Free (Kindle) Killer in the County by Hank Madison [Undercover Investigation Western]

[ATDrake]

Killer in the County by Hank Madison, a pseudonym for British author Donald S. Rowland (ISFDB, SFE) is his vintage standalone western historical action adventure novel with investigative mystery elements, this one featuring a ranger's undercover mission to exonerate his late father, framed and jailed on phony charges of cattle rustling, as he returns home under the guise of a simple vengeful son with no ties to further law enforcement, in the hopes of figuring out enough clues to flush out the culprits, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press' Pioneering imprint.

This was originally published in 1967 by Robert Hale.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)

Description
Sunset County was in turmoil when Walt Hogan left it five years ago...

His father, a much respected rancher, had been arrested on a phony rustling charge, and then shot dead while confined in a locked cell.

For five years Hogan had ridden with the Texas Rangers, hoping to restore his faith in justice after his experiences, and trying to beat the grief that gnawed inside him.

He was certain of his father’s innocence, but unable to prove it and hopelessness prevented the desire for revenge from surging inside of him.

Until now.

Now, the sheriff of Sunset County has called on the Texas Rangers for help in solving a spate of rustling and killing. The chance to go home, and moreover to catch his father’s killer, compels Hogan to return and causes fury to rise in him like never before.

Hogan arrives in Prairie City to claim his father’s land, keeping his ranger identity a secret from all around him.

He begins his investigations under the guise of a vengeful son, but soon his quick-thinking and handiness with a gun begins to raise concern among the town’s three big ranchers.

All of them had the motive to murder his father. All of them now have motive to kill him.

A series of underhand dealings, forgeries and killings suggest three suspects, but Hogan is able to unearth few clues.

Everything he finds, and everyone he speaks to, conflicts and contradicts the other.

Will he ever find the Killer in the County?

It would seem that the only way is to draw him out and seek him, amid the gun smoke of a deadly climax.