The Bounty Hunters(1953, the first Elmore Leonard novel)
The old Apache renegade Soldado Viejo is hiding out in Mexico, and the Arizona Department Adjutant has selected two men to hunt him down. One – Dave Flynn – knows war, the land, and the nature of his prey. The other is a kid lieutenant named Bowers. But there’s a different kind of war happening in Soyopa. And if Flynn and his young associate choose the wrong allies – and the wrong enemy – they won’t be getting out alive.
The Independent (London): “One of the most successful Western writers of his day… Leonard’s career as a novelist began with The Bounty Hunters.”
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Rellis’s lip curled, grinning. “Mostly when I see a piss-ant I just step on him.”
“Rellis – “ It came unexpectedly, with the sound of the screen door closing.
As Rellis turned his head sharply, the grin died on his face.
Flynn stood in from the doorway. He came on a few strides and stopped, his eyes on Rellis, his right hand unbuttoning his coat.
Rellis wasn’t loose now. “I… was just asking where you were, Flynn.”
“I heard you asking.”
“Listen, I didn’t have any part in killing your friend.”
“Rellis,” Flynn said quietly, “you’re a liar.”
“You got no cause to say that.”
Flynn moved toward Rellis. “It’s said.” He paused, watching Rellis’ eyes. “I’m going outside. I’ll expect to see you within the next few minutes… with your gun in your hand.”
The Law at Randado(1954)
Phil Sundeen thinks Deputy Sheriff Kirby Frye is just a green local kid with a tin badge. And when the wealthy cattle baron’s men drag two prisoners from Frye’s jail and hang them from a high tree, there’s nothing the untried young lawman can do about it. But Kirby’s got more grit than Sundeen and his hired muscles bargained for. They can beat the boy and humiliate him, but they can’t make him forget the job he has sworn to do. The cattleman has money, fear, and guns on his side, but Kirby Frye’s the law in this godforsaken corner of the Arizona Territories. And he’ll drag Sundeen and his killers straight to hell himself to prove it.
USA Today: “Leonard has penned some of the best Western fiction ever.”
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Frye felt the anger hot on his face. “Doesn’t killing two men mean anything to you?”
“You picked yourself a beauty,” Sundeen said to no one in particular. “Why does he pack that gun if he’s so against killin’?”
Jordan said, “Maybe it makes him feel important.”
“Now if it was me,” Sundeen said, “I wouldn’t pick a deputy that whined like a woman.”
Jordan was looking at Frye. “Maybe that’s what this deputy is… only dressed up like a man.
Sundeen grinned. “Maybe we ought to take his pants off and find out.”
Frye held his eyes on Sundeen. Just Sundeen – he felt his anger mounting. “Sundeen, if you want to try, stop by the jail tomorrow.”
Escape from Five Shadows (1956)
No one breaks out of the brutal convict labor camp at Five Shadows – but Corey Bowen is ready to die trying. They framed him to put him in there, and beat him bloody and nearly dead after his last escape attempt. He’ll have help this time – from a lady with murder on her mind and a debt to pay back. Because freedom isn’t enough for primed dynamite like Bowen. And he won’t leave the corrupt desert hell behind him until a few scores are settled… permanently.
Dallas Morning News: “As welcome as a thunderstorm in a dry spell.”
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“I’m giving you warning now,” Renda said, including all the convicts. “One more out of line and somebody shoots. You’ll even think before spitting over the side of the wagon. You hesitate one second when you’re told to do something, you’re dead. You take one step in the wrong direction and you won’t know what hit you.”
He turned to Bowen suddenly. “You understand that?”
Bowen nodded, looking up at Renda.
“Listen,” Renda said, “I’ll tell you something else. That stunt you pulled a while back… jumping off the wagon. You wouldn’t get just twenty days for it the second time.”
He looked over the convicts. “You get past the guards, the Mimbres have got orders to take your scalp. You won’t be brought back here… just part of you. To prove you’re dead.”
Last Stand at Saber River(1959)
A one-armed man stood before Denaman’s store, and the girl named Luz was scared. Paul Cable could see that from the rise two hundred yards away, just as he could see that everything had changed while he was away fighting for the Confederacy. He just didn’t know how much. Cable and his family rode down to Denaman’s store and faced the one-armed man. Then they heard the story, about the Union Army and two brothers – and a beautiful woman – who had taken over Cable’s spread and weren’t going to give it back. For Paul Cable the war hadn’t ended at all. Among the men at Saber River, some would be his enemies, some might have been his friends, but no one was going to take his future away – not with words, not with treachery, and not with guns.
New York Daily News: “Very tough and realistic.”
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Cable stood over Dancey with the Walker Colt in his hand. It was cocked and pointing directly at Dancey’s head. Joe Bob and Royce said nothing.
Dancey said, “You’re not proving anything with that gun in your hand.”
“I don’t have anything to prove.”
Royce said, “You think we won’t be back?”
Cable’s gaze shifted. “You’ll ride into a double load of buckshot if you do.”
Royce seemed to grin. “Man, you’re made to order. Duane’s going to have some fun with you.”
Dancey’s eyes held on Cable. “So one man’s going to stand us off.”
“That’s all it’s taken so far.”
Hombre(1961)
John Russell has been raised as an Apache. Now he’s on his way to live as a white man. But when the stagecoach passengers learn who he is, they want nothing to do with him – until outlaws ride down on them and they must rely on Russell’s guns and his ability to lead them out of the desert. He can’t ride with them, but they must walk with him or die.
Western Writers of America: “One of the twenty-five best Western novels of all time.”
San Francisco Chronicle: “Thrilling.”
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[“Carl Everett Allen” is recalling how he came to write this account.]
At first I wasn’t sure at all where to begin. When I asked advice, this man from the Florence Enterprise said begin at the beginning, the day the coach departed from Sweetmary with everybody aboard. Which sounded fine until I got to doing it. Then I saw it wasn’t the beginning at all. There was too much to explain at one time. Who the people were, where they were going and all. Also, starting there didn’t tell enough about John Russell.
He is the person this story is mainly about. If it had not been for him, we would all be dead and there wouldn’t be anybody telling this. So I will begin with the first time I ever saw John Russell…
[S]ome of my ideas about John Russell at the time are embarrassing to put on paper. But I was advised to imagine I was telling it to a good friend and not worry about what other people might think. Which is what I have done. If there’s anything anybody wants to skip, like innermost thoughts in places, just go ahead.
The Moonshine War(1969)