
Something is killing the people of Comanche.
In 1887 near the tiny Texas town of Comanche, a posse finally ends the murderous career of The Piney Woods Kid in a hail of bullets. Still in the grip of blood-lust, the vigilantes hack the Kid’s corpse to bits in the dead house behind the train depot. The people of Comanche rejoice. Justice has been done. A long bloody chapter in the town’s history is over.
The year is now 2016. Comanche police are stymied by a double murder at the train depot. Witnesses swear the killer was dressed like an old-time gunslinger. Rumors fly that it’s the ghost of The Piney Woods Kid, back to wreak revenge on the descendants of the vigilantes who killed him.
Help arrives in the form of a team of investigators from New Orleans. Shunned by the local community and haunted by their own pasts, they’re nonetheless determined to unravel the mystery. They follow the evidence and soon find themselves in the crosshairs of the killer.
Due to COVID-19 Gathering Restrictions, and in the interests of protecting the health of our community, the September 1, 2020 launch of Brett Riley’s COMANCHE was a virtual LIVE event broadcast from several locations. This event was live on both Facebook Live and YouTube Live. “Brett Riley in Conversation with Harry Fagel.” More information about the LIVE Launch Event here and links to the recorded show.
Purchase Comanche: A Novel

Brett Riley is a professor of English at the College of Southern Nevada. He grew up in southeastern Arkansas and earned his Ph.D. in contemporary American fiction and film at Louisiana State University. His short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Folio, The Wisconsin Review, and The Baltimore Review. Riley’s debut novel, Comanche, was released in September 2020, followed by Lord of Order in April 2021. Freaks, a superhero thriller featuring dangerous aliens and badass high school kids was published in March 2022. The second novel in the Freaks series, Travelers, was released in August 2022 and the third installment in the series, Rubicons, was published in August 2023. Riley lives in Henderson, Nevada.
“A clever, imaginative blend of literary fiction, historical fiction, horror, dark humor, and detective procedural.”— Si Dunn, Lone Star Literary Life. (10/25/2020)
“Debut novelist Riley tells a quite deliciously twisted tale. The novel is a lot of fun, with a very entertaining story and a great cast of characters.”— David Pitt, Booklist. (04/10/20)
“Brett Riley’s gothic ghost western, Comanche, will delight readers of both westerns and horror, and thrill readers of the sub-genre, horror-westerns; fans of TV shows such as Grimm, The Outsider, and CW’s long-running smash Supernatural will find plenty to admire. Riley’s prose sings, and Riley’s attuned ear for dialogue will have readers itching for a Netflix adaptation.”— Stephen Scott Whitaker, The Broadkill Review. (October, 2020).
“I would happily read many more tales involving these characters if the author ever chose to write more. They were each so interesting and they all had such great banter with one another. I also loved how protective they all were of one another. That was such an uplifting element to see in a novel where things quickly go sideways and the danger ramps up.”— Erica Robyn, Erica Robyn Reads.com. (10/3/20).
