Sundown

by Michael Zimmer

Most of the ranchers around Sand Creek had brought cattle up from Texas when free grass opened in Nebraska. It was tough, but eventually Ben Wyatt's Bar-W and the other ranches began to prosper. And so did the shantytown of Sand Creek. The town's old sod buildings were replaced by plank structures and the riffraff that seemed to thrive in the lawlessness of a hide-town gave way to honest merchants. Its very existence depended upon the cattle business. When the ranches hurt, Sand Creek hurt—and the ranches were hurting bad in 1876. The discovery of gold in nearby Black Hills brought thousands of people to the area and soon put a strain on the food supply. At first, there were random rustlings. But now it was no longer just a few head stolen to feed a mining camp. The thievery was too widespread—there had to be some kind of organization behind it. So the Cattlemen's Association hired Luke Howard and several others to put a stop to it, using whatever means they had to employ to get the job done! "This stark, realistic portrait of Nebraska in the 1870's recreates a time and place where some of the villains carried sidearms but the real crooks packed fountain pens." —Booklist

Genres: Westerns

311 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 3, 2018

About the author

Michael Zimmer is the author of twenty novels. His work has been praised by Library Journal, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, the Historical Novel Society, and others. City of Rocks (Five Star, 2012) was chosen by Booklist as one of the top ten Western novels of 2012. The Poacher’s Daughter (Five Star, 2014) received a starred Booklist review, and was selected winner of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s prestigious Western Heritage Wrangler Award for Outstanding Western Novel (2015); both were finalists for the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, and his short story, The Medicine Robe, won the Spur Award in 2019. Among his Westerns is the seven-volume American Legends Collection series.

In addition to Westerns, Zimmer also writes Mysteries, including the Two-Bit Street Mystery series featuring 1940s private eye Lafayette “Lafe” Doyle.

Zimmer resides in Utah with his wife Vanessa and their two dogs. His website is: www.michael-zimmer.com

Reviews

[Ralph Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tale of too many

Got this story because of the author. It was a tough read. Too many characters to keep up with unless you read with out stopping. Way to much description of scenery. Look forward to next book.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Absolutely fantastic! The characters are well developed and are human , all with emotions and flaws. This is a must read for sure

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. A very detailed story about a group of riders working for the Cattlemen's Association in tracking down cattle rustlers. I think this is the first I have read by this author but I will read as many as I can find.