Charles Ray Books in Order

An old acquaintance arrives in Calabash Crossing with a new bounty-hunting partner, unsettling Rusty Rhodes. After a bank robbery, the three hunters join forces, but pursuing the thieves into an outlaw-controlled mining town puts their uneasy alliance under pressure.

A decade after an illegal fishing fleet dumps its catch in Chesapeake Bay, people begin disappearing near a closed nuclear plant. Detectives Alex Stiles and Ellen Morgan turn to marine biologist Rita Chang to investigate the disturbing connection.

Enrico DaSilva starts a ranch near Twin Forks, where only the sheriff welcomes him. When cattle and hostile townspeople suffer gruesome deaths, suspicion falls on Enrico, while the sheriff confronts signs of something beyond an ordinary human killer.

A whale-watching vessel vanishes off Alaska after a mysterious attack witnessed by members of a nearby commune. FBI agent Dirk Lightfoot struggles to persuade authorities to take their questionable testimony seriously as the search yields no survivors or wreckage.

Returning from delivering a prisoner to Louisiana, J.D. Pettit stops in Deadwood, Texas, and encounters an assaulted farmer. A newcomer is pressuring residents to sell their land, drawing the Ranger into an investigation of the purchases.

Mysterious disappearances in the desert trouble Marshal Jethro Hawk in Pecos, Arizona. When a professor and his students encounter a monstrous creature, the search for missing people becomes a struggle against something hidden beneath the sands.

An earthquake awakens a marine predator that has lain dormant for millions of years. When a yacht’s distress call abruptly stops, marine biologist Julia Hargety and her research vessel head toward a danger they do not yet understand.

After fifteen years in prison, Hank Carter learns that the man he supposedly killed is alive and has married his former sweetheart. Returning home brings new work and unexpected affection, but settling the old injustice remains unfinished business.

Toby Cane's life has returned to normal after an earthquake released prehistoric creatures from the Badlands. Eighteen months later, a larger wave of monsters threatens Fort Pierre, forcing him and his friends to defend their home again.

A hunting expedition brings Caleb and Flora into contact with a rogue colonel and his men. The officer’s plan to establish an independent republic turns their time in the mountains into an encounter with the dangerous aftermath of war.

After a bank robbery leaves a teller dead, Caleb tracks the fleeing outlaws. Bounty hunter Logan Hanson pursues the same men for a reward, and their incompatible motives threaten to derail the hunt before either can deliver justice.

Two supposed fossil researchers hire Caleb to guide them near a Ute reservation. Their behaviour soon makes him question their motives, turning an apparently straightforward expedition into a struggle to understand what they really want from the land.

A bank robbery greets Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith as they arrive in Cambridge Junction. Pursuing the killers for a reward leads them into Dead Man’s Canyon, where narrow passages and hidden routes put the hunters at risk.

After two outlaws assault Mazie Carter, Rusty Rhodes joins visiting bounty hunter Logan Hanson to pursue them. One man wants the reward and the other wants justice for a friend, making cooperation difficult as their hunt begins.

Caleb and Flora set out to help their friend Charlie Two Feathers. Along the way, they encounter a woman whose need is even more pressing, drawing them into another test of the loyalties and responsibilities that shape their mountain lives.

Stories long told to children and grandchildren become the framework for this account of seven decades of experience. Ray follows incidents that shaped his journey from deprivation to privilege, emphasizing memorable moments rather than a chronological inventory of achievements.

A gang arrives in Bear Creek with plans that threaten the settlement. Caleb Johnson sets out to stop them, drawing on his experience in the mountains to defend the community and confront the trouble its newcomers bring.

A viral infection gives two zoo tigers an extraordinary and dangerous advantage: invisibility. When the animals escape, a familiar predator becomes an unseen menace, leaving people exposed to an attack they cannot see coming.

A computer program now controls society's essential services, but technician Dave Crocker notices disturbing anomalies. When his warnings are ignored, he turns to its creator, Amanda Judge, and uncovers a secret that puts them and humanity in danger.

Rusty Rhodes volunteers to retrieve a bank robber who has fled beyond Sheriff Kincaid's jurisdiction. Tracking him to Snowflake reveals that the fugitive has joined a gang, leaving Rusty to separate his target from dangerous companions.

Rusty Rhodes arrives in Preston and senses danger beneath the dusty town's quiet appearance. When the leader of a local outlaw gang invites him to join, a stop along the trail becomes a confrontation with potentially deadly consequences.

Caleb tells Flora how he received the name Black Bear after losing his parents and finding refuge with Ho-Chunk hunters. A hunting expedition with two young friends brings an encounter that helps him discover where he belongs.

