Trackdown (9781101619384)
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Authors: James Reasoner
PRAISE FOR
Redemption: Hunters
“James Reasoner creates a terrific air of tension…His pacing is excellent and his prose believable…a first-class series…nearly a year between books is far too long to wait for those of us eager to see what troubles befall the town of Redemption next.”
—Western Fiction Review
“
Redemption: Hunters
proves, once again, why James Reasoner’s name is synonymous with superior Western storytelling…After the strength of both
Redemption, Kansas
and
Redemption: Hunters
, I hope that Reasoner keeps his Bill Harvey series going for a long time. I’m already eager for a third book.”
—Fires on the Plain
PRAISE FOR
Redemption, Kansas
Winner of Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award
“A Western novel with characters you care about and a crackerjack plot. If anybody asks you who’s carrying on the heritage of fine traditional Westerns in the vein of Louis L’Amour and Elmer Kelton, tell ’em James Reasoner’s the man.”
—Bill Crider, author of
Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen
“A wonderful book, wonderfully told. James Reasoner has the gift of words, telling a fast-paced story that reaches into the hearts of his characters…and his readers.”
—Frank Roderus, author of
Ransom
“A fast-paced cowboy tale written with the flair of a master. If you’ve never read a Western by James Reasoner, pick this one up. You won’t put this novel down until you’ve finished it, and you’ll be ready for more.”
—Larry D. Sweazy, Spur Award–winning author of
The Coyote Tracker
Berkley titles by James Reasoner
REDEMPTION, KANSAS
REDEMPTION: HUNTERS
REDEMPTION: TRACKDOWN
REDEMPTION:
Trackdown
James Reasoner
BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
For more information about the Penguin Group visit penguin.com
REDEMPTION TRACKDOWN
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author
Copyright © 2013 by James Reasoner.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.
BERKLEY
®
is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-61938-4
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley mass market edition / March 2013
Cover illustration by Dennis Lyall.
Cover design by Diana Kolsky.
Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
| ALWAYS LEARNING | PEARSON |
For Tom Roberts
The tinny strains of music from a player piano drifted over the batwings, mingled with raucous laughter. Folks were having a fine old time in the Prairie Queen Saloon this evening, Bill Harvey thought as he paused on the boardwalk outside the establishment.
He pondered pushing the batwings aside and going in to have a look around, then decided not to. The saloon was loud but otherwise peaceful enough at the moment. No need to put a damper on the festivities by showing up with a marshal’s badge pinned to his shirt.
Bill walked on past the entrance, limping a little on his left leg, the permanent result of an injury suffered back when he was still a Texas cowboy helping to push a herd to market here in Kansas. A spooked steer had gored him in that leg, and he could have easily died if not for Eden Monroe taking such good care of him.
She was still taking care of him as his wife now, since he’d given up cowboying, pinned on the marshal’s star, and settled down here in Redemption.
Bill glanced at the horses tied up at the hitch rails in front of the Prairie Queen. Those rails were just about full. As the
new saloon in town, the place was doing a booming business, while Smoot’s Saloon, well established and on the other side of the street on the next block, was suffering a mite as many of Fred Smoot’s regular customers flocked to the Prairie Queen to try it out.
It didn’t help matters for Smoot that the Prairie Queen was owned by a woman, and a good-looking one at that. Annabelle Hudson, she called herself, and for all Bill knew, that was her real name. Blond, about thirty, with some hard edges about her that said she knew a lot about the world, though still very attractive. Naturally her presence was going to lure most of the thirsty hombres in town.
That was none of Bill’s concern, of course. His job was to keep the peace, not worry about business rivalries. As long as they didn’t lead to shooting, those things would have to sort themselves out.