> Skip to content
  • Published: 29 March 2022
  • ISBN: 9780786048090
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 448
  • RRP: $19.99
Categories:

Smoke Wagon




Spur-Award winner and bestselling western author Brett Cogburn crafts a post-Civil War railway thriller.

Spur-Award winner and bestselling western author Brett Cogburn crafts a post-Civil War railway thriller.

“Readers who enjoy tall tales built around real history—and aren’t turned off by the sight of a bit of blood—will enjoy this read.” —Booklist
 

LAST STOP ON THE TRAIN RIDE TO HELL
 
Welcome to Ironhead Station, Indian Territory, where the train tracks end and the real action begins. The hell-on-wheels construction camp is the final destination for hard-drinking sinners, gamblers, and outlaws. And woe to the man who tries to clean it up.
 
Morgan Clyde is a former New York City policeman and Union sharpshooter who lost everything in the Civil War. But he’s still got his guns and his guts. Some folks say he’s meaner and tougher than the Devil himself. Which is why the owners of the MK&T Railroad hired Clyde for one hell of a job. They plan to extend the rails through Indian Territory, connecting Missouri and Kansas to Texas…But the ornery citizens of Ironhead Stationwant to keep things just the way they are. They’ve already killed the first two lawmen who tried to tame their town. Now they’ve put together a welcome wagon to greet Clyde, including one half-mad preacher, one hillbilly assassin, and twenty trainrobbing bushwackers. They’re laying plans to stop the railroad dead in its tracks—along with their new lawman…
 
There’s just two things the folks of Ironhead Station didn’t take into account: You can’t stop the wheels of progress. And you can’t stop a legend like Morgan Clyde…
 
“Page-turning excitement and fast-paced action . . . a must-read for western novel enthusiasts. The author creates a rich and powerful picture.” —Historical Novel Society

  • Published: 29 March 2022
  • ISBN: 9780786048090
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 448
  • RRP: $19.99
Categories:

Also by Brett Cogburn

See all

Praise for Smoke Wagon

Praise for Spur Award winner Brett Cogburn
 
“Page-turning excitement and fast-paced action...a must-read for western novel enthusiasts. The author creates a rich and powerful picture.”Historical Novel Society
 
“The description and detail are so vivid, the reader must resist the inclination to...check for bullet wounds.” True West Magazine
 
“Readers who enjoy tall tales built around real history—and aren’t turned off by the sight of a bit of blood—will enjoy this read.”
Booklist


"Fans of frontier arcana will revel in Cogburn's readable prose and lively characters." —Publishers Weekly on Rooster
 
“[Cogburn’s] richly described narrative style offers enough background to Jones’ life and past to allow readers to jump into the 
series and enjoy the unfolding action. Inspired by the notoriety and danger of real-life mining towns, Cogburn’s historical details 
are sandwiched between cinematic fights and dialogue that evokes classic Westerns. The familiar ambiance of the Western is 
kept fresh in Cogburn’s sure hands.” —Historical Novels Review on Gunpowder Express
 
"Brett Cogburn gets it right, and not just when it comes to cowboys. This well-written novel offers up a cast of complex characters in complicated relationships far removed from the simplistic caricatures so common in traditional Westerns." —Roundup Magazine on Panhandle
 
“[Cogburn] has blended family lore and good research to produce an entertaining portrait.” —The Dallas Morning News on 
Rooster
 
 “[Cogburn] amazes and astounds us with the true-life story of his great-grandfather, a mountain man and moonshiner whose 
blood feud with a deputy U.S. marshal led to Cogburn being arrested for murder. There’s also a rather sweet romantic story 
line—Can an outlaw find true love in the Wild West?—and plenty of history about the time in which Cogburn lived. Written in a 
fast-paced, novelistic style (the author’s first western novel is coming out in November), the book is sure to appeal to fans of Wild West history and to readers who would like to believe that True Grit has real-life connections.” Booklist on Rooster
 
"A Gritty Read. Cogburn's research helps lend the novel an authentic feel that even those not familiar with the period's history can appreciate...While Panhandle delivers its share of action, it is primarily character-driven…it is the supporting characters who make the story crackle. From the roguish Billy Champion to the lovely Barbara, who has claim on both Tennessee's and Billy's 
affections—everyone contributes their share to Cogburn's illustration of the human condition.” —The Oklahoma Gazette on 
Panhandle
 
“Cogburn has created a wonderful set of characters…[his] prose is extremely readable, and he mixes plot twists, action and plenty of humour perfectly, making this a very enjoyable read.” Western Fiction Review on Widowmaker Jones