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Sidewinders
Series · 8 books · 2008-2014

Books in series

Sidewinders book cover
#1

Sidewinders

2008

First in the blazing Western series featuring two reluctant heroes from the bestselling authors of the First Mountain Man and Last Gunfighter novels. In frontier literature, the name “Johnstone” means big, hard-hitting Western adventure told at a breakneck pace. Now, the bestselling authors kick off a rollicking, dramatic new series—with the first novel about a pair of not-quite-over-the-hill drifters winding their way across the American west—mostly on the right side of the law . . . but sometimes, if the situation calls for it, on the wrong side . . . Meet Scratch Morton and Bo Creel, two amiable drifters and old pals. Veterans of cowboying, cattle drives, drunken brawls, and a couple of shoot-outs, Scratch and Bo are mostly honest and don’t go looking for trouble—it’s usually there when they wake up in the morning. Now, in remote Arizona Territory, they’re caught up in a battle between two stagecoach lines. The owner of one, a beautiful widow, has gotten both Scratch and Bo hot and bothered—each trying to impress her as they fend off the opposing stage line trying to destroy her. But nothing is what it seems in this fight, and two tough sidewinders are riding straight into a trap. Praise for the novels of William W. Johnstone “[A] rousing, two-fisted saga of the growing American frontier.”— Publishers Weekly on Eyes of Eagles “There’s plenty of gunplay and fast-paced action.”— Curled Up with a Good Book on Dead Before Sundown
Massacre at Whiskey Flats book cover
#2

Massacre at Whiskey Flats

2008

A double-barreled dose of action featuring two of the West’s unlikeliest heroes—from the bestselling authors of the Luke Jensen, Bounty Hunter series. Sidewinders Don’t Look for Trouble—It Usually Finds Them In the west, there’s always work for the kind of men willing to get their hands dirty—from rounding stray cattle to stringing barbed wire. Bo Creel and Scratch Morton are just such men. Now they’ve been hired for the one job they’ve never wearing badges—in a little stain of a town called Whiskey Flats. What Bo and Scratch don’t know is that a gang of outlaws is bent on burning down the town the Sidewinders have been hired to protect. With only a passing acquaintance of the law, a keen sense of self-preservation, and a range-war gathering round them, Bo and Scratch need a good plan or it’s a one-way ticket to Boot Hill. They’ll also need a little luck, a whole mess of bullets, and the courage to stand tall—and shoot true . . . Praise for the novels of William W. Johnstone “[A] rousing, two-fisted saga of the growing American frontier.”— Publishers Weekly on Eyes of Eagles “There’s plenty of gunplay and fast-paced action.”— Curled Up with a Good Book on Dead Before Sundown
Cutthroat Canyon book cover
#3

Cutthroat Canyon

2009

Rollicking Western adventure featuring two hardheaded cowboys who veer towards the wrong side of the law by the authors of the Last Gunfighter series. Here’s Your Gold. Now Fight for It . . . Sometimes, it’s bad to be good. That’s what happens when Scratch Morton and Bo Creel are rewarded with a gold mine for saving a rich man’s bacon. The this mine is a magnet for marauding Mexican banditos. Budding capitalists, Scratch and Bo fight back. That’s when they discover that the thieves aren’t who they thought they were, 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 and Bo, this gold mine might make them rich. But it’s more likely to get them killed—just as soon as they can figure out who wants them dead . . . Praise for the novels of William W. Johnstone “[A] rousing, two-fisted saga of the growing American frontier.”— Publishers Weekly on Eyes of Eagles “There’s plenty of gunplay and fast-paced action.”— Curled Up with a Good Book on Dead Before Sundown
Mankiller, Colorado book cover
#4

Mankiller, Colorado

2010

Famed for The Last Gunfighter and Mountain Man sagas, master storyteller William W. Johnston joins forces with J.A. Johnstone to let loose a pair of the most unforgettable, trouble-prone, hard-fighting cowboys the West has ever known—who are about to step in the biggest hornet's nest in Colorado Territory. . . A Good Name—For A Very Bad Town Bo Creel and Scratch Morton have a lot of experience with the they've been breaking it most of their lives. But now the drifters are down to their last dime, and they accept the best job they can get in a boomtown called Mankiller. Their boss is a drunken sheriff named Biscuits O'Brien. Their tin stars are mighty pretty. And they start to take their new job seriously—until they're standing between a cunning clan of killers and the town's cowering citizens—with the killers outnumbering the cowerers. The only hope for a besieged town, Bo and Scratch now have a chance to become real heroes—that is, if they don't get their heads blown off the minute they stick their snoots out of the door.
Deadwood Gulch book cover
#5

