Bøker av Nik Morton

Cash's girlfriend Lenora receives a mysterious letter from a working girl in Yankton, pleading for help. Limping Lilly Loftus is not one to cry wolf, so Cash agrees to take Lenora. Before long, their investigations lead them to The Dark Swan, a steamboat on the Missouri. The vessel is hosting not only European royalty but a prestigious high-stakes poker contest. Attractive Princess Augusta Letitia Fitzosbern has entered the poker competition; her country needs the winnings. Yet on this boat nothing is going to be plain sailing. There's an attempted suicide, cardsharp cheating, violence, theft, abduction, betrayal - and death! And, to make matters worse, there's the big risk of an international incident.

Whether it's the Sierras of the 1790s or the Chicago boxing ring of the 1920s, or any time in between, the characters of the Old West can be found in these stories. Gambling played a significant part, too, among the cowboys herding their steers, or on the paddle-wheelers of the Mississippi or the proliferation of 'last chance' saloons throughout the west. Conflict with the Indians was not always straight-forward, either. There were shades of grey - notably in the guise of the Apache called Gray Wolf. The simple call of 'Hello, the house!' made by strangers on the approach to a homestead can lead to suspense, mystery and, ultimately, threat in the family and home. Here, too, you'll find the harsh conditions of the slums in 1860s New York and the vicious gangs. Always, individuals attempt to rise above adversity and grasp the opportunities that the 'new land' offers. Why not visit now and throw your hat into the ring, and take a chance and hazard all?

What's a life worth? $300, maybe. Half-Mexican Corbin Molina lost a hand during the Civil War but he has adapted. Now he's on a mission to Walkerville. On the way, he prevents a train robbery and finds an old friend. Corbin always carries $300, which is significant, since that's what he was a paid as substitute soldier for the Union. When Corbin starts asking questions about Walkerville's law and administration, he discovers that the Walker family, who seem to have bought and paid for loyalty and position, dominates the townspeople. Inevitably, Corbin's questions attract plenty of trouble. And his past emerges to confront him during a tense showdown that threatens not only him but also his newfound love.

July, 1892.Sam Ransom, 62, learns of the death of Abner, his old partner. Abner left a warning note - the Meak twins were out to get Ransom and the rest 'because of what happened at Bur Oak Springs'. Ransom sets out to alert his old friends, Jubal, Rory and Derby. Bur Oak Springs happened over two decades ago. The place was a ghost town even then. Ransom's family is put in jeopardy and they can only be saved by Ransom and his friends returning to the ghost town, to confront the Meak brothers and their gang. There's a sense of déjà vu about this; yet, there are fresh revelations too. It's a showdown: young guns against old guns.

Jim Thorp had killed plenty of men. They deserved to die. Thorp was a hard man, made so by a bloody Civil War. But he didn't relish this visit to Bethesda Falls. His old sweetheart Anna worked there as a school-teacher and he was hunting her brother, Clyde, for armed robbery and other more terrible crimes. He didn't want to hurt Anna but it looked like he would anyway.Clyde, the foreman of the M-bar-W ranch, is due to wed Ellen, the rancher's daughter. He's also poisoning the old man to hasten the inheritance.Thorp's presence in town starts the downward slide to violence, when not only is Ellen's life in danger, but also that of Anna and Thorp himself.It is destined to end in bloodshed and death.

When the Mexican circus ships out of the gringo town of Conejos Blancos, Hart and his ruthless desperadoes are quick off the mark to take over the town and the adjacent silver mine. With the sheriff slain, and many of the citizens held hostage, two local boys escape and recruit seven Mexican circus performers to help penetrate the cordon of sentries and free the townspeople. Only the 'Magnificent Mendozas' - a family of weapons experts, escapologists and gymnasts - stand a chance against the Hart gang, but there will be betrayal, bravery and plenty of action on both sides of the divide before the day is through.

When justice fails, a vigilante steps forward. Faith in the police is faltering in the broken Britain of today, where record numbers of crimes remain unsolved. Justice and fairness are flouted by politically correct senior officers. Victims are not seen as hurt people but simply as statistics.Paul's family is but one example of those victims of criminals neither caught nor punished.In the English south-coast town of Alverbank many others are damaged and grieving. It cannot go on. Glib political sound-bites don't work. There has to be a radical response. Some way of fighting back. Vigilante justice is good justice! The vigilante delivers rough justice, breaking the bones and cracking the heads of those guilty individuals who cause pain without remorse.Who is the vigilante? He - or she - is self-styled as The Black Knight.Yet the police warn against taking 'the law into your own hands'. But the local press extols the vigilante's efforts and respond: 'What law?'Will the vigilante eventually cross the line and take a life?Paul and his family seem involved and they are going to suffer...

