Cirrus@Austlit

'They were an odd pair, the one-time Union captain and the former Confederate sergeant. They’d fought each other during the Battle of Pea Ridge and then ended up fighting shoulder to shoulder when a common enemy showed his face.

'Bo Rangle, leader of the guerilla force known as Rangle’s Raiders, took advantage of the slaughter to steal what the two opposing forces had been fighting for – two hundred thousand dollars’ worth of Confederate gold.

'Hank Brazos and Duke Benedict never forgot that day, or each other. And when, by chance, their trails crossed again after the War, they decided to team up, find Rangle and reclaim that gold for themselves. And while they were at it, they swore to get revenge for all of their comrades who’d died that day back in 1862…'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2020 ed.).

'After witnessing the cold-blooded killing of a man named Boyd Larsen, Duke Benedict and Hank Brazos found themselves up to their gunbelts in mystery, murder and mayhem. Someone was rustling cattle from Nate Kendrick’s Rancho Antigua, and while that in itself wasn’t Benedict and Brazos’ business, rumor had it that the man doing all the rustling was Bo Rangle, the cut-throat outlaw they’ve been tracking ever since he massacred their men in the closing days of the Civil War.

'Signing on as range detective and wrangler respectively, Benedict and Brazos set out to run the rustlers to ground and exact their revenge on Rangle. But before they can find the man, they need to find the cattle… and somehow or other, those cattle have vanished right off the face of the earth!'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2020 ed.).

'Trouble was brewing in the town of Harmony, between the gun-toughs who manned the Two-Bar ranch, the hardcases who hung around the Rawhide Saloon and the beleaguered miners out at Whipple Creek. Into this explosive situation rode Hank Brazos and Duke Benedict. With a thin bankroll, they were looking to earn some fast money to continue their hunt for a Civil War guerilla who’d killed their comrades and stolen a fortune in Confederate gold …. a fortune they themselves planned to get their hands on.

'So Brazos pinned on the sheriff’s badge in return for a hundred dollars a month, and soon found himself taking his responsibilities more seriously than he’d thought possible!

'Across a poker table, meanwhile, Benedict ran into an old acquaintance named Doc Christian. They were rivals, these two gambler-gunmen. And frankly, Benedict had no idea where Doc fitting into the various warring factions. When the chips were down, however, Benedict and Brazos found themselves in the thick of a fiery showdown, with just about every gun-filled hand turned against them!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The sheriff of Tumbleweed took an instant dislike to Duke Benedict and Hank Brazos. The dude and the giant in the garish purple shirt looked like trouble to him. So he gave them one-way tickets for the next stage out to Flintlock …. and that’s when the trouble really began.

'The minute it left town, the stagecoach became a target. Among the other passengers was a federal marshal delivering his prisoner, notorious outlaw Jack Savage, to Flintlock for trial. But Savage’s gang had other ideas. They planned to stop the stage and rescue him, even if they had to kill everyone else on board.

'They reckoned without Benedict and Brazos, and when the stranded passengers took refuge in a deserted town called Buckaroo, they found themselves up against hot lead – and stone-cold ghosts from the past!'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2020 ed.).

'It had been months since Brazos and Benedict had started their search for Bo Rangle, the outlaw who’d killed most of their comrades in the War and stolen a fortune in gold. But the west was a big place and Rangle could have been anywhere.  Then they chanced upon the best lead they’d had in months…. the only trouble was, Race Sackett, the man who could take them right to Rangle, was behind bars, awaiting a noose. There was only one thing to do – bust the outlaw out and force him to take them to Rangle’s lair. But that was going to be easier said than done ….'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2020 ed.).

'Spargo was a mining town… but there hadn’t been any mining there for a while. The mines were in a dangerous condition, and their owner, Foley Kingston, refused to make improvements. So the miners–those who’d survived the numerous cave-ins and accidents–went on strike, and Kingston called on his old friend, Duke Benedict, to help him break it.

'Benedict’s partner, big Hank Brazos, immediately sided with the miners. And even though Benedict knew Kingston was at fault, he had to stand by him. Back in the War, Kingston had saved his life, so he owed the man.

'But there were darker forces at work in Spargo–from Kingston’s cheating wife Rhea to saloon owner Ace Beauford, who wanted to run the entire outfit all by himself. And then there was a man-mountain named Paddy Clancy, who figured to double-cross all of them!'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2020 ed.).

'Crossing the Red Man River when it was in full flood wasn’t the wisest thing gambler Duke Benedict and his cowboy sidekick Hank Brazos had ever done. And when the ferry they riding tore free of its ropes, they found themselves driven downstream until their wild ride ended on the banks of Peaceful Valley. Here, a religious order had built itself a town …. but the Devil had settled in those parts, too, for one of the townsfolk had just been murdered, and the two newcomers quickly found themselves accused of the killing!

'As if that wasn’t bad enough, Peaceful Valley was about to get a visit from bad man Chad Irons and his gang of cutthroats. Before he’d been sent to prison, the valley had been Irons’ hideaway. Now he intended to take it back – and kill everyone who stood in his way!

'One way or another, it was time for Benedict and Brazos to start fighting back …'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2020 ed.).

'As a favor to his father, Duke Benedict took on the job of bodyguard to Governor Sherwood Garfield. The territory was still raw, and the cattlemen who had claimed most of the surrounding land were determined to fight Garfield’s Settler’s Act, which would effectively open it up to homesteaders looking to start a new life.

'Benedict’s partner, big Hank Brazos, was kept busy as well, organizing the territorial militia … a thankless task that carried risks all of its own.

'But that was as nothing to the dangers that faced them when a hulking gunfighter named Honder was given a thousand dollars to kill Benedict … and a further five thousand to assassinate the man Benedict had been charged to protect!'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Bold Venture ed.).