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J. D. Books Contemporary Western Mystery Novels

On Deadly GroundJ. D. Books Contemporary Western Mystery SeriesBook 1
“Environmental activist David Greenbriar climbed steadily higher onto the Kaiparowits Plateau, unaware that this would be his last sojourn into Utah’s wild southern wilderness.” So begins, On Deadly Ground, a story which follows the disappearance of a prominent environmental activist in southern Utah. Any number of people are immediate suspects. Local county sheriff, Charley Sutter, turns to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ranger, J. D. Books, for help in solving the case.
Review
“A well-crafted plot with plenty of action, a likeable hero with a checkered past, and a magnificent western setting make this one a winner.” Publisher’s Weekly
Skeleton PicnicBook 2
Descendants of Mormon pioneers, Rolly and Abigail Rogers come from a long line of hunters who scour the desert southwest in search of valuable, Anasazi antiquities. When the couple fails to return home from a weekend “skeleton picnic” along the isolated Arizona Strip, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ranger J. D. Books and Kane County deputy sheriff, Beth Turner, investigate. Books’ own survival skills are tested as the hunter becomes the hunted, and only one person gets to go home alive.
Reviews
“Skeleton Picnic is a classy police procedural with odd outbreaks of sundry violence and gunfire as our hero slowly uncovers evidence…It’s written in a simple and direct form, cutting quickly to the chase and never letting up in the pace until we arrive breathless at the end.” San Francisco Book Review.
”Skeleton Picnic” is a mystery that has much to offer: a stunning setting for its plot, believable characters with well-written dialogue, enough action to sustain the mystery, and an ethical dilemma around which to base the storyline. Whether the reader is interested in the southwest in particular or is just generally looking for a good story, Skeleton Picnic is sure to satisfy.” Reviewing the Evidence.

Western Short Stories

Two years ago, I decided to try my hand at western short stories. To my surprise, my first two were published by renowned Saddlebag Dispatches magazine and both won awards.
Lozen’s War, Saddlebag Dispatches, Summer, 2022 Winner of the Will Rogers Copper Medallion Award, 2022, for best short story
Lozen’s War is a story about the famous Apache Shaman and warrior woman’s attempt to guide a pregnant Mescalero woman out of northern Mexico to her home on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in southeastern NM. Assisted by former U.S. Army scout, Conor Doyle, Lozen and Doyle are forced to make a stand against a group of marauding bandits and scalp hunters.
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A Death of Crows, Saddlebag Dispatches, (Winter, 2023) Inaugural Winner (2023), Longhorn Prize for Best Short Story, Saddlebag Dispatches Finalist, Will Rogers Medallion Award, (2023) best short story.
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A Death of Crows tells the fictional story of a conflict between reservation Apache and a prominent Arizona cattle rancher who accused them of rustling his cattle. Central to the story is the real-life character, Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood, who spent his entire Army career in the American southwest attempting to keep the peace between white settlers and the reservation Apache.

Additional short stories

Jason Betzinez: Man of Two Worlds
Man of Two Worlds is about Jason Betzinez, the last surviving member of Geronimo’s Apache fighters and his second cousin. Betzinez was an apprentice warrior, who participated in raids led by Geronimo in both Mexico and the United States. He later attended the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania where he, unlike many who were placed in Indian schools, embraced a new culture and became bi-cultural. Man of Two Worlds is about Betinez’s success in navigating both worlds. Two years before his death at 100, he wrote his memoir, I Fought with Geronimo. It was published in 1959.
Big Trouble at Dragoon Springs Station
When freighter, Tyler Grimes and his partner departed Tucson in 1858, bound for the newly opened stage station high in the Dragoon Mountains, they hoped for an uneventful trip to deliver badly needed supplies. That didn’t happen. Instead, a fight unfolded with three Apache warriors during a nasty monsoon storm. Unfortunately, the Apache fight was just the beginning of a protracted fight inside the stage station where several people were murdered.
The Search for White Dove Woman
When former U.S. Army scout, Conor Doyle, is approached by relatives of a missing young woman and her son, who had been held captive by the Comanche for several years, he was reluctant to undertake the search. This was the second time White Dove Woman and her son had run away from their family in Ruidoso, NM. She had been unable to adjust to white, Christian society. Doyle, and Apache scout, Ponce, eventually agree to undertake the search. The ensuing hunt takes Doyle and Ponce on a long, dangerous mission near the border of Mexico.
Chased to Ground: Massacre of Apache Chief Victorio at the Battle of Tres Castillos
Chased to Ground is the story of a small group of warriors from the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apache Indians, who, led by their famous Chief, Victorio, refused to live at the desolate San Carlos Indian Reservation. It’s the story of their pursuit by both the United States and Mexico from 1879-1881. And it’s the story that culminated in the final battle at Tres Castillos where the Mexican army cornered and massacred Victorio and his people.
Following the Vengeance Trail: Gouyen’s Story
Apache Warrior woman, Gouyen, witnessed the horrific murder of her young husband. She watched in horror as a smiling Comanche chief scalped him before pulling his head back and slicing his neck from ear to ear. Realizing she has no one in her family capable of following the vengeance trail, Gouyen slips away, on foot, in the dead of night to follow the Comanche war party and take her revenge. Her three-day journey leads her to her desired destination. Now, how does she lure the Comanche chief away from his own village!