“COWBOY GHOSTS AND A MURDER MYSTERY!!!!!! I love westerns so much. Possibly the only thing I love more than westerns is a good crime fiction story. And the only thing I love more than a good crime fiction story is a legit, scare-your-pants-off ghost story. This book has it all! With different chapters taking place in different years, the reader gets to experience The Kid’s post-mortem reign of terror in two different centuries. Four Stars!”—Shannon Bollig, Bookish.in.Boston (06/30/20)
“Comanche is a thriller/murder mystery type of book.It’s nonstop action keeps your interest throughout that I’ve read in recent history. Lots of action from beginning to end will keep you well entertained.”— Deanne Patterson, Goodreads.com — (09/01/20)
“Investigators come to Comanche, Texas, to rid the town a second time of the Piney Woods Kid. Humor and irony abound in this delightful tale of a pissed off ghost. I highly recommend this book for fans of ghost stories, westerns, and cozy mysteries. 5-Stars”–Lael Braday, Laelbraday.com, (02/08/21)
“One of the best meldings of the traditional detective novels and the supernatural that I’ve read in recent history. I really enjoyed this book. It’s more ghost adventure than detective mystery, but if that’s what you’re in the mood for, you’ll enjoy Comanche. 4-Stars”— Kristopher McClanahan, Tabletops and Tentacles — (06/05/20)
“Brett Riley’s COMANCHE is the best western-horror-thriller-ghost story-PI novel ever written. COMANCHE is a rollicking ride. Fans of Joe Lansdale and James Lee Burke, Brett Riley is the author you didn’t know you loved.” —Tod Goldberg, author of Gangsterland and Gangster Nation. (02/28/20)
“This is a book for the lovers of mafia, old gangs, guns, armies and that type of explosive action! I couldn’t put it aside from my hands from the first time I picked it up and I am really glad that I didn’t do it. I gave this book a rating of 5 stars because it totally deserves it!” 5 Stars! —Roxy Grigouras, NetGalley (04/20/20)
“A really good western where the bad guy just happens to be a ghost and the good guys include an alcoholic, a psychic, a professor of the paranormal and a man tasked with keeping everyone focus’d. The backstory set the scene for a revengeful ghost to terrorize a town who hires the motley crew. It is a surprisingly very good book. If you were giving it a grade it would be an A++ but we will just have to settle for 5 stars.” —Denice Langley, librarian at the Bearskin Public Library in Oklahoma. (04/02/20)
“This was a great read for me as it had all the elements I enjoy. It started with the action right away, and it has all the elements of a good story with a tragic death, family tension, and a horrible murder, all set in Texas. Riley gets extra marks for a Supernatural reference that made me chuckle. All in all, this book was a beautiful distraction and great time killer.” 4-Stars —Wyetha Lipford, Goodreads.com. (04/10/20)
“If the Wild West genre is dead, then Comanche, by Brett Riley, is a good shot at resurrecting it.” 4 Stars —Deborah Mendez-Blaauw, TheReadingReview.com(03/22/20)
“Brett Riley’s Comanche is a contemporary Western gothic tale, resonant with the exploration of the relationship of man and evil―pure evil in the form of a vengeful ghost inflicting outlaw cruelty on a small Texas town. Two gritty New Orleans detectives and a sensual medium are the outsiders who ride in to deliver justice. They must overcome the greed and small-mindedness of town officials, discovering a truth, also explored by such writers as Richard Brautigan and Stephen King, that evil appears when summoned. Riley shows an admirable mastery of both Texas and New Orleans dialects in frank, entertaining prose. Comanche is a classic Western for the here and now, delivering redemption through sacrifice, recovery through bravery and heart.”—Douglas Unger, author of “Leaving the Land and Voices from Silence.” (03/20/20)
“A small Texas town, a puffed-up mayor, a couple of down and out cops, an alluring psychic, and a murdering phantom: what could go possibly go wrong? Find out in this barn burner of a modern western turned ghost story, but don’t read it alone and don’t read it late at night . . . you’re going to be wide awake for this one.”—Laura McBride, author of “We Are Called to Rise” and “In the Midnight Room” (03/02/20)
“An atmospheric southern wonderland of guns, grit, bullets, blood and rip-roaring mystery. Riley’s cast of characters are all a little good, a little bad, and a little ugly—a perfect mirror for us all. Saddle up. Hold on tight. And expect no quarter in Comanche, Texas.”—BJ Hollars, author of “Midwestern Strange” (02/24/20)
