A Cap Whitlatch Western

First in a new historical series from the highly acclaimed, award-winning author praised as "the genuine article" (Craig Johnson) and known for his "literary voice delivered with a warm and knowing Texas twang" (CJ Box).

In a land with no law, there’s only two things a man can count on—a deadly sense of justice and an even deadlier ability to outdraw the most dangerous lead-spitting gunslingers.

Texas cowboy Cap Whitlatch has never shied away from hard work. Whether driving cattle or busting broncos, he gets the job done right. When he hires on with a ranch, he earns his pay with blood and sweat, keeping him honest. And when a friend is in dire need, Cap will move the tallest mountains to defend and protect them from harm.

Gil Vanderburg has known Cap since they were children. Now, he’s in jail for murder in a small Oklahoma town. To see justice served right, Cap volunteers to escort his friend to South Texas where he will stand trial for robbery. But they’re not quite traveling alone along the unhealthy trail in Indian territory. Three bloodthirsty Cherokee brothers want revenge on Gill for killing their sibling. A pair of vicious outlaws are after the gold in Cap’s saddlebags. And the marshal pursuing them all is determined to bring every lawbreaker in—dead or alive.

Cap is not about to let any man—no matter which side of the law he falls on—deter him from fulfilling his righteous mission. And he will show no mercy to anyone who tries . . .Praise for Reavis Z. Wortham

“Reavis Z. Wortham is the real thing: a literary voice that’s delivered with a warm and knowing Texas twang.”—C.J. Box
 
“There’s a term we use in the west, the genuine article, and those words fit Reavis Z. Wortham to a Texas T.”—Craig Johnson
 
"Think: Elmore Leonard meets James Lee Burke." — Jeffery Deaver
 
"Captivating...Wortham adroitly balances richly nuanced human drama with two-fisted action, and displays a knack for the striking phrase." — Publishers Weekly on Laying Bones
 
"Readers who’ve already seen Tom grown old in earlier installments of Wortham’s Texas Red River series will be rubbing their hands in eager anticipation of what happens next…A familiar but powerful tale of a solitary hero confronting a web of conspirators against hopeless odds." — Kirkus Reviews on The Texas Job

"As Texas Ranger Tom Bell moves center stage, a reader imagines Gary Cooper walking real slow down a dusty street…the unkillable Ranger goes from hero to superhero." — Booklist on The Texas Job
 
"Witty and engaging, Hawke's War is a true, unexpected pleasure. Anticipating a simple, straightforward action-adventure novel, I instead got to enjoy a book which felt like a mix of Joe Lansdale and Elmore Leonard: great characters, great dialogue, and superior action. Hawke and supporting cast feel like people you'd love to get to know, while the bad guys are truly despicable, but somehow sympathetic (at least when it came to the underlings). Finally, the rustic West Texas setting permeates the narrative, and drives the action, as Hawke is forced to endure a savage odyssey across rugged terrain." — Mystery Scene on Hawke's War

"This Spur Award-winner could have been taken directly from today's headlines. The engaging and exciting story starts with a sniper attack on four hikers in the Big Bend National Park in West Texas. And the reader is immediately launched into a thrilling and emotional roller-coaster ride of spellbinding adventure." — Roundup Magazine on Hawke's War

"This elegant thriller that reads like a modern-day Western conjures memories of gunfighters of lore, a tradition Hawke proudly holds up while riding the ranges of Texas's Big Bend National Park…Wortham hits the bull's-eye dead center in this tale worthy of Louis L'Amour and James Lee Burke. Once of the best thrillers I've read this year, featuring emotional landscapes as sprawling as the physical ones." — The Providence Sunday Journal on Hawke's WarReavis Z. Wortham is the award-winning author of the Sonny Hawke Thrillers and the Red River Mystery series. In addition to winning the prestigious Spur Award for Hawke's War, he is a Holt Medallion Award finalist and a Benjamin Franklin Award winner. The 2018 Magna Cum Murder Guest of Honor, he is an active member of Mystery Writers of America, the Writers' League of Texas, the International Association of Crime Writers, and International Thriller Writers. He writes a syndicated weekly outdoor column for numerous Texas newspapers, covering everything from fishing to deer hunting. A fourth generation Texan, he lives in northeast Texas with his wife. He can be found online at ReavisZWortham.com.