Charles Ray Books in Order

Charles Ray examines the Trump administration through a collection of political cartoons. Drawing on his experience as an editorial cartoonist, he uses satire to question the conduct of political leaders and the events surrounding their administration.

Assigned to protect Yosemite as civilian park management falters, Ben Carter leads a Ninth Cavalry advance party into California. The Buffalo Soldiers face unfamiliar duties in a landscape whose natural beauty makes it a target for commercial exploitation.

When Margaret Pinckney’s missing husband is discovered as a skeleton in her closet, Ed Lazenby suspects a frame-up. He and his fellow amateur detectives must clear her name while a threatened eviction puts her home at risk.

Al Pennyback’s honeymoon is interrupted when he discovers a strangled woman on the Chesapeake shore. Ignoring police warnings to stay away, he investigates her identity and murder, uncovering a threat larger than the crime itself.

Escaped slave Toby Giles finds protection in Ohio when a sympathetic judge appoints him sheriff of wealthy Jericho. Hunting thieves means overcoming the residents' racism while staying beyond the reach of slave catchers determined to return him to bondage.

Toby Giles has begun earning acceptance as Jericho's sheriff when Confederate troops approach the undefended town. As a fugitive from slavery, he must choose between escaping north and risking his freedom to protect the community he now calls home.

Henry Hawkins is found murdered on a retirement community’s golf course, leaving no shortage of suspects. Ed Lazenby agrees to help the widow prove her innocence, but his growing attraction to her complicates an already personal investigation.

Returning to Colorado after helping Ben establish an Oregon ranch, Caleb visits Shoshone friends in Utah. A rancher’s attempt to seize their hunting grounds interrupts his planned winter rest and forces him to defend the people sheltering him.

Freed from slavery after a childhood spent stealing for his master, Isom Dart drifts into an outlaw gang. A narrow escape persuades him to become an honest Colorado horse rancher, but the frontier’s criminals complicate his attempt to start over.

B.J. Kincaid wins appointment as sheriff by promising to catch her predecessor’s killer. Before she can fulfill that pledge, stolen cattle and skeptical townsmen test her authority, while her mother resists her daughter’s refusal to behave conventionally.

Card player Carlotta Thompkins arrives in Bear Creek searching for her missing fiancé. When a local man kidnaps her to recover his gambling losses, Caleb steps in, turning a town’s unusual entertainment into a dangerous rescue mission.

Caleb guides cavalry soldiers into unfamiliar mountains in pursuit of deserters, despite Flora’s misgivings. The confrontation tests his abilities and forces him to reconsider whether his appetite for adventure still fits the life he wants to lead.

Jacob Blade brings a stagecoach robber to Possum Trot and finds small ranchers threatened by a powerful landowner. A rancher’s death and his pregnant widow draw Jacob into a struggle he had hoped to avoid.

Jacob Blade accepts a widow’s hospitality after protecting her son from a beating. When a local landowner threatens her ranch and her life, Jacob puts aside his travels to ensure that she and the boy are safe.

Disillusioned vigilante Jacob Blade retreats into Colorado’s mountains, where a reclusive mountain man teaches him to survive. Their refuge offers little peace when a corrupt mine owner tries to seize a rival’s property and draws them into conflict.

Flora raises an orphaned bear cub at the mountain cabin she shares with Caleb. After Caleb defends her against three men in Bear Creek, the incident returns months later to threaten the household they have built together.

Lincoln Croft’s quiet life is interrupted when the sheriff hires him to track a man who severely beat his wife. Following the fugitive to crowded Virginia City tests Lincoln’s patience, though meeting Mark Twain offers an unexpected pleasure.

Toby Giles settles back into his duties as sheriff after defending Jericho from Confederate troops. When slave hunters gather across the river to capture him, a friend's wedding plans give way to a collective effort to protect his freedom.

Alan Pinkerton hires Lincoln Croft to guide an investigator tracking a counterfeiter through the West. The assignment brings together experienced detective work and frontier knowledge as Lincoln and his eastern companion discover how much each has to learn.

A yacht cruise turns into a struggle for survival when Al Pennyback and his friends witness drug smugglers at work. Pursued by criminals determined to silence them, they flee toward a cove Al remembers with dread.

Returning a captured bank robber to Calabash Crossing reunites Jacob Blade with Sheriff B.J. Kincaid. Their reunion becomes complicated when disappearing cattle draw him into a dangerous confrontation with rustlers, while personal entanglements threaten his usual independence.

Private investigator Harry Hooker takes a missing-fiancée case that leads to a crooked banker and a secretive Russian. Facing armed adversaries with only an enthusiastic motel owner to help, he must also keep his drinking under control.

