A Widowmaker Jones Western Series

First in an action-packed Western series from the great-grandson of famed US Marshal Rooster Cogburn and two-time Spur Award–winning author.   With a bag full of gold dust, Newt “Widowmaker” Jones is set for life. Then he makes his first mistake, trusting a cheerful stranger. By dawn the stranger—Javier Cortina, the son of the famous Texas border bandit, Juan “Red” Cortina—is gone. So is the gold. So are Newt’s horse and even his fearsome Colt .44. It’s enough to make a man want vengeance. And vengeance will be Newt’s.   Newt chases Cortina into Mexico, where the man is legendary for the horses he’s stolen, the women he’s bedded, and the men he’s killed. As for Newt, he has a unique talent for choosing the wrong partners, from an angry, addled judge named Roy Bean to a brother and sister pair of circus folk, Fonzo Grey and Buckshot Annie. The more Newt pursues the cunning and deadly Cortina, the angrier he gets, until somewhere on the border the whole crazy journey explodes into an all-out battle of bullets and blood . . .   Praise for Brett Cogburn   “The familiar ambiance of the Western is kept fresh in Cogburn’s sure hands.” —Historical Novel Society   “Fans of frontier arcana will revel in Cogburn’s readable prose and lively characters.” —Publishers Weekly   “Cogburn amazes and astounds.” —Booklist

The two-time Spur Award–winner brings back the true grit and glory of the Old West—with a hero as glorious as his real-life ancestor Rooster Cogburn . . .   They call him the Widowmaker . . .   Newt Jones is none too proud of his deadly nickname. But when you tangle with the likes of Judge Roy Bean and the notorious Mexican outlaw Juan Cortina, a man’s bound to earn a reputation. Or get stuck with a moniker like “Widowmaker.” Even so, Newt is ready to put his gunslinging days behind him, hang up his Winchester, and take it easy. There’s just one problem: Ain’t nothing easy about living in Apache country . . .   When Newt gets word that a renegade tribe has kidnapped Matilda Redding’s grandson, he can’t just sit by and let the local authorities bungle it. Matilda once did him a good turn up on the Pecos and—flat broke and half drunk or not—he’s got to help the old gal out. So he saddles up his horse, straps on his dead man’s gun, and sets off to save this boy before he’s buzzard chow. Sure, Newt’s outnumbered, outgunned, and probably out of his mind. But they don’t call him Widowmaker Jones for nothing . . .   Praise for Spur Award–winner Brett Cogburn   “Fans of frontier arcana will revel in Cogburn’s readable prose and lively characters.” —Publishers Weekly on Rooster   “Cogburn amazes and astounds.” —Booklist

TIME TO MEET THE WIDOWMAKER   Vulture City is home to a prosperous gold mine and every bad man in the Arizona Territory knows it. Nearly every stagecoach attempting to deliver the gold to the railroad at Maricopa has been ambushed on the trail—a trail known as the Gunpowder Express for the bullet-riddled bodies along the way.   With gold piling up and a lack of volunteers to transport it, the mine owner hires Newt “Widowmaker” Jones to ride shotgun on the next stage. Foolhardy and desperate for money, Newt joins three other guards—and a passenger, Jenny Silks, a stubborn firebrand with her own stake in seeing the delivery through. But waiting on the Gunpowder Express is Irish Jack O’Harrigan and his band of outlaws. There’s not a soul alive he wouldn’t think twice about putting six feet under. But he’s never traded lead with the man known as Widowmaker . . .   Praise for Spur Award winner Brett Cogburn   “Fans of frontier arcana will revel in Cogburn’s readable prose and lively characters.” —Publishers Weekly on Rooster   “Cogburn amazes and astounds.” —Booklist

THE WIDOWMAKER MEETS POKER ALICE. The most famous lady gambler of the Old West teams up with Widowmaker Jones in a doomed search for lost treasure, a deadly trek through the desert—and a dangerous alliance with the greatest gunslingers in history . . . IT’S A MATCH MADE IN HELL. Card player extraordinaire Poker Alice knows when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em, and when to team up with master gunman Newt “Widowmaker” Jones. She’s betting on Jones to protect her—and her money—on a treasure hunt in the California desert. Legend has it that a shipwreck is buried in the Salton sands. Some say it’s a Spanish galleon that got stuck when the sea ran dry. Other says it’s a Chinese junk full of pearls or a Viking ship filled with Aztec treasure. Either way, a lot of very mean and dangerously violent folks would kill to find it. Which is why Poker Alice needs the Widowmaker. In this game, it’s winner takes all. Losers die . . . Praise for Spur Award winner Brett Cogburn   “Fans of frontier arcana will revel in Cogburn’s readable prose and lively characters.” —Publishers Weekly on Rooster   “Cogburn amazes and astounds.” —Booklist