J. A. Johnstone

When a 95-year-old man walks into a recruiting office in 1942 determined to enlist and claiming to be the one and only Jesse James, the wildest story the West has never known begins, in an exciting new twist on the legend of the notorious outlaw who just might not have died on that fateful April 3, 1882.

"Not every Western hero wears a white hat or a tin star. Most of them are just fighting to survive. Some of them can be liars, cheaters, and thieves. And then there's a couple of old-time robbers named Slash and Pecos ... After a lifetime of robbing banks and holding up trains, Jimmy "Slash" Braddock and Melvin "Pecos Kid" Baker are ready to call it quits, settle down--though not completely by choice. The youngest members of their old gang, the Snake...

The legendary members of the Jensen family gather together at the Sugarloaf Ranch for one Christmas homecoming they'll never forget--if they live through it . . . Smoke Jensen looks forward to spending a quiet holiday with the family. But an unexpected arrival from south of the border has him reaching for his guns, defending his land--and risking everything he loves . . . Sally Jensen strikes up a friendship with a lovely Mexican woman--who turns...

Then Silas Atwood, the richest rancher in the county, sends one of his goons to cause trouble and Kate's son Rusty guns him down. Rusty flees to the home of his uncle, Pearlie, who straps on his six-gun intending to go back and clear his nephew's name. But Smoke Jensen, the mountain man, won't let his friend ride into certain death.

When a cattle drive turns deadly, Smoke and Matt Jensen and Duff MacCallister struggle to cope with bloodthirsty Indians and trigger-happy rustlers as they ride into a brutal blizzard that sorely tests their skills of survival.

Smoke Jensen has journeyed up to the Colorado Rockies to a sell a prized bull to a local rancher. Instead, the rancher and his wife have been mercilessly slaughtered by outlaws only moments before Smokes arrival. In a hail of bullets, Smoke pulverizes two of the murderers and drags two others to the town of Brown Spur for justice. Come hanging day, the two killers are on the way to the gallows when a thundering gang of raiders crashes into town and...

A boy in Texas waits for a Christmas present he chose from a Montgomery Ward catalog. The present, a brand new, lever action Winchester 1886 and a box of its big .50-caliber slugs, never makes it there. Instead, the rifle is caught up in a train robbery and starts a long and violent journey of its own -- from the hands of a notorious, kill-crazy outlaw to an Apache renegade to a hardscrabble rancher and beyond. But while the prized Winchester is wandering...

Adrift after his employer is killed in an accident, cowboy Will Tanner makes a stop at a tavern in Fort Smith, Arkansas. While sitting at a bar, Will witnesses a group of outlaws draw on U.S. Deputy Marshall Pride, who arrested one of their kin. Seeing that Pride is facing losing odds, Will steps in and saves the deputy's life. Afterwards, Tanner has a new job, a new badge, and enough grit to make him a legend on the American frontier.

While passing through El Paso, Scratch Morton and Bo Creel are rewarded with a Mexican gold mine for saving a rich man's bacon. When they discover that the mine is a magnet for marauding banditos, Scratch and Bo fight back. Then they discover that the thieves aren't who they thought they were, that some really bad guys are on the way, and a beautiful woman might just be the most dangerous bandit of all--the kind that can steal your heart. For Scratch...

A western hero whose adventures embody the spirit of the American frontier, Smoke Jensen is bestselling author William W. Johnstone's most beloved creation. In his powerful new novel, Johnston chronicles Smoke's early years. Before he went off in search of his father, long before he become a legend, Kirby Jensen was a young man trying to make a living with the gifts God gave him--courage, cunning, and lightning with a gun.