“I loved this book. From the very beginning, I was immediately hooked. Stayed up all night to finish it and am glad I did! 5 Stars”—Kacee Merritt, Librarian, Lexington County Public Library, South Carolina. (02/06/20)
“The majority of authors who write about Texas get it wrong, so my expectations were muted. I was very pleasantly surprised. Hang on to your hats! Part western, part ghost story, part cop drama, you are in for a thrilling, action packed whirlwind that would make an incredible movie. The possible special effects alone would be worth the price of admission. Needless to say, I loved this book and recommend it to everyone! 5 Stars”—Sharon Cox, Netgalley.com (02/09/20)
“Brett Riley is a very skilled writer and this being his first novel I am confident he will succeed with others. The story, though far fetched – even the characters didn’t want to believe what was happening, was interesting. I believe his skill at writing was a factor in my completing the book. I had to find out how it ended. You can feel the pain and agony of loss, and the hard rehab from deep despair, that could cripple you emotionally and destroy your future and determined strength. You knew the writer understood the characters and I liked it had humor in it also.” 4 Stars—Lori Wiberg, Goodreads.com (02/17/20)
“A very unusual book – a murder mystery where the culprit is a ghost! Overall a cracking read, kept my attention and the reader was involved throughout. I hope to see more of these characters.” 4 Stars—Sue Andrews, Goodreads.com (03/13/20)
“The supernatural elements are handled well. Good writing. Excellent descriptions of the settings. Super character development. I’m not really fond of supernatural, but I did find the story gripping and scary.” 4 Stars—Luis Matos, Goodreads.com (03/06/20)
“I grew up in Texas so the setting was pretty spot on for me. I had never heard of this author, Brett Riley, but I will be keeping an eye out for his future work. He is a very skilled writer and I could see the setting and characters clearly. I don’t usually read stories about ghosts and such but this was very well written.” 4 Stars—Darin Chew, Goodreads.com (02/25/20)
“The mystery of all mysteries…how to stop a murderer if he is already dead? Raymond is a perfectly flawed hero. A recovering alcoholic trying to find his way through his grief. He is forced to face his demons while trying to save what is left of his family. He best friend and partner always there to support and save him. I love the strong powerful women. Women who are willing to fight and be strong. 4 stars.”—Lorie Shafer, Goodreads.com, (02/04/20)
“In Comanche, Brett Riley gives us an intriguing hybrid novel. Part thriller, part ghost story, part old western. Overall this is fun story that reads quickly. It is written well and is a strong debut showing.”—Hana Correa, Goodreads.com, (02/07/20)
“This is one of those books I caution you to not start an hour before bedtime or you may find yourself spending the night awake reading. A well-written action packed tale of a revenge that will not quit. Great read. 5 stars.”—Cherime MacFarlane, NetGalley.com, (01/14/20)
“I LOVED this book. I am not typically a fan of anything related to the “Wild West”. This book blew me away. Between the colorful character descriptions, enrapturing story line, and vivid storytelling, this book was absolutely worth the read. 5 stars.”—Brittany Lowman, NetGalley.com, (01/10/20)
“This was such a fun read. It’s been ages since I read a good ghost story. I loved the setting of Comanche although I’m not sure I’d like to live there. It was well drawn with it’s heat, humidity, and lots of delicious iced tea. I loved the characters. I could really hear the characters talking with their Southern accents. 4 stars.”—Ellie Bell, NetGalley.com, (01/08/20)
“It was a very quick read for me and I enjoyed almost every minute. I am honestly really excited to see how this authors writing evolves and improves as he continues to publish more books in the future – I will be keeping my eye out for sure! This was quite an adventure of a story and is something I am glad to have had the opportunity to read. 3 stars.”—Robert Costello, NetGalley.com, (01/03/20)
“Highly entertaining debut novel!!! What well-rounded reader reviewer doesn’t like a well-written Western ghost story??? Easy one day read written in the style similar to Cormac McCarthy, without a lot of correct grammar and punctuation to illustrate the story…Lots of action from beginning to end would actually make a really fun movie with the right cast!!!”—Liza Veglia NetGallery.com, (01/15/20)
