Westward of the Law

Written by Matt Braun

Narrated by John Little

In the Texas Panhandle, Newt Bascom and Sam Jordan are stock detectives who have the brains to outwit most rustlers—and the brawn to outfight the rest. Now, Bascom and Jordan are being dispatched on a once-in-a-lifetime job. Someone has made off with a prized, imported English bull named Homer. The detectives have to bring Homer home …

From Palo Duro Canyon through the Staked Plains, Bascom and Jordan pick up the trail of the missing bull—and the shadowy rustler who took him. And when Dodge City, run by an ornery Marshall named Earp, turns up empty, the detectives head into a wild land. Bluffing, bludgeoning and bragging their way into a smart, secretive and deadly criminal gang, Bascom and Jordan find their bull all right. But stealing back a critter who has love and leisure on his mind proves to be the easy part of the job. The hard part is getting back to Texas—with Homer and their lives …

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781980092735

Matt Braun

Matt Braun was the author of more than four dozen novels, and won the Golden Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for The Kincaids. He described himself as a "true westerner"; born in Oklahoma, he was the descendant of a long line of ranchers. He wrote with a passion for historical accuracy and detail that earned him a reputation as the most authentic portrayer of the American West. Braun passed away in 2016.

Reviews for Westward of the Law

[lamour_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Newt Bascom and his partner Sam Jourdan are range detectives who hunt down rustlers for the Cattleman's Association. Their latest case finds then trailing rustlers who have stolen a $5000 Durham bull. While Newt is a first rate tracker, he is thrown off the trail by an equally talented rustler.Eventually after some patient detective work, they locate the missing bull, steal it back and then go on a long trek back to the owner's ranch with five angry outlaws on their tail most of whom are killed by Comanches but the two worst eventually meet their demise in a saloon at the hands of Newt and Sam.This is a first rate western tale with lots of humour, action and twists and turns. An interesting sidelight of this edition of the novel is that it appears to have been given out free by the Bull Durham Tobacco Company. Bull Durham is smoked by Steve and chewed by Newt so it gets frequent mention in the story. As well, in the narrative the characters learn how Bull Durham Tobacco got its brand name. Nice tie in to the plot of the theft and recovery of a Durham bull.