About the Book
About the Book
Shoot-Out at Sugar Creek: A Caleb York Western
Legendary crime writer Mickey Spillane's celebrated tin-star hero Caleb York returns in the explosive Western saga by New York Times bestselling author Max Allan Collins. This time, Sheriff York will have to keep his wits about him as he goes toe-to-toe with a powerful cattle baroness who is manipulative, clever and out for revenge.
Inspired by the timeless Westerns of John Wayne and the hardboiled heroes of classic crime fiction, bestselling legends Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins turn up the heat on their tin-star tough guy Caleb York --- in a gun-blazing showdown with two women ranchers calling the shots.
It starts with an abusive, drunken young scoundrel who resists arrest, holds a barmaid hostage, and gets what he deserves from the blazing .44 of Sheriff Caleb York. The New Mexico lawman doesn't regret taking such deadly action, but the late youth's powerful mother, cattle baroness Victoria Hammond, seems bound to feel differently. To York's surprise, Victoria takes the news with stoic resignation --- all she asks of him is a favor: help her convince Willa Cullen --- the love of Caleb's life --- to sell her the spread that Willa's late father had carved out of the wilderness.
Willa, every bit as strong-willed as her rival, refuses to give up her land without a fight. Sheriff York anticipates an ugly showdown brewing with himself in the dangerous middle. And before he can stop it from escalating, the seductive cattle queen sends an army of hired guns to Sugar Creek, the sole source of water available for Willa's herd. York finds himself caught in the crossfire of a savage shoot-out between Willa's cowboys and Victoria's gunfighters. No matter who wins, it's going to be a bloodbath.
In a climax in the tradition of Spillane's classic I, THE JURY, York must face a beautiful deadly female who promises heaven but intends hell, while the devils in her employ plan to remove Caleb York from God's good earth.
Audiobook available, read by Jack Garrett