“COMANCHE had me at ghosts and grit, small towns and outsiders, murder and mystery but what really works here is Brett Riley’s prose. I really enjoyed the execution of the story. Sometimes you get a novel that’s wordier then it needs to be or one that drags its feet to set up characters and events- Riley’s style is all thriller, no filler. It’s lean and mean and to the point. Not a word is wasted in the breath-taking fast pace. COMANCHE is a tasty southern dish that goes down nicely and sets up Brett Riley as one to watch. 3.5 stars.”—Jesse Miller NetGallery.com, (12/27/19)
“The story is set up extremely well. The first chapter gives the historical background. Then we move to modern day and the murders take place. Being a small town everyone starts a rumour. It makes sense to call in out side help and Rennie’s brother is a private investigator. The tension builds rapidly from there. I suspect I could listen to Riley tell stories around a campfire all night long. The characters are very well developed. Raymond is a initially a loser but smart enough to have potential. Darrell is his childhood friend and protector. Their relationship is tight and consistent throughout the novel. My favorite character is Rourke, Raymond’s brother-in-law. He hates Raymond because he expects him to screw up and hurt Rennie. He also doesn’t want Raymond to hurt the town’s reputation. I think he is a great character because he has all the right intentions but can’t help but be a jerk. All the other characters are developed enough that if and when they get hurt the reader is invested enough to be shocked and even sad. I know fundamentally that this story couldn’t take place but it is done in such a way that I almost believe it. I even sympathize with the murderer. What happens to him shouldn’t happen to anyone and revenge almost makes sense. Finally, I have never been to this part of Texas but now I want to go. The countryside sounds like it is beautiful and the people are strong enough to live and die for each other. Hopefully the number of shotguns available is exaggerated!! I highly recommend this book to those like fast paced action packed novels. I give it 5 on 5 stars.”—Richard Butts GoodReads.com, (12/18/19)
Chapter One
July 22, 1887—Comanche, Texas
P.D. Thornapple did not own a watch, but he believed it was roughly 2 a.m. when he saw the Piney Woods Kid lurking near the Comanche Depot. That sight would have alarmed P.D. any time. The Kid had earned his reputation as one of the bloodiest outlaws in central Texas by gunning down two sheriffs, a U.S. marshal, a Texas Ranger, and enough private citizens to fill a boneyard. When you saw the Kid coming, you ducked behind the nearest building, and if you could not run—if, say, he showed up where you worked, where you stood the best chance of getting a little respect and enough cash for whores and whiskey—you kept your eyes on the floor and your mouth shut, and you prayed he would leave. But now P.D. Thornapple almost fainted because, on the evening of July 22, the Piney Woods Kid had been dead for a week.
* * *
On the fifteenth, P.D. had been thinking about the way shit rolled downhill and how he always seemed to be standing at the bottom, stuck with the most sickening, degrading duties—sweeping up after the cattlemen with cow shit stuck to their boots, washing out vomit when drunks staggered over from the Half Dollar Saloon and mistook the depot for a privy, mopping up their piss after they passed out and soiled themselves, sometimes right on the platform. When randy young couples tried to do their business behind the dead house, P.D. chased them off. And when the Piney Woods Kid and Sheriff Demetrius McCorkle fought across the depot grounds two years ago, who had to scrub away all the blood from the woman the Kid took hostage, from the deputy he gut-shot, from the three men he executed at close range, from the Kid himself? Who had picked up a misshapen mass of tissue that turned out to be the end of McCorkle’s nose? P.D. wanted to quit, but begging his asshole brother for a job seemed worse than dealing with blood and shit.
So P.D. endured everything, even the dead house itself. A squat building ten yards from the depot, it looked new and downright inviting in the daylight, but at night it turned the color of old bones bleaching in the desert, a presence that nudged the base of his spine. Why didn’t the railroad just paint the goddam thing or burn it down?
