Lash La Rue Western #66

Buddy Carver is a strapping twenty-two-year-old who's gotten away with troublemaking his whole life thanks to his five protective older brothers—until Lash La Rue hauls him in for wrecking a saloon and decides the kid needs a dose of real consequences. When the Carvers try intimidating the town and their younger brother into submission, Lash rides out to the ranch to show Buddy that coddling isn't the same as caring, and that a man's worth comes from standing on his own two feet.

Lash La Rue, the roving marshal, investigates a string of robberies and gold shipments gone missing, only to find his path blocked by Crazy Mike, a hostile hermit living atop a lonely knoll who shoots at anyone who approaches. When Lash realizes the outlaw gang may be hiding in plain sight, he sets a trap to catch them red-handed and uncover the hermit's true identity. Expect gunplay, a clever disguise, and a showdown that proves the marshal's wits are just as sharp as his draw.

Art Finley's modest desert ranch is the last piece of land Dave Acker doesn't control—and Acker's hired gun, Chick Frio, is sent to drive him out by force. When Finley refuses to back down, he's beaten and forced to flee, but his fight is far from over; working alone, he begins systematically dismantling Acker's operation from the inside. As tensions boil over and the rancher makes his stand, the valley's other settlers finally see their chance to join the battle.

Lawman Lash La Rue tracks a contraband smuggling operation run by Kurr and Mangy, who attempt to split his attention by riding in opposite directions—but Lash's sharp eyes catch a crucial clue in a note meant for Captain Blutter aboard the riverboat *Dreamer*. Now undercover and outnumbered, Lash must outmaneuver the Captain, his crew, and the smugglers in a desperate fight aboard the vessel to shut down their operation.