Jacob Blade follows a wanted killer into Arizona Territory and reluctantly joins forces with Sheriff B.J. Kincaid. Her courage changes his assumptions, while competing attractions and a dangerous gang make the pursuit more complicated than he expected.

An outlaw burns a family alive and flees Colorado, drawing Jacob Blade into pursuit toward Mesa Grande. A stagecoach ambush and unfamiliar enemies make the journey perilous as Jacob seeks retribution for the victims left behind.

Caleb accepts work guiding a wagon train toward Wyoming, hoping the journey will let Flora visit her Shoshone village. A secretive wagon master complicates the trip, leaving Caleb responsible for navigating both the trail and an increasingly dangerous scheme.

A killer’s attack on a church ruins Jacob Blade’s plans for a quiet rest in Trinity. Discovering another slaughtered family and its surviving child makes his pursuit personal, reviving memories of the murders that shaped his own life.

Lincoln Croft accepts an elderly miner’s request to recover stolen gold, despite uncertainty about his willingness to kill. Following the thieves from Nevada into California exposes a further robbery plot and turns a recovery job into a moral test.

Men involved in the deaths of Caleb’s parents arrive in Bear Creek and attack his friend. Pursuing a long-delayed reckoning, he follows them from Colorado toward the Dakotas, where revenge threatens to reshape the life he has built.

Jacob Blade arrives after a bank robbery leaves a town grieving and vows to pursue the gang. With a bereaved teenager and an eccentric miner as allies, he follows the outlaws into a hidden mountain valley.

Driven by vengeance and a determination to punish injustice, Jacob Blade pursues those who have wronged him. His journey carries him across the Old West as he turns his skill with a gun toward the criminals in his path.

Restless after settling in Beaver Falls, Jacob Blade rides south and encounters a killing in Indian Wells. A wealthy rancher shields his son with money and a compliant sheriff, prompting Jacob to intervene when local justice fails.

After escaping slavery, young Bass Reeves encounters a mysterious preacher in Indian Territory. Their meeting becomes an episode in the early life of the man who will eventually serve as a deputy United States marshal.

Jacob Blade finds friendship and temporary peace among the cowhands of a Montana ranch. When rustlers steal a herd and kill one of the men, he joins his new companions in pursuing those responsible for destroying their tranquility.

The slaughter of a farming family sends Jacob Blade after the killers without thought of a reward. His hunt exposes further wrongdoing, turning a personal search for justice into another confrontation with violence in the West.

On his way to Deadwood, Jacob Blade finds Nat Love beaten and robbed after being left for dead. Helping the young bronc rider recover his belongings draws Jacob into trouble beyond the straightforward pursuit he expected.

An online scam strips residents of Potomac Valley Community of their savings. Ed Lazenby and his friends pursue the thief despite federal investigators’ objections, entering a contest in which they cannot tell who is hunting whom.

Caleb and two friends spend the winter trapping north of Bear Creek to benefit from rising fur prices. Four outlaws plan to steal their catch, forcing the companions to decide how far they will go to defend their livelihood.

Ten-year-old Daniel Waterford joins his family on a wagon journey to Oregon. The hardships and dangers of the trail force him to grow up quickly as the travelers press toward the uncertain promise of a new home.

Bounty hunter Caleb Wolf pursues a wanted outlaw from Texas to Tombstone, Arizona. The chase takes him across the Southwest as he follows his quarry toward the frontier town in this installment of his Western adventures.

Jacob Blade pauses his vigilante work for a quiet stay in Beaver Falls and befriends Malcolm Collins. When a gambler kills Malcolm during a card game, Jacob abandons his rest to pursue justice for his young friend.

Former slave and Civil War veteran Tom Steele returns to Tatum, Texas, haunted by wartime violence. When local men attack the daughter of a Quaker family he befriended, he must act before he can hope for peace.

Storyteller Jedediah McIntosh warns his grandchildren about a monster that punishes misbehaving children before Christmas. His tales suggest that familiar childhood fears may conceal something worse, turning holiday wishes and promises into a source of dread.

Guided by a dream spirit, Wahote and Felicity travel south to Serenity, where residents are dying in their sleep. The pair must confront an evil that attacks through dreams before it claims more victims in the troubled town.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves pursues a dangerous outlaw through Indian Territory after a Texas Ranger is killed. The hunt leads toward a confrontation in the Cherokee Hills, where bringing his quarry to justice means risking his life.

Hired to guide cavalry against a Sioux war party, Caleb is caught between opposing demands for vengeance. He understands the anger over stolen sacred land but fears for settlers, forcing a difficult choice as the forces approach a confrontation.

Sheriff B.J. Kincaid drives a young troublemaker out of town, only for him to return seeking revenge. As killings and attacks on silver miners threaten the community, she must stop the gang while defending her choice of profession.

