A Smoke Jensen Novel of the West Series

An epic account of a boy born into a struggle for survival on the harsh and unforgiving American frontier from the greatest Western writer of the century. On the eve of the Civil War, Kirby Jensen is the youngest of three children living on a hardscrabble ranch in Southwestern Missouri. But in 1861, shots are fired in Charleston harbor, and Kirby’s father and brother go to war. Smoke Jensen: The Beginning follows the Jensen clan during these volatile years, from Civil War battles to border state raids to the kind of frontier justice achieved only by bullets and blood.   William W. Johnstone chronicles the early years of Kirby Jensen—soon to be nicknamed Smoke—as he journeys from boyhood innocence into a manhood shaped by violence and a young man’s thirst for justice. Filled with actual historical events and legendary characters, the story of Smoke Jensen’s early years is a powerful, brutal and amazing American saga—the crowning achievement of America’s most popular living Western writer.    Praise for the novels of William W. Johnstone   “For most fans of the Western genre, there isn’t a bet much surer than a book bearing the name Johnstone.”—True West   “[A] rousing, two-fisted saga of the growing American frontier.”—Publishers Weekly on Eyes of Eagles   “There’s plenty of gunplay and fast-paced action as this old-time hero proves again that a steady eye and quick reflexes are the keys to survival on the Western frontier.”—Curled Up with a Good Book on Dead Before Sundown

Deputy U.S. Marshal Smoke Jensen rides into legend in this powerful frontier adventure from the greatest Western writer of the century.    Kirby—later Smoke—Jensen has just earned his first paying job as a deputy U.S. marshal for the Colorado Territory and is sent to the lawless town of Las Animas. There, he finds a sheriff too cowardly to face the outlaw leader Cole Dawson, whose six-gun has left a lot of good men dead. Young Smoke feels no such fear. He takes Dawson down fast. Then the real fight begins.   It turns out Dawson is only a cog in a crooked plot hatched by someone hiding behind the law. For a young deputy marshal, going up against the powerful and corrupt is almost certainly a fool’s mission, but doing nothing is not a choice. When Smoke strikes, he’s in all the bloody way, and what follows will become the stuff of legend. Braving bullets, blood, and treachery to face down the most dangerous outlaw in Colorado Territory, Smoke will earn a reputation for justice and the rule of law in a wild, violent frontier.   Praise for the novels of William W. Johnstone   “For most fans of the Western genre, there isn’t a bet much surer than a book bearing the name Johnstone.”—True West   “[A] rousing, two-fisted saga of the growing American frontier.”—Publishers Weekly on Eyes of Eagles   “There’s plenty of gunplay and fast-paced action as this old-time hero proves again that a steady eye and quick reflexes are the keys to survival on the Western frontier.”—Curled Up with a Good Book on Dead Before Sundown

Set in the early days of the Jensen family saga, this gunblazing adventure follows Smoke and Sally from their first year of marriage to the founding of the legendary Sugarloaf Ranch . . .   JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHEN SMOKE MET SALLY.   For most couples, the marriage vows end with “‘Til death do us part.” But when Smoke Jensen takes Sally Reynolds as his lawfully wedded wife, it’s just the beginning. The tragic deaths of Smoke’s first wife and child weigh heavily on his heart. Thankfully, Sally is there to give him the support he needs when they return to Colorado, where it all happened. She’s ready to embrace her husband’s past—for better or worse—and to welcome his friend Preacher into the family. But when outlaws make an attempt to kidnap a local girl, Sally is forced to use the gun skills she had learned from Smoke to save both of their lives, learning the hard way what it means to be married to a Jensen . . .   Live Free. Read Hard.