Fleeing a failed bank robbery, Austin Remington stops at a saloon near a town haunted by children lost in a blizzard. His growing love for its owner draws him into a stand against the town’s restless dead.

Penny Coppersmith wants to become Jacob Blade’s partner as they approach a mining town controlled by Hiram Dalton. Trouble with Dalton’s brother forces Penny to prove herself and leaves Jacob facing a consequential choice about their future.

Twin Forks sheriff Hoby Dawkins awakens transformed after a failed hunt for the creature terrorizing his town. As federal marshals investigate, he and Enrico DaSilva must confront one another and residents convinced they are responsible for the killings.

A detour brings Rusty Rhodes to a mountain town where hired gunmen are forcing farmers to sell their land. Helping one threatened couple draws him into a wider struggle against a land grabber backed by twelve professional fighters.

Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith interrupt an attack on a farm while traveling toward Nevada. Learning that a child has died and a wealthy rancher may be responsible, they postpone their journey to investigate the town’s violence.

Rusty Rhodes befriends an English newcomer after rescuing him from hostile cowboys. When Hugh Paddington tries to establish a ranch near Calabash Crossing, a local rancher's opposition pulls Rusty into another fight over who belongs in the territory.

Rusty Rhodes helps Sheriff Kincaid confront armed drifters in Calabash Crossing, then discovers their plans to seize the town. With the threat gathering at an abandoned mine, the town's defenders must prepare for the gang's return.

Caleb guides a Washington official toward Yellowstone ahead of President Chester Arthur’s visit. Their expedition aims to expose damage caused by speculators and visitors, hoping presidential attention will secure the resources needed to protect the park.

An unexpected reward for stopping stagecoach robbers introduces Rusty Rhodes to bounty hunting. The work seems promising until a pursuit takes him to Cripple Creek, where the townspeople may be more dangerous than the murderer he intends to arrest.

Texas Ranger J.D. Pettit follows an outlaw back to his home in East Texas. Bringing the wanted man to justice means confronting his clan as well, turning a pursuit into a larger showdown in San Augustine.

Tracking a swindler into Nevada, Rusty Rhodes meets another hunter pursuing the same man. Their quarry has taken shelter with an outlaw gang, forcing the two pursuers to consider deception as a way past nine armed protectors.

While travelling through the hills, Caleb and Flora encounter settlers occupying sacred Shoshone land. Caleb must protect them from the consequences while secretly carrying out a promise to find a wanted killer believed to be nearby.

A mountain man refuses to sell his land to a wealthy mining speculator and barely escapes when hired gunmen burn his home. He turns to Caleb Johnson for help, and together they fight to preserve his life and property.

A hidden valley brings Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith to a family whose two sons have been murdered. With the sheriff unwilling to act, they track the killer into willow forests he knows far better than they do.

A hunting trip changes when Rusty Rhodes and deputy Sam Morgan discover a badly beaten boy. His account leads them to New Hope, where an abusive father controls a small community and appears responsible for crimes beyond his household.

After changes to road traffic create a temporary feast of roadkill, carrion birds grow larger and more aggressive. When their food supply dwindles, parks director Timothy West must protect a Maryland town from predators turning their attention to humans.

Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith pursue a robber whose taste for murder takes them deep into Nevada’s Badlands. As their quarry keeps moving, the unforgiving terrain threatens to become as deadly as the man they are hunting.

Caleb rescues bounty hunter Irine Wicklow from brothers seeking revenge for an arrest. Their shared pursuit of justice becomes more dangerous when he discovers the identity she conceals, leaving him caught between violent fugitives and a companion determined to protect her secret.

Theft and sabotage at Timpson’s railway station bring Texas Ranger J.D. Pettit to town. His investigation points toward a wealthy cotton farmer whose influence over the community makes uncovering the truth an increasingly dangerous assignment.

Fence cutting threatens to ignite a conflict between farmers and open-range ranchers near Farmersville. J.D. Pettit and an inexperienced deputy must restore order while investigating a farmhand’s murder before a lynch mob imposes its own verdict.

Harry Hooker and Linda Beckham accept what appears to be a straightforward insurance investigation. A half-million-dollar claim begins to unravel under scrutiny, and their difficulty explaining the deception becomes dangerous as the people behind it close in.

The killing of a governor’s aide in a small East Texas community brings J.D. Pettit from Garland to investigate. With the governor unwilling to trust local law enforcement, the Ranger must establish what happened and identify the murderer.

Pursuing a fugitive into the Black Hills, Rusty Rhodes meets another bounty hunter tracking two more wanted men. Their targets belong to a fifteen-man gang, forcing the hunters to weigh the rewards against a badly unequal confrontation.