Lincoln Croft dismisses ghost stories until Sheriff Dez Lake asks him to pursue a man believed dead for five years. The search takes him from Sweetwater to Cactus Junction, where an apparently impossible fugitive challenges his confidence.

Texas Ranger J.D. Pettit is sent to Garrison to keep order while its sheriff recovers from his wounds. With the town’s regular lawman out of action, Pettit takes on the responsibility of maintaining the peace.

Pursuing a fugitive into Montana, Lincoln Croft finds the aftermath of a deadly stagecoach robbery. He agrees to help the injured Mary Fields recover stolen gold and rifles, then discovers that his determined ally needs little protection.

An unidentified corpse behind Calabash Crossing's general store and fights between rival silver miners puzzle Sheriff B.J. Kincaid. With deputy Darby Yates and entertainer Mazie Carter, she investigates disturbances that conceal a discovery dangerous enough to threaten their lives.

Traveling into Wyoming, Jacob Blade discovers a burned farmhouse, a murdered husband and a gravely injured wife. Her account implicates two wealthy brothers, but pursuing them becomes more complicated when she insists on accompanying him.

A newcomer buys the Golden Nugget saloon and sets out to eliminate its rival, the Silver Dollar. Sheriff B.J. Kincaid investigates a string of troubling incidents with bounty hunter Jacob Blade, uncertain whether the target is her friend or herself.

Sent into Indian Territory after two brothers rob a bank, Tom Steele joins forces with Bass Reeves. Together, the lawmen pursue the fugitives across unfamiliar ground in a mission that takes Steele beyond his usual territory.

Jacob Blade returns to his parents’ graves only to find their former farm controlled by a man protected by gunfighters. Investigating the new owner’s activities puts Jacob at odds with Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves.

Caleb Johnson and Bear Willis confront speculators whose hunger for Colorado’s gold threatens Ute land and lives. After rescuing kidnapped girls, they face hired killers while trying to prevent the mounting conflict from becoming a war with settlers.

Texas Ranger J.D. Pettit travels to Longview to help a sheriff facing a jurisdictional problem. The assignment draws Pettit into another East Texas case, where the boundaries of local authority complicate the work of enforcing the law.

Texas Ranger J.D. Pettit investigates a Cherokee man’s killing in Lindale that mirrors his grandfather’s murder decades earlier. Political protection once shielded the suspected killer, but Pettit refuses to let old influence obstruct a new investigation.

Caleb brings his household to a mountain men’s rendezvous intended to preserve their threatened way of life. When a dispute ends in murder, he must identify the killer among fiercely independent men who resist any claim to authority.

Lincoln Croft’s pursuit of a diner robber nearly costs him his life before two Paiute men rescue him. Helping his rescuers protect their land reveals a connection between his fugitive and a powerful landowner backed by hired guns.

While exploring the mountains with Flora, Caleb rescues a young couple from a mountain lion. The encounter draws their household into a longstanding family feud, turning a search for hunting grounds and medicinal roots into a dangerous intervention.

Bounty hunters Esau Brown and Jacob Hardin leave their increasingly difficult trade to search for treasure in the mountains. Tired of rough living, they head back toward Purgatory, New Mexico, hoping for a change in circumstances.

When thugs attack two friends, three Seminole scouts set out to bring the attackers to account. Their pursuit leads to Red Rock Canyon, where a trap reverses their fortunes and turns the hunters into the hunted.

Bass Reeves enters the Chickasaw Nation with captured fugitives chained in his prisoner wagons. Beyond a boundary where outlaws threaten any deputy who crosses, his roundup puts him and his entourage in hostile country.

Thirteen-year-old Felicity Snow moves with her parents to a Dakota homestead and begins seeing ghosts. With help from a blind man and a Sioux shaman, she must face spirits returning to avenge a tragedy on the cursed land.

When young Aldous Macomber fails to return from a hunting trip, Caleb goes looking for him. The search leads to Pine Ridge Junction, where an apparently peaceful town conceals dangers that make rescuing his friend increasingly difficult.

Caleb Johnson helps Bear Creek’s new hardware-store owner investigate a missing shipment of merchandise. The search draws the mountain man into another threat to his community, where his tracking skills and determination are needed to uncover what happened.

Ordered to take a month’s vacation, J.D. Pettit visits his parents in Sweetwater and meets their adopted son. Discovering that his father has been cheated in an oil-lease scheme makes staying away from Ranger work difficult.

Artist Frederic Remington hires Caleb Johnson to introduce him to the wilderness. Guiding an inexperienced visitor into the country he knows so well gives the mountain man a new companion and a different set of responsibilities.

Sent from Japan to oversee a cattle venture in America, samurai-trained Toby Cane arrives after an earthquake unleashes monstrous creatures near the Dakota badlands. As cattle and settlers die, his new allies turn to him for help.