But a raw eyesore worked just fine for the bosses, and the corpses did not care one way or the other. P.D. had been forced to load bodies into the dead house, to transport them onto waiting trains, to guard the building as if it held treasure instead of cold, stiff flesh. He checked the lock on its door twice every shift. Constant exposure should have rendered the place familiar, even banal, yet he had never shaken the feeling that something was inherently wrong with the whole idea of a dead house: a way station for cadavers, a hotel for stiffs. If only one of the day-shift men would quit or die so he could take their spot and never have to look at that building in the dark again.
P.D. had never been that lucky, though. He sat in the depot just after dark on the fifteenth when McCorkle’s runner, Deputy Rudy Johnstone, brought news that their posse had killed the Kid. It was the biggest event in Comanche County history, even bigger than when that son of a bitch John Wesley Hardin murdered Charles Webb back in ’74. Sheriff McCorkle and his riders trapped the Kid and his old Comanche companero in an empty cabin beside Broken Bow Creek late that afternoon. The outlaws and the posse shot at each other for fifteen minutes or so, until McCorkle got sick of waiting and set fire to the place. The Kid and the Indian escaped out the back, making it a hundred yards up the creek before McCorkle’s men rode them down. According to Johnstone, the outlaw’s torso looked like an old woman’s pincushion, and the Indian’s face had been shot clean away.
They could have let the Kid rot where he fell. They could have planted him by the creek. But no.
Sheriff wants to haul the carcass through town, Johnstone said. Maybe that way folks will finally stop talkin about how the Kid shot off his nose.
Of course. Revenge for the carnage and misery the Kid had wrought. Besides, the undertaker was out of town, so what was the hurry?
No one spoke of the Comanche’s corpse. Likely the white men had left it to the elements and scavengers, one more slaughtered and nameless dark skin among the thousands blanketing the land, some buried and some abandoned, their final resting places unmarked as if they were ants or scorpions crushed under pedestrian feet.
After Johnstone delivered his news, P.D. sat on the bench outside the depot and waited for the posse.
The insects thrummed around him like locomotive engines until, from town proper, came whoops and cheers and gunfire and, soon enough, the muted clop of hooves on dirt. P.D. looked at the moon—likely close to 10 p.m. McCorkle must have stopped at every shack and tent so folks could sing hosannas. Torches glowing in the distance grew closer. Individual men and horses coalesced from the shadows, McCorkle riding his gray at their head. A dozen mounted men followed, most hidden in the gloom, but there came Charlie Garner’s spotted roan, the one that looked like it was caught in its own snowstorm, and Shoehorn Wayne’s black mare. Roy Harveston’s chocolate gelding with the white star on its forehead. The half-wild pure-white horse Beeve Roark called Ghost. Rudy Johnstone walked in leading a mule on which a figure lay crossways, tied like a roll of carpet. Someone had thrown a saddle blanket over the body, but dusty, cracked, bloodstained boots hung uncovered off one side, pallid hands off the other. Without thinking, P.D. took off his hat. Beeve Roark glared at him and spit a thick stream of tobacco juice near his feet as the procession headed for the dead house.
Each of these men had stuffed a hatchet into their belts, except for Johnstone, who carried a hacksaw.
P.D. shivered. He dashed inside and grabbed his keys and a lantern. As he trotted back out, the keys jingled like a tambourine. The lantern cast pendulous, cavorting shadows across the grounds and the tracks. The posse had dismounted by the time he reached them. Most fell back into the shadows, faceless and ephemeral. McCorkle, Roark, Garner, Wayne, and Harveston flanked the door as some of the others untied the body. P.D. hung his lantern on a hook and unlocked the door. When they hauled the Kid into the dead house, P.D. caught a glimpse of the outlaw’s pallid face splashed with blood, blank eyes wide open and glazed.
Once the men and the corpse disappeared into the dead house’s dark maw, Garner and Harveston and Wayne and Johnstone followed. McCorkle nodded at Roark, took P.D.’s lantern off the hook, and walked inside. P.D. started to follow, but Roark pushed him back.