Professor Sebastian Kornblum hires Caleb and Flora to follow the Cherokee migration route toward California’s goldfields. Obstacles and mysteries complicate their journey, including a secluded mountain resident whose knowledge may illuminate the history the professor hopes to recover.

Reports of bank robberies lead Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith through suspicious Kildare to a nearby town whose sheriff has been killed. Connecting the crimes may require them to return to the dangerous settlement they just escaped.

Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith are tracking rustlers through northeastern Arizona when the adventurous Nat Love offers his help. Their pursuit becomes more serious after an encounter with men eager for violence in the town of Pecos.

Tom Steele finds an injured Cherokee man whose wife has been kidnapped and taken toward New Mexico. Their rescue pursuit becomes a test of loyalties as Tom seeks lawful arrests and his companion demands revenge against the abductors.

A hungry Arapaho girl enters Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith’s camp and reveals that she escaped kidnappers holding five other girls. With no reward at stake, the two bounty hunters set out to rescue the remaining captives.

While travelling to hunt near the Colorado and Wyoming border, Caleb and Flora intervene when two men beat a stranger. Learning that a rancher is trying to drive settlers from their homes, they head into the threatened community to help.

J.D. Pettit postpones his vacation to help investigate unsolved murders in Jasper County. Local intrigue soon leads him toward an ambitious landowner and a dishonest deputy, making his search for justice more complicated than the sheriff suggested.

Bass Reeves and Henry Lone Tree enter Indian Territory to capture a man wanted for brutal Texas murders. As they follow his trail, Bass weighs whether disguise and deception can succeed against such a dangerous fugitive.

Rusty Rhodes follows a fugitive to Jericho, where an aging gunfighter has sought refuge from his reputation. Trouble in the town and the arrival of Rusty's quarry draw the two men into an alliance neither expected to need.

Chasing two outlaws through desolate New Mexico terrain, Rusty Rhodes reaches a settlement built around scarce water. Sundown shelters fugitives under its own rules, and Rusty must understand that code before he can capture his quarry and leave alive.

Rusty Rhodes takes a back road hoping to avoid trouble and reaches Cactus Junction just after a bank robbery. Pursuing the thieves leads to Sonora, a village controlled by outlaws who stand between him and his targets.

A worried mother hires Harry Hooker to find her adult son, an isolated warehouse worker she fears has fallen into bad company. Finding him draws Harry into deadly intrigue that threatens more than the missing man.

Rusty Rhodes interrupts an assault on a paleontologist who has discovered valuable dinosaur bones. Hired to protect the scientist, he enters a struggle among rival fossil hunters and museum interests, where ownership is contested with more than scholarly arguments.

This collection fictionalizes further adventures of Bass Reeves, one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi. The stories follow the lawman's pursuit of fugitives across Indian Territory, drawing on the historical figure's remarkable career.

On a solitary hunting trip, Caleb witnesses a young man being taken into forced mine labour outside Mt. Olive. Discovering that a local strongman uses fabricated taxes to enslave residents, he abandons his journey to help free the town.

A frightened couple seeks refuge on Caleb’s land after a supposed witch drives them from their home. Caleb and Flora escort them back to Serenity Valley, where apparent magic tests his beliefs and complicates their effort to defend the couple’s property.

A miner’s murder ends Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith’s planned rest in Virginia City. Following the killer takes them into a violent range war, where their fugitive has chosen a side and capturing him means entering the conflict.

A U.S. marshal hires Caleb to track a man accused of murdering a sheriff near St. Louis. As the pursuit moves deeper into unfamiliar mountain country, Caleb finds his trust in the lawman and his own assumptions increasingly challenged.

After delivering a fugitive in Medora, Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith accept a job recovering stolen cattle. Unseasonable cold, a dangerous canyon and a wealthy employer determined to accompany them complicate the pursuit through Dakota Territory.

A poker game introduces Rusty Rhodes to a one-eyed drifter searching for his kidnapped brother. Their pursuit leads to an abandoned mining town used by an outlaw gang, where two rescuers must find a way past six gunmen.

A family’s pursuit of opportunity in Texas continues as settlement brings new demands and danger. This second installment follows the larger journey toward land and a different life, with the obstacles of the frontier standing in the way.

A series of killings draws J.D. Pettit to Killeen, where he teams up with incoming school director Melinda Jenkins. Their investigation begins connecting the deaths, but their success also puts both of them in the murderer’s sights.

Rival brothel owners, a newly arrived businesswoman, and prejudice against Buffalo Soldiers make San Angelo dangerously volatile. J.D. Pettit joins fellow Rangers to help its lone lawman prevent the competing tensions from erupting into open violence.

