The Devil's Staircase

Action, humor, and adventure rule as Ranger Black Jack Ransom accepts a special assignment from Sam Houston outgoing President of the Texas Republic.

In Ransoms own words all he has to do is: "Kill Rafael, steal the gold from armed vaqueros in a foreign country and get it back to Texas through Comanche and bandit country without getting my ass shot off. Then I have to convince Anson Jones that I was on assignment for you when I stole the gold. Sounds like a crappy deal, General, especially if something happens to you while Im gone."

Ransom accepts the assignment in order to settle a vendetta with bandit leader Rafael and enlists the aid of notorious mountain man and cutthroat, Patch Wilkes as his only dubious ally. Along the way Ransom must deal with a belligerent Mexican aristocrat, treacherous Comanche warriors, a gang of banditos, kidnapping, double-cross, hardship, and murder. Violence and deception pursue Ransom as he pursues his only goal: kill Rafael. One disclosure follows another in this violent tale of the early days of the Texas Republic.

BOSON BOOKS offers several westerns and nonfiction works by Randy Smith. For an author bio, photo, and a sample read, visit www.bosonbooks.com.