jack Garrett
Jack Garrett’s voice is immediately recognizable from his work in commercials and as a personality on radio stations in the West and Southwest. In addition to guest appearances on television, he has performed in dozens of theater productions on regional and New York stages, including Guys and Dolls, Hallelujah Breakdown, Prelude to a Kiss, Cast a Spell, and Bongo Fever.