Sheriff B.J. Kincaid and her deputies must keep order during a celebration of the town’s founding. Exploring its history brings surprising discoveries about her own family, while present-day troublemakers threaten to disrupt the festivities.

Caleb Johnson and his old friends gather for a reunion, hoping to enjoy time together. A greedy rancher disrupts their celebration, turning a welcome meeting into another confrontation with a man whose ambitions threaten their peace.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves receives a warrant for Belle Starr, a woman he considers a friend. Carrying out his duty puts their connection under pressure as personal loyalty collides with the demands of frontier law.

A miner hires Lincoln Croft to find his missing daughter, expecting a straightforward search and return. As the investigation becomes more complicated, Lincoln must decide whether obeying his client is compatible with his own understanding of what is right.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves is sent to arrest a young woman who leads an outlaw gang along the Red River. Her attacks on river traffic turn the assignment into a confrontation with an unconventional adversary.

Caleb Wolf leaves Gilly Starr’s ranch after a sheriff is murdered in nearby Pima. Hired to capture One-Eyed Jack, he begins to believe the suspect has been framed and must reconsider whom he should be pursuing.

When Bass Reeves arrests an elderly Native American medicine man, the prisoner places a curse on him. The deputy must confront a threat unlike an ordinary outlaw’s gun while carrying out his work in Indian Territory.

Apprentice mountain man Toby Miller accompanies three experienced trappers into a Sierra Nevada valley the Shoshone consider cursed. When horses and companions begin dying, the evil he senses forces him to confront a danger their experience cannot explain.

While training with the Sioux medicine man Wahote, Felicity visits Colesville for a birthday treat. A deadly infestation of snakes draws them into a confrontation with an elderly woman whose connection to ancient powers threatens the town.

Sheriff B.J. Kincaid finds Cody Hawkins holding a weapon beside the body of a longtime enemy. After his conviction, doubts unsettle her certainty, leaving her racing to establish the truth before an apparently guilty man is hanged.

Returning to Bear Creek, Caleb and Flora discover a newcomer determined to accumulate the largest landholding in the area. His ambitions threaten the community they call home, forcing them to confront a challenge to their way of life.

Jacob Blade follows a murderer to Dodge City, where his quarry has joined an outlaw gang and enforcement of the law offers little help. An unexpected friendship with Doc Holliday gives Jacob a dangerous new ally.

Jacob Blade heads to Tombstone in search of the trouble that draws his vigilante instincts. Finding Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday already confronting the Clantons and the Cowboys places him in the middle of a volatile struggle.

Sheriff Dez Lake sends Lincoln Croft after two cattle thieves fleeing Sweetwater. Tracking them into unfamiliar country south of Las Vegas exposes him to residents far more dangerous than his quarry and challenges his otherwise reliable record of success.

Asked to infiltrate a local sawmill, secret deputy Tom Steele expects to catch a bootlegger. The undercover assignment soon exposes crimes beyond illegal whiskey, leaving him in increasing danger as he tries to discover what the operation conceals.

A Louisiana river pirate moves into Shelby County, Texas, seeking control of the bootlegging business. Texas Ranger J.D. Pettit is called in to intervene as the newcomer tries to extend his influence into another state.

An unexpected mayoral election unsettles Bear Creek, followed by a wealthy outsider’s aggressive bid to buy its farms and ranches. Caleb and Flora rally their neighbours when hired gunmen turn pressure to sell into a threat to everyone’s homes.

Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith stop in Benton while seeking profitable bounty work near Tombstone. They find a town crowded with outlaws and lacking a sheriff, then become targets themselves when their occupation is discovered.

A wounded prospector reaches Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith’s camp after being robbed by two men he had welcomed. His offer of half the stolen gold persuades the bounty hunters to undertake an unusually personal recovery job.

This short introduction examines the effects of climate change on Africa. Alongside an overview of the challenges facing the continent, Ray discusses possible responses intended to lessen the damage and improve conditions for the people affected.

While transporting a young thief, Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith rescue a girl fleeing an abusive man who controls her hometown. Delivering their prisoner becomes secondary as they confront the danger threatening her and her neighbors.

Jacob Blade is falsely implicated in a killing during a stop in Sykesville. After clearing himself, he and Penny Coppersmith pursue two fugitives toward Virginia City, including a preacher who has committed a murder of his own.

In Pecos, Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith find farmers and ranchers threatened by a mine owner who has cut off their water. With the sheriff beholden to wealth, the two outsiders take on the powerful man’s hired forces.

Detective Adam Zuma investigates bloody disappearances amid gang violence in Baltimore’s Cherry Hill neighborhood. Reports of a gigantic sewer rat suggest that the rival criminals he is pursuing may face a threat unlike any human opponent.