Well, P.D. croaked, I reckon you boys don’t need none of my help.
Roark spit in the dust and wiped his mouth on his shirtsleeve. I reckon not.
The faceless riders exited the building, saddled up, and rode away, murmuring among themselves. Then Roark stepped inside and closed the door.
P.D. lingered a moment, unsure of what to do or say. Reckon I better get back to my post. He walked away but managed only a few steps before a steady thuk thuk thuk emanated from the dead house. Such an everyday sound, like someone chopping wood two houses over, might have been comforting during the day, but there, then, it sounded awful, the sound of an emaciated, hollow-eyed man with corkscrew hair standing over a coffin in an open grave, hacking up a body and tossing chunks into a bag.
Goddam magazines, with their stories about grave robbers and folks gettin buried alive and such—enough to drive a grown man crazy.
Back inside the depot, under the lanterns’ warm glow, P.D. dropped the keys into their drawer. He went to the doorway and leaned against the jamb, watching the dead house. The lantern light flickered inside, shadows gamboling against the curtained windows. Soon P.D. returned to his desk and did not look outside again.
They wanted to prepare the corpse their own damn selves, so let ’em.
* * *
McCorkle and the rest left just before dawn. P.D. stood on the platform and watched them ride away. No one acknowledged him. They carried old flour sacks tied at the necks. P.D. suspected what those sacks held.
Two days later, P.D. passed the undertaker on the street and asked about the Kid’s funeral arrangements.
The old man looked puzzled. Funeral? he said, scratching his cheek with dirty fingernails. Hell, I ain’t even seen the body. Rudy Johnstone’s been braggin they butchered the Kid and throwed the pieces in three or four different cricks. But hell, you know how Johnstone likes to hear himself talk. It’s probably bullshit.
* * *
Now, at 2 a.m. on the twenty-second, most everyone in Comanche could be found in one of two places: home in bed or at the Half Dollar, listening to Johnstone tell about the Kid’s last stand, as he would likely keep doing as long as some sodbuster or cowpoke fresh off the trail offered to buy the drinks. Even free whiskey had not prompted Johnstone to reveal what the posse had done with the Kid’s body, though. Given what P.D. had seen a week ago, the undertaker’s story seemed credible. In any case, those fellas had taken the corpse off P.D. Thornapple’s hands, which suited him just fine. He lay on his cot behind the main office, pulling on a bottle of tequila and singing to himself, planning to do little else for the rest of his shift.
Then he sat up. A while back, Mr. Sutcliffe from the rail company telegraphed about an upcoming inspection of the personnel and facilities.
Hellfire. When did that old coot say he was comin?
P.D. went to the front desk and dug through the top drawer, where they kept all the important correspondence. He found Sutcliffe’s telegram three sheets from the top and scanned it.
In part, it read, WILL ARRIVE ON 23RD STOP.
Shit, P.D. said.
As the night man, it was his job to air out the dead house when fewer people wandered by to smell it, and he had not done it since that cursed night. The goddam place probably stunk to high heaven. If Mr. Sutcliffe smelled anything like Shot-to-Hell Outlaw or saw any stray drops of dried blood on the floor, that would be the last the depot would see of P.D. Thornapple, who would have to move back to the family ranch with his hulking, sharp-tongued brother and the asshole’s shrew wife and five runny-nosed brats. And, echoing the plight of mistreated younger brothers all the way back to Abel, P.D. would have to sleep in the barn because they were already stacking kids in the main house like cordwood. He took two long swigs of tequila—probably the last of the night, though he took the bottle, just in case—and grabbed his keys, grumbling.
P.D. walked out of the depot and turned left.
Someone stood in front of the dead house.
He dropped the tequila and the keys. The bottle hit the platform and rolled to the edge, where it teetered, the liquor gurgling out. P.D. ran and grabbed the bottle, saving about half the alcohol, and celebrated by taking another long gulp, Sutcliffe be damned. The liquor burned going down.
