When Buchanan grubstaked Mousetrap Mulligan he never thought he’d see his money again. He never thought the old man would hit paydirt. But he did—and that was bad news for Buchanan. Because a lonely old desert rat with a hidden cache of nuggets and a drunkard’s bragging habits was likely to end up very dead ... very suddenly.
William Robert Cox (1901-1988) was a writer for more than sixty years, and published more than seventy-five novels and perhaps one thousand short stories, as well as more than 150 TV shows and several movies on film. He was well into his career, flooding the market with sports, crime, and adventure stories, when he turned to the western novel. He served twice as president of the Western Writers of America, and was writing his fifth Cemetery Jones novel, Cemetery Jones and the Tombstone War, when he passed away. He wrote under at least six pen names, including Willard d’Arcy, Mike Frederic, John Parkhill, Joel Reeve, Roger G. Spellman and Jonas Ward.
A pseudonym used by William Ard. House name from 1960 to 1986.
In 1956, hardboiled writer William Ard turned his pen westward and introduced one of the genre’s most enduring characters: Thomas Buchanan, better known as just “Buchanan,” a drifter as likeable as he is deadly. The first novel in the series was called The Name’s Buchanan and appeared under the pseudonym “Jonas Ward.”
Only the first 6 books in the series were written by Ard, and the last, Buchanan on the Prod, was completed by Robert Silverberg.
After Ard's death in 1960 "Jonas Ward" became a house name. Brian Garfield did one and then William R. Cox took over the series and it continued until 1986.
More propulsive than the first book, largely because of the addition of vulnerable young adults[1], what with Buchanan himself being impervious and all. It's easy to see why Randolph Scott wanted to play the role. _____________
[1] Semi-trigger-warning - it dances around the idea of a 15-year-old girl being raped, though it never speaks the threat out loud. Lots of phrases such as: "she was about the endure the worst thing that could happen to a girl" and the like.