Rough Trails and Shallow Graves

The Cowboy and the Vampire #3

by Clark Hays, Kathleen McFall

Say goodbye to LonePine, Wyoming, a typical small town in the American west with typical small town problems—romantic intrigues, warm beer and…vampires.

But when Lizzie goes missing on their wedding night, Tucker is forced to team up with his bloodthirsty Russian nemesis to find answers.

Crashing through cowboy country, the vampire spirit world and wrecked salmon canneries, they confront an evil more ancient than even the undead—human greed—twisting science into something terrible.

Can there be a happily-ever-after for a cowboy and vampire, or is their unusual love just a delusion?

Time to cowboy up!

Rough Trails and Shallow Graves is the third book of the award-winning The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection , a series that’s been called everything from a cult classic to a trailblazer in a new Western Gothic.

Genres: Vampires, Paranormal, Westerns, Romance

358 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2014

About the author

I'm an ex-poet, lapsed cowboy and whiskey enthusiast living in Portland, Oregon, with my lovely life, writing and backgammon partner Kathleen McFall. We've written 12 books together so far.

The most recent is Poetic Justice, the second book in our Restaurantland series, romance novels set in a funky, fictional Portland restaurant in the 1990s. Kitchen Heat is book one.

We also have:

A three-book sci-fi series:
Gates of Mars
Scorched Earth
Mars Adrift

A three-book alt-history series about Bonnie and Clyde:
Resurrection Road
Dam Nation
Radioactive

A four-book award-winning paranormal action/romance series, the Cowboy and Vampire Collection:
A Very Unusual Romance
Blood and Whiskey
Rough Trails and Shallow Graves (named to Kirkus Reviews best indie books of 2014)
The Last Sunset (silver medalist, 2017 Independent Publisher National Book Awards; Indie Reader best books of 2016)

I also wrote Just West of Hell, a collection of Western Gothic short stories which Kathleen, thankfully, edited.

You can learn more about the books, and what it's like to write with the person you love, at https://www.pumpjackpress.com.

Follow along on:
@cowboyvampire (Threads and Instagram)
facebook/cowboyandvampire

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gothic vampire western romance with humour.....part 3

With the forth and final book due out in June I've decided to re-read the previous books and I'm so glad I did.
These books just get better and better, while reading this, early on I just didn't want it to end I was enjoying it so much, the characters and the humour, I absolutely love the humour and I knew I'd be a bit lost when I'd finished since I've read 'Unusual' 'Blood' and now 'Rough' over a 4 day period.
This book opens with the line:
“This guy Lenny is absolutely bat-shit crazy,” the analyst said, pulling off his headphones.
Now at first I didn't want this to end but the story was such that I literally couldn't read fast enough, I was reading while eating and when I should have been sleeping it's an odd feeling reading as fast as you can to find out what happens next yet wanting to read slowly so you don't get to the end.
On their wedding night Lizzie is kidnapped from the small town of LonePine,
“Holy crap, you cannot even call that piece of shit a town,” said the second man. “More like a wide spot in a poorly maintained road.”
Tucker has to team up with the 'Red Scare' better known as Rurik, the beautiful and funny but deadly Elita, my favourite Lenny and of course Rex. This really is an absorbing story and while difficult to read in places it managed to make me laugh almost at the same time I was wanting to cry.
Like I've already mentioned the humour is again brilliant, the characters fantastic and the story for this book is the strongest so far but it's also the most disturbing to read, I struggled in places, several places if I'm being honest but I just couldn't put it down.
I will say, for me this has been the best book so far in what is proving to be an unusual but amazing series. When I originally read this book I assumed it was the last one in the series, this is obviously not the case and I'm moving straight on to the final book 'The Cowboy and the Vampire The Last Sunset' now.

ARC from NetGalley

[Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visit my blog post for a Giveaway for this book. Just click the banner below



I think this 3rd book is by far the strongest of this series. It is darker too, but we have Elita to add some comic relief and it is needed because of some very dark things that go down, and some of them upset me alot. There are some huge emotional issues that we have to deal with in this one, and they hit you hard. I was choked up at a few places. One loss is felt greatly, and didn't agree that this person had to die. Wont say who, but just didn't think it was necessary for this story.

