Product Description

In the spring of 1874 the Ranger companies that protect settlers against Indian raids and outlaw bands are being reorganized and David "Rusty" Shannon is the most sought-after veteran for reenlistment.

But Shannon has new goals for his life: He is in love with Josie Monahan, daughter of the family that adopted him, and he intends to marry Josie and take her to his farm on the Colorado River. Rusty also feels affection and responsibility for Andy Pickard, a headstrong teenager he rescued from captivity among the Comanche--just as Rusty himself was rescued as a red-haired boy decades before.

Then an unspeakable tragedy--the murder of his beloved Josie--changes Rusty's plans for a quiet farmer's life and alters his peace-loving character. Bent on revenge, he relentlessly trails Corey Bascom, son of an outlaw family and the man Rusty believes is Josie's killer.
But the trail Rusty is following may be leading him to the wrong man.

Set in the tumultuous Reconstruction period of Texas history, Ranger’s Trail continues Elmer Kelton's chronicles of the origins of the renowned Texas Rangers, told as fiction but historically accurate in every detail and written by a favorite son of Texas.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #263942 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Seven-time Spur Award-winner Kelton (Way of the Coyote) returns with the fourth installment of his Texas Ranger series, once again offering a wild ride of six-gun justice as former Ranger Rusty Shannon comes to know what it really means to be cold-blooded. Texas in 1874 is still soaked in post-Civil War bitterness: roaming bands of outlaws and family feuds stoke the flames of violence. Rusty now owns a farm in south Texas and hopes to marry sweet Josie Monahan and settle down to raise a family. The Monahans, however, have some trouble. Their youngest daughter has run off to marry a no-good cowboy, one of the sons of the bank-robbing, horse-stealing Bascom family. When she escapes from the Bascoms and returns home, the outlaw clan comes to take her back or silence her forever, but Josie is murdered by mistake. Grief and the need for revenge overwhelm the usually cool Rusty, and he sets out after the wrong man. Aided by his pals Andy Pickard and Len Tanner, he tears across Texas on a manhunt. Andy and Len carry badges, so any murderous, thieving varmints who cross their path are left full of bullet holes, and it's all legal-like. When Rusty finally corners his prey and learns the truth about Josie's killing, an unusual showdown more than evens the score. Kelton is a master storyteller who offers more than just blood and gunsmoke. The right blend of action, drama, romance, humor and suspense makes this a handsome addition to his ongoing saga of the Old West.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Rusty Shannon was a Texas Ranger before the war. Now, almost 10 years after Appomatox, the Rangers are being reorganized. Shannon would love to re-up, but he has another matter on his plate: settle the score with Corey Basom, who murdered Shannon's beloved Josie. Complicating his plans for revenge is Josie's younger sister, Alice, who married Bascom before she knew his true nature and whose estrangement from the outlaw precipitated Josie's death. The vengeance trail leads to a deadly confrontation in which Shannon realizes he's not a cold-blooded killer, regardless of circumstance, and Bascom reveals an integrity few thought he possessed. Kelton, whose seven Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America is a record for that honor, expands on his reputation with a thoughtful, realistic portrayal of the West in which carefully drawn characters--not gunplay--drives the action. If there's an heir to the Louis L'Amour legacy, it's Kelton. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“Elmer Kelton is a Texas treasure. . . . [He] truly deserves to be made one of the immortals of literature.” --El Paso Herald-Post
-- Review

Customer Reviews

Ranger's Trail
Kelton is the best! This is another great one -- highly recommend!