Bass receives warrants for a new group of fugitives, including a deputy marshal accused of taking bribes from outlaws. With Henry Lone Tree and his posse, he crosses Indian Territory to pursue criminals on both sides of the badge.

Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith rescue an Englishman and his Navajo wife from men employed by the husband’s father. Discovering their wanted fugitive also works for the father intertwines a bounty hunt with a bitter family conflict.

Seven murders bring J.D. Pettit to Jefferson, where bootleggers and Louisiana outlaws appear headed toward war. His investigation centers on a farmer whose powerful political connections threaten to obstruct the Ranger’s search for whoever is responsible.

A feud between wealthy Carthage farmers turns deadly when a worker is ambushed. J.D. Pettit helps the sheriff investigate, but suspects fleeing across the Louisiana border force them to find unconventional ways around the limits of their authority.

Chester A. Arthur entered the presidency as a beneficiary of political patronage, then supported reforms that challenged his own faction. Ray examines this change of course and the decisions of a president whose leadership has often been overlooked.

Runaway Clementine Jackson asks Caleb and Flora to protect her from the man sent to take her home. Stranded author Mark Twain offers unexpected assistance, while Clementine’s determined sister makes the dispute more complicated than a straightforward rescue.

A confidence man's arrival in Plata brings two brothers seeking revenge for their father's death and ruined ranch. When the swindler is killed, Marshal Boone Collins faces a difficult investigation with few resources and conflicting claims to justice.

An ambush interrupts Bass Reeves's shopping trip for his daughter. Pursuing the gunman with Henry Lone Tree, he uncovers a bootlegging operation whose reach and dangers extend far beyond the attack that first drew his attention.

A family sets its sights on a new life in Texas, where available land offers opportunity alongside unfamiliar dangers. This opening installment begins a journey across America toward the difficult work of making a home on the frontier.

Jacob Blade and Penny Coppersmith trace a fugitive to an isolated valley that shelters outlaws. While they plan how to enter, three women are kidnapped, turning a difficult arrest into an urgent rescue operation against an entrenched gang.

Fence cutting threatens to turn a dispute between neighboring landowners into a range war. Marshal Boone Collins and his inexperienced deputies must enforce the law while winning cooperation from men who already resent his appointment as an outsider.

J.D. Pettit travels to Nacogdoches to help settle a bitter land dispute between wealthy neighbors. While trying to prevent violence over their ranch boundaries, he also finds himself entangled with a saloon owner and his reserved landlady.

Modern western readers bring different expectations from the audiences who embraced earlier classics. Drawing on decades of writing and historical study, Ray considers those changes and offers guidance to authors hoping to write western fiction for contemporary readers.

After a drifter robs Bear Creek’s general store and murders its owner, Caleb pursues him through Colorado into Wyoming. Capturing the ruthless outlaw alive will require all his skill if he is to uphold the moral code he refuses to abandon.

Sergeant Jake Ward leads a reconnaissance team into Cambodia to investigate reports of disappearing North Vietnamese soldiers. Enemy patrols and hostile terrain complicate the mission, but something in the jungle may pose a threat beyond the soldiers they expect.

Africa faces renewed international competition for its resources, influence and future direction. Ray introduces the continent's history, cultures and potential while examining the challenges confronting its nations and the limited understanding that often shapes outsiders' responses.

Delivering a prisoner brings Rusty Rhodes into a family feud that is threatening the merchants of Pecos. He decides to help a drugstore owner and her neighbors escape the dispute, but intervention risks a confrontation he hopes to contain.

Bass Reeves heads toward Waynoka to arrest ten fugitives, only to encounter new crimes along the way. When the gang allies with cattle rustlers, his small posse faces the possibility of a battle against overwhelming odds.

Rancher Lizzie Williams insists on joining Bass Reeves and Henry Lone Tree as they track cattle thieves in Indian Territory. Finding the rustlers is only part of the job: Bass must also stop their furious victim from hanging them.

Captain Roger Malik and his commandos must intercept a Hanoi courier carrying plans for a major offensive. With no name, description or travel schedule to guide them, they enter the Ho Chi Minh Trail facing a seemingly impossible capture mission.

Captain Roger Malik leads a commando team across the Vietnamese border to destroy enemy tanks. When promised air support is secretly withdrawn, a colonel must choose between obeying orders and warning men whose mission has become far more dangerous.

Sheriff Dawkins and Enrico DaSilva pursue Marshal Lewis and his men across hostile country, hoping to rescue Annabelle. The chase forces difficult choices about the friends traveling with them as the danger of their supernatural conflict continues to grow.

After his friend is murdered, Boone Collins reluctantly becomes marshal of Plata and takes on the search for the killer. Rival local powers, tangled loyalties, and his own grief threaten to overwhelm the investigation in a divided town.