Another lost really hits you, and like i said, this book is much darker. I really felt with Lizzie and what she had to go through. In this book she is kidnapped by scientist that use her as a guinea pig to try to harness their anti-aging ability. Not cool at all.

I was very shocked at how this book ended, its heartbreaking, and had me pretty scared that this was the last in the series, it better not be is all I have to say. These characters really crawled into my heart, and I do not want to let them go.

So, if there is another book, then yay, can't wait. If not, then I am not happy with that ending. (fingers crossed that there will be more)

If you read the previous books already then you will have a strong book relationship with these characters too, so think you will love it. Now if you had not read these yet, what are you waiting for? There are no vampire books at all out there even close to like these. The unique spin on them with the added cowboy from Wyoming really makes it special. I would not call this a western in anyway, as its modern times, just a cowboy who lives in a small town in Wyoming, and being a girl who grew up on a ranch in Colorado myself can identify with him. I also had a real cowboy as my mentor to all things with horses, I know these cowboys do exist, at least in the remote country areas. He just happens to fall in love with a vampire.

So give this a try if you like vampires or paranormal romances in general.

This is first rate writing for sure. You won’t be sorry

5 out of 5 stars for me.

This book was provided by the authors for my honest review.

Cover review: Amazing covers, for all 3 (these new ones) it fits the books well. I like them alot. 5 out of 5 stars for the covers for them all.

others in series

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cowboy and the Vampire: Rough Trails and Shallow Graves by Hays & McFall is a 2014 Pumpjack publication. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


So, this is the latest installment in the series and although it leaves us on a bit of down note it is maybe the strongest one so far.
It looks like Lizzie and Tucker just might catch a break. So, they take the opportunity to make the relationship legal by getting married. But, before the I do's can be said, Lizzie is kidnapped. Tucker thinks she is dead but he is assured that she is still alive and so he heads out with the most unlikely of allies- “The Russian”, to find Lizzie.

The one thing, at least for me, that would make being a vampire appealing is the obvious gift of immortality. When word gets to the wrong people that vampires are real, the plot evolves into a scientific experiment to stop human aging and Lizzie is the guinea pig.

Once more Elita kind of steals the show with her dead pan comments that will have you laughing out loud. In this case, you will need the comic relief. There are some pretty heavy things to deal with here and I was really upset by some the occurrences. While still maintaining the now trademark “camp” the series is known for, this maybe the darkest of the three books. Most likely it feels that way because if you have read the first two books you will by now have established your “book relationship” with these characters and having them live through harrowing situations for the sake of greed is painful. Also, there are some really huge emotional wallops to contend with.
I didn't think I would say this after I finished the first book in the series and found myself wondering if this was really something I wanted to invest my time in, but I need Hay and McFall to get to work and publish the next book... like yesterday!!

It's rare that I have this type of experience with a series. Usually, for me it's the other way around. A series will start off strong and I will be really stoked about it and then it just fizzles out. In this case I gave the second book a try even though I was skeptical and I am so glad I didn't throw in the towel. I promise you there are no vampire novels on the market today that this book comes close to resembling. In fact, reading the blurb the book is placed in the new category of Western Gothic, apparently named for this series and it is a fitting label. So, if you think you've read all the vampire tropes, think again. This one breaks the mold and so far, each book as been better than the last. 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

[Erin Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third installment of the Cowboy and the Vampire, Rough Trails and Shallow Graves, is dark road through love and sacrifice. The duo nature of this story rings throughout, in the hope and struggles that Lizzie and Tucker face, the evils of man vs. monster, and the quirky adventures of contrasting characters such as Elita and Lenny teaming up to save THE DAY, makes for a very fulfilling and enjoyable read. McFall and Hays know a thing or two about the harmonic nature of dark comedy and western gothic, and they share that magic in many surprising twists and turns in this book.

