Every time he squeezed the trigger, somebody died. He thought it was just the way of the war, but after taking a couple bullets and being mustered out, it continued. When he stood over the ashes of his family’s farm and stared at their graves, the same bile rose in his throat, and he knew somebody was going to have to pay… and pay with their blood. This was to be the beginning of a blood hunt that would take Reuben Grundy across four states, pit him against renegade outlaws posing as the Home Guard for the north, the Bushwhackers of Captain Quantrill and the men in butternut and grey, as well as the mighty Pawnee of the plains. His father had taught young Reuben to never look for others to do what needs to be done, even if it means putting his life on the line. And Reuben would do just that, with his training as one of Berdan’s Sharpshooters at the outset of the war between the states, and his own time beside his father in the woods, Reuben was destined to become one of the most feared hunters of the plains. Whether it was for man or beast, when his sights settled on the target, death was sure to follow.

It was to be no more than a wagon train going west, but when Reuben uncovers a plot to provide a shipment of Beecher’s Bibles to the restive Oglala Sioux, he was forced to intervene. He knew the destruction that would come at the hands of renegade natives armed with Springfield Rifles and in good conscience, he forced himself to try to do whatever was necessary to prevent that from happening. The war was waging in the east and when the usual guard of soldiers from Fort Kearny was no longer possible, the wagons had to travel without the safety of the troops. An appeal to the commandant also revealed a deeper plot that would put the innocent travelers in more danger, prompting Reuben to change his plans and form a plot of his own. He knew trouble often comes in threes and an angry band of Pawnee that had been cheated by the gunrunners brought their own trouble. And to Reuben’s chagrin, the Brule Sioux and the Arapaho could also complicate matters for the young man who was bound for the western plains. But if the restless and renegade natives weren’t enough, a mighty pretty blue-eyed blonde young lady set her sights on the young plainsman. If he could see what was coming, Reuben would probably and gladly jump into the nearest pond of quicksand and count himself lucky.

It was new country, beautiful and wild and full of challenges. When Reuben chose to start the new chapter of his life with a partner, he had no inclination as to the trials that would come. The sight of a war party of Cheyenne Dog soldiers caught their attention when they saw two captive white women, and Elly’s insistence that they free them was the beginning of those challenges. A confrontation with four bandits that wanted the women presented another challenge, but when a federal Marshall and the owner of the Overland Stage line challenge Reuben with the task of securing a gold shipment from the gold fields of Colorado and get it to the Union forces while Rebel recruits want it for the Confederacy, raises the stakes in his new role. Add in an attack by outlaws teamed up with renegade Arapaho and Cheyenne, some desperado prospectors, and a handful of confederate deserters, Reuben and Elly have their work cut out for them… But when they think they’ve got it handled, two orphaned urchins tug at their heartstrings and complicate matters even further.

A CAPTIVATING, VIVID WESTERN CLASSIC – FOR FANS OF THE TRUE WILD WEST. They had flirted with the distant snowcapped mountains before but never had the opportunity to walk among them. Now with renewed determination, Reuben and his new bride, Elly, set out for those mountains. But the trail they traveled took them through the goldfields of the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush of South Park, Colorado Territory. Evil was running rampant in the outlying areas of the mountain park and when mutilated and disfigured bodies began to litter the landscape from the mountains to the plains, the prospectors and settlers began to let fear rule their lives. When the supposed killers were finally identified, Reuben joined the posse, not to catch the killers, but to prevent a lawless lynching of possibly innocent travelers. Chosen as a scout to team up with a wily old mountain man, Reuben and his partner would be confronted by a rampaging Ute war party, chase down the bloody killers, and confront those that would take law into their own hands. When blood covered the land, something had to be done, and Reuben could be the man to do it. And all in the middle of God’s Country.

THE CAPTIVATING FIFTH NOVEL IN THE PLAINSMAN WESTERN SERIES FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHOR B.N. RUNDELL. The gold rush of 1859 in the Colorado Rockies brought more than just gold seekers. Outlaws, conmen, crooks, and thieves quickly populated the central Rockies, and it was from that element that Reuben and Elly Mae Grundy fled. They had done their part, serving as deputy marshals, but now they wanted time alone and together. Choosing a site far south and away from the gold rush, they built a cabin for their first home. But they soon discovered their neighbors were Mouache Ute and Jicarilla Apache. When the Comanche launched a raid on their long-time enemies and captured many of their women, they also took Elly and her friends. Now it’s up to Reuben to go against a war party of almost a hundred proven warriors to rescue his bride. Add in greedy Comancheros, rebellious soldiers, and bad weather, and Reuben’s got his hands full with a challenge he never expected to be thrown into. Fortunately, he’s not the kind of man that ever backs down from a challenge. “\[A\] redeeming story from THE master storyteller.” —David, early reader