The Bethesda Falls stage is robbed and Ruth Monroe, the stage depot owner, is being coerced into selling up by local tycoon, Zachary Smith. Daniel McAlister returns from gold prospecting to wed Virginia, the saloon's wheel of fortune operator. He hits a winning streak but is bushwhacked, his winnings stolen. And newcomer to town, Horace Q Marcy, seems to be playing a game close to his chest, too. Virginia sees this romance with Daniel as her last chance of happiness. No matter what, she's determined to stand by her man, ducking flying bullets if need be. Daniel and Virginia side with Ruth against Smith and his hired gunslingers. Only a deadly showdown will end it, one way or another.

Clint Brennan interrupts two men kidnapping his wife Belle and he's shot and left for dead. When he recovers his senses, his wife has gone and he discovers he is blind. Most men would give up there and then, but not Clint. Astride his donkey, he sets out with his faithful dog Mutt on the trail of his wife's abductors. Belle believes her husband is dead. She's rescued, but not by Clint. Her saviour is protective and takes her to his grand home in Wedlock where she meets the charming housekeeper, Mrs Kilbride. Maybe here, they say, she can forget her husband and start a new life... On the trail, Clint is waylaid by robbers but soon learns to combat enemies at night, when darkness is his ally. Distracted and delayed, he's still determined to locate his missing wife. A tale of betrayal and lies, it will all end at Wedlock, amidst flames and bullets.

A suspenseful thriller with fast-paced action and intriguing characters...A catacomb is a subterranean cemetery. A place where ancient corpses are found-or new ones are dumped.After their recent success in Barcelona, both Catherine Vibrissae and Rick Barnes are continuing their crusade against Loup Dante and his global company, Ananke, by penetrating the lair of Petra Grimalkin in Nice. But death stalks the pair-as do the dogs of law from the British National Crime Agency-and when Cat and Rick's trail of vengeance leads them to the corrupt organization's health food processing plant in Northwest Africa, Cat comes face to face with an enemy from her past.From the exotic streets of Tangier to the inhospitable High Atlas Mountains, danger lurks and deadly ambushes await.Book two in the Cat's Crusade series, Catacomb follows a strong female character who is no stranger to deadly situations.

Organ harvesters are his prime target. Leon Cazador is on FBI liaison duty in Charleston, South Carolina when a dead child is found with a kidney missing. Suspecting an old foe, he jumps into action when a convoy of trucks with kidnapped children hits a snag, and a boy escapes. But what starts out as a simple cat and mouse chase turns into a convoluted web of deceit involving an underground organ transplant ring that surpasses Leon's wildest expectations-and abilities. Years later-and carrying around the weight of unresolved burdens-Leon runs into suspicious activity in Córdoba, Spain that makes his heart stop cold. Organ traffickers are running rampant, and a three-man investigating team has gone missing. Eager to put an end to this corrupt organization's misdeeds once and for all, Leon makes finding its leader his top priority. But will he have what it takes to bring an evil like no other to its knees?

Some perpetrators of crime deserve only one fate-no prisoners.When Leon Cazador discovers the body of a fellow investigator who was working with the British National Crime Agency to infiltrate a pedophile group that uses the pursuit of golf as a cover for their organized abuses, he refuses to chalk it up to coincidence.Seeking justice for his fallen friend, Leon is presented with another missing person's case. But this one is decidedly different. Diving deeper, Leon finds himself one step closer to uncovering the deadly pedophile ring that took down his comrade.Finding missing persons is all in a day's work for Leon. But can he fight his ultimate nightmare in a race against time to save a group of innocent children and exact revenge on their abusers?

Each hunter has the same equipment-a sniper rifle, five bullets and a machete. An even killing field. A corrupt organization in Spain is selling the ultimate thrill. They cater to rich amateur game-hunters who hunger for the privilege of stalking and killing human prey. Their targets are non-persons. In effect, the vile process gets rid of illegal immigrants.Enter Leon Cazador-a half-English, half-Spanish private investigator who occasionally assists the authorities. Eager to take down this immoral organization, he's tasked with going full cloak-and-dagger.But when his cover is blown and he's forced to join nine other captives, will he become the hunters' ultimate prey?

June 1969: Volatile Pakistan soon after the uprisings that would eventually lead to the splitting of West Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh.A group of Royal Navy sailors from HMS Zulu, on a visit to Karachi, use their weekend leave to travel up the famed Khyber Pass. For one, young Nik Morton, it is a momentous time. Ten days short of his twenty-first birthday, he looks forward to seeing with his own eyes the land his father fell in love with during the Second World War. Flying for the first time, he finds himself in a strange and wonderful land, oozing history… and danger. This gentle true story introduces the reader to a new insight on one of the most disputed territories on earth.Nik Morton served in the Royal Navy for twenty-three years. He is the author of more than thirty books and is a prolific short story and article writer.

Nik Morton has been writing for over forty years, honing his craft. He writes genre fiction, whether that s science fiction, horror, crime, thriller, romance or westerns. To date he has 15 books under several pseudonyms. His westerns are usually written under the name Ross Morton. Within these pages you can discover how to write a western from the initial ideas, through the preparation and research, to those all-important character studies and plots. And you can do it in 30 days!