Coydog

by David Tromblay

A Native American bounty hunter with a haunted military past is drawn into a deadly manhunt across Oklahoma that spirals into corruption, forbidden love, and an undercover descent into a brutal state prison where violent offenders are being transformed into rodeo clowns.

Meet Moses Kincaid, a Native American bounty hunter who served in the US Army in Desert Storm and Haiti. Now, to pay the bills, he’s taken to tracking down wanted criminals in and around Kansas City.

Unaware he has no authority after chasing a man-on-the-run across state lines, Moses scours the Oklahoma map for a guy who ran down two members of the Filthy 13 motorcycle gang and didn’t look back.  

With news of the Oklahoma City bombing still unfolding on the nightly news, locals don't kindly look upon new faces. As the Anadarko County Sheriff's Department, town riffraff, and blood relatives of the bounty prove to be a series of dead ends, a waitress offers Moses a helping hand—and a chance at something more. Though love comes and goes quickly as this manhunt comes to a head.

After a slip that costs another man his life, Moses finds himself on the wrong side of the gavel. His only choice is to go undercover at Big Mac, looking for the source of a drug flooding this notorious state prison that turns its violent criminals into rodeo clowns—if he doesn’t wind up sharing their fate.

Genres: Fiction

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

David Tromblay served in both the Army and the Navy before earning an MFA in Creative Writing. His memoir "As You Were" was named one of the best Nonfiction books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews. He now writes and lives in rural eastern Oklahoma.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I get so many book recommendations from my friends at @watermarkbooksandcafe and 𝑪𝑶𝒀𝑫𝑶𝑮 𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒚 is one that got me excited, especially when I could add the #gifted @simonmaverickaudio to it!

Add this to the crime noir subgenre that I am dabbling into more and more with pleasure. This tale is a quick paced action plot that brings Native American Moses Kincaid into the bounty hunting world after serving in Desert Storm & Haiti. The dusty backroads of Oklahoma have a surprisingly diverse cast of folks in the shadows, not least of which are the gang in the crosshairs of Moses from his latest target. Events don't seem to go his way, but he is offered an option that can be construed as a win...if he survives.

This is a gritty tale that has no sparing of violence in its telling. The layers that forms the hardness required for Moe are touched on, but I anticipate more from coming books (since it says it is An Anadarko County Novel) to delve into his character. For now, what is needed to know is known, and the action is unflinching & center.

The audio, narrated by E.M. Wylde, took me back into this 90's, wild west underbelly. A perfect voice for this story, I thoroughly enjoyed adding the audio to my print ARC!

[Josh Luton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in Oklahoma, it was fun to read a novel set there. That said, I didn’t grow up in the Oklahoma of this book. Kincaid faces more pain in whatever the timeline of this book is than anyone should face in a few lifetimes. I enjoyed the comedic relief in pockets and all the Oklahoma references. The violence was strong in sections, but I’m also not typically a noir reader, so take that with a grain of salt. Glad I read it, plus how many novels feature strip clubs, midget wrestling competitions, and prison rodeos?

[Kirstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A native-American bounty hunter follows a skip to Oklahoma, where he gets into one violent death-defying situation after another. The writing is gritty and propulsive, but the book suffers from a lack of cohesion, with no through plot. It seemed more like a serious of short stories. Each one believable on its own, but rather preposterous as a whole.

[fc7reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gritty. Dark. A little funny. I found myself confused by the timeline of the story. Either I misunderstood, or Moe lives at warp speed. I'm still not sure. And that took me out of the story a bit. Having said that, I think this could make a great adaptation for streaming.