Deadwood Gulch

2011

The Greatest Western Writer Of The 21st Century Famed for his Mountain Man and Eagles epics, William W. Johnstone, with J.A. Johnstone, now introduces two hard-riding, trouble-prone Texans-with a knack for keeping the west as wild as it ever was. . . When A Devil Comes Calling, Meet Him With A Gun. . . Two years after Wild Bill Hickok made his mark on Deadwood, Scratch Morton and Bo Creel make theirs. Their job is guarding gold shipments from the mining camps-shipments that keep getting hijacked by a gang called the Devils of Deadwood who plunge pitchforks into their victims' bodies. With Thanksgiving approaching, Scratch just wants to carve a turkey with a handsome widow woman at his side. Course, when the U.S. Army comes to the rescue, all hell breaks loose. The widow gets taken hostage. So do a bunch of soldiers. Now, Scratch and Bo are going after missing gold and a band of vicious killers in the heart of a winter storm. Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.
Texas Bloodshed book cover
#6

Texas Bloodshed

2012

The Greatest Western Writer Of The 21st Century With his monumental Mountain Man and Eagles series, William W. Johnstone has become America's most popular Western writer. Now, with J.A. Johnstone, he unleashes the Sidewinders, two honest Texas cowboys with an uncanny knack for lighting wildfires everywhere they go… Home Sweet Deadly Home If there's anything better than coming home to Texas, it's getting paid to do it. For Scratch Morton and Bo Creel, always on the hunt for funds, the job is taking three vicious criminals from Arkansas to Tyler, Texas for trial. Little do they know that one of the criminals, the one that's a beautiful woman, is the most dangerous of all. Soon the journey home turns into a race for buried treasure, a shoot-out, and another double cross—until Scratch and Bo are making one last mad, bullet-sprayed dash through the land of their birth… or the land of their death…
The Butcher of Bear Creek book cover
#7

The Butcher of Bear Creek

2013

The Greatest Western Writer Of The 21st CenturyIn his new novel, USA Today bestsellers William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone bring back those beloved, bumbling cowboys, Bo Creel and Scratch Morton. As usual, despite their best efforts, deep trouble has a way of tracking them down. . . Knocking On Trouble's Door There's nothing like family. At least that's what people say. But when Bo and Scratch come home to Bear Creek for a long-overdue visit, Bo's family kindly invites him to turn around and leave. His old friends and neighbors turn tail and run when they see him. Next thing he knows, he's in jail for the brutal murder of two saloon girls in neighboring Cottonwood. Unfortunately, the real killer looks astonishingly like Bo. Now, with his buddy in jail, Scratch needs to ride to the rescue, if he can escape the clutches of the beautiful assistant to a traveling snake oil salesman. With Bear Creek in an uproar, a man with Bo Creel's face and body is about to kill again. And the worst is still hovering on the horizon: a family secret that could turn Bo's hair bone-white.
Bleeding Texas book cover
#8

Bleeding Texas

2014

Two hard-living cowboys get caught up in a Texas ranch war in this Western adventure by the New York Times bestselling author of Ambush in the Ashes . Bo Creel is back at his family's Star C Ranch in Bear Creek, Texas. Along with his buddy Scratch, he's finding out that home is where the hell-raising is. A rival ranch is trying to drive the Creel family out of business. And Bo and Scratch are ready to tangle, even as two pretty young ladies blur the battle lines. As the Creel family sets off on a trial drive south to Rockport and a thriving cattle market on the Gulf of Mexico, their rivals strike a devastating blow. Assembling a ragtag army of aging, crusty cowboys who've seen their share of gun battles, Bo and Scratch need to recapture a stolen herd and make it to the Texas coast in time to save the Creel family's future—while a relentless enemy is about to unload the bloodiest mayhem to ever drench Texas.

Author

William W. Johnstone
William W. Johnstone
Author · 500 books

William Wallace Johnstone was a prolific American author, mostly of western, horror and survivalist novels. Born and raised in southern Missouri, Johnstone was the youngest of four children. His father was a minister and his mother a school teacher. He quit school when he was fifteen and worked in a carnival and as a deputy sheriff. He later served in the Army and, upon returning to civilian life, worked in radio broadcasting for 16 years. Johnstone started his writing career in 1970, but did not have any works published until 1979 (The Devil's Kiss) and became a full-time writer in 1980. He wrote close to two hundred books in numerous genres, including suspense and horror. His main publication series were Mountain Man, The First Mountain Man, Ashes and Eagles and his own personal favorite novel was The Last of the Dog Team (1980). He also authored two novels under the pseudonym William Mason. Johnstone had lived for many years in Shreveport, Louisiana, yet died in Knoxville, TN, at the age of 65. J. A. Johnstone is continuing William W. Johnstone's series.

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