Just when Lizzie and Tucker think they have overcome the worst to face them yet after the vampire apocalypse in Blood and Whiskey, a dangerous mercenary group kidnaps Lizzie at the altar and sets Tucker off on a mission like no other. With Rurik, Elita, Lenny, and his faithful companion, Rex, Tucker searches for a new kind of monster, one who threatens not only Lizzie and their unborn child, but the rest of humanity as well with plans to uncover the youthful and healing secrets behind vampire blood and a means to market it.

The third book continues with the same adventures, witty humor, sexy scenes, and plenty of gore the Cowboy and the Vampire series are known for, but with much added darkness and despair. The characters continue to grow on you, and some in the least imagined ways. Expect to be shaken, shocked, sad, and hopeful at once. Unlike books one and two, book three takes the reader towards a conclusion no one expected, a conclusion that after all Lizzie and Tucker managed to suffer through, was inevitable and leaves the reader pleading for more. Five stars! It’s that good.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I waited almost a year to read Rough Trails and Shallow graves as my sorry attempt to shorten my wait for the next book in the series. This installment felt like the best written and fastest paced of the series thus far. All have been good, but this one hit all firing pins dead-center. Lizzie continues to grow into her royalty and Tucker somehow continues to remain that cowboy Lizzie fell for not so long ago.

The supporting cast is interesting and enjoyable to learn more about as the stories unfold. Rex is the right dog for the job. I highly recommend this series of books without any hesitation. Giddy-up and grab the book and sink your teeth into it with full abandon.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the first two books I was beginning to wonder if the series might go a bit stale. I was wrong - this is the best installment of the series yet.

On Tucker and Lizzie's wedding night , Lizzie is kidnapped by a group determined to use her for their own greed. She is taken and put through absolute hell, and at one point thinking that she was mentally unstable. Lizzie was weak but constantly fought to keep her unborn child safe whilst battling against her own mind as to whether recent events were true.

Tucker is in pieces and doing everything he can to try and find Lizzie, not really having much luck at first and worrying when with Lizzie's growing weakness, her presence in the Meta also becomes weaker.

This book is really a MUST read and I do not want to spoil the experience so I will not go any further into the plot than this.

I have never felt as much emotion from a book as I did with this one and I actually cried at the ending (I never cry). I was completely devastated and shocked. This was not at all the ending I expected and I literally can not wait for the next installment, hopefully to get the conclusion I wanted!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rough Trails and Shallow Graves is the third book in the Cowboy and the Vampire Collection, and things go wildly awry. Everyone in Lizzie's and Tucker's world is on high alert for the evil faction of vampires and what they are plotting. Who knew that the greatest threat would come from the human world? Tucker and Lizzie are torn apart and Tucker must risk everything to get Lizzie back - even trust the vampires with his life. This book is different than the first two, reflecting the increasing tension and fear for Lizzie's continued existence, and the fact that the future of the human and vampire races hang in the balance. Even though there is little room for a humorous outlook, Tucker still manages to be optimistic until the bitter end. Engaging and suspenseful, I couldn't put it down until the last page.

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series always ran the risk of becoming melodramatic rather than engaging; veering too much towards a standard formula romance novel rather than a new hybrid of fantasy, romance western. Incapacitating the strong female lead for most of the story makes for a dull and formulaic story. The ending is predictable and doesn't make me want to read the next installment. These authors are just too good to have produced this book. What a disappointment. I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Strawz93 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad End

Great book. I didn't like the way Tucker and Lizzie parted. I had hoped she would make him like her, because they had lost so much. I loved the life that was given to auscar and louisa. Very funny. Wonder if Lizzie and rurik will be together.Oh No. Well truckers brother was saved after all of those years of suffering, and that was a very good end. Love this book!

[Brie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads contest.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this book was. I haven't read the first two books in the series but this book has made me curious about them. I enjoyed the characters and story. It was well-done and kept me reading to the last page.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just good reading

This is the third of a four book series. If you enjoy vampire genre, this you will like immensely. Love story, action and biting. LOL

[One Blue Eye · Rating 4 out of 5]

These characters are so real. My heart aches for them both. Great writing team.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely silly but it knows it, so it was fun. Probably would have liked it more if I read the books that came before in the series.