When he turned back to the dead house, the figure was gone.
P.D. tittered. You damn fool. Nearly jumpin outta your skin thataway. Probably just some cowboy from the Half Dollar with a head full of Johnstone’s tale and a bladder full of hot piss. Walked right by the outhouses in the dark, like folks always do.
Go piss in the privy like civilized folks! P.D. shouted.
Lanterns hung from iron hooks on either side of the depot’s doors. He retrieved the keys and took one of the lanterns and held it high, swinging it back and forth. No further sign of the visitor. P.D. started across the lot.
Upon reaching the dead house, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. Sure enough, the place smelled—dank, like old leaves and damp earth, with undertones of meat gone bad. Grimacing, he pulled his shirt over his nose and found the block of wood the depot workers kept for propping open the door. After setting the block in place and putting the lantern on the floor, P.D. went inside and pulled back the curtains—dark ones made of some thick, rough-spun cloth that kept people from seeing the coffins the workers lay on the floor or, when too many people dropped dead, stacked on top of each other like packing crates—and opened the windows. Walking back outside, he let his shirt drop and breathed in fresh air. He hoped the stink would clear out by morning.
When he thought he could stand it again, he went in. The floor looked terrible. Once raw and unpainted but sanded smooth, the center of it now bore evidence of those hatchets and that hacksaw, small chunks gouged from the wood here and there, the marks of serrated teeth having dragged across the boards, as if demented children had broken in with their fathers’ tools and vandalized the place.
Well, I ain’t no goddam carpenter. I just hope a stray dog or a wolf don’t wander in and shit everywhere.
Against the far wall sat a pair of sprung, dusty boots with an empty gun belt coiled around them. They were covered in dark stains—water damage or dried blood or Lord only knew what. Next to them, a pile of clothes—filthy denim jeans, a pair of rancid socks, a wadded-up cotton shirt shot full of holes and stiff and stained dark, the frayed remains of a leather vest, a weather-beaten cowboy hat.
Hellfire, P.D. said.
He walked to the discarded items and picked everything up, struggling to keep hold of the lantern. He kept dropping items—a boot, the crusty shirt—and picking them up again until, cursing, he set the boots and gun belt on one of the supply shelves built onto the back wall. Just his luck, this shit would take more than one trip. On the way back, he would probably trip over a skunk and land on a cactus.
Carrying his burdens, P.D. wondered how to dispose of the clothes. Burn them? Bury them? Throw them in the street? Go down to the Half Dollar and tell people they probably belonged to the Piney Woods Kid and see who would buy him a drink for his story?
He walked outside.
The Piney Woods Kid stood ten feet away, between him and the depot, staring with gray and vacant eyes.
Hardback: $25.00 US / 33.33 CDN ISBN: 9781945501364 — First Edition: September 2020
Paperback: $16.00 US / 21.33 CDN ISBN: 9781945501395 (not yet available)
ePUB: $10.99 US / 14.65 CDN ISBN:9781945501371
Audiobook: Unabridged, $27.00 US / $334.66 CDN ISBN: 9781945501388
(Narrated by Travis Baldree; 8 hours and 32 minutes)
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“A convincingly bleak vision of the future … Those who like their dystopias especially gritty will want to take a look.”—Publishers Weekly
“The past is future in this sweaty, swampy, gun-slinging first cousin to dystopian classics like The Handmaid’s Tale and Fahrenheit 451. Lord of Order crackles. Grab your gear, double down on the ammo, Brett Riley’s dystopian action thriller will have you reaching for a whisky and your six-shooter.”—Stephen Scott Whitaker, National Book Critics Circle.
“Brett Riley writes hardcore action, his literary point the hypocrisy and perfidy of extremist fundamentalisms that trample all freedom and humanity.”—Douglas Unger, author of Pulitzer finalist Leaving the LandRead more...