Michael Cardwell Books in Order

These stories follow men facing danger, hardship and difficult moral choices in settings ranging from an Indiana farm to an Idaho cabin and Afghanistan. Action and quieter reflection examine how ordinary people respond when circumstances demand more of them.

Afghanistan veteran Danny Coogan hopes his new job as a Montana game officer will offer a quieter life. Instead, a man he considered a friend shoots him and leaves him stranded in freezing country, forcing Danny into a struggle for survival.

The discovery of a dead rancher and a slaughtered steer on a reservation draws game officer Danny Coogan into a dangerous investigation. Working with tribal police and other authorities, he uncovers links between present violence and a much older unsolved case.

U.S. Marshal Danny Coogan returns to Montana with his pregnant wife as an early blizzard approaches. The disappearance of his friend, working undercover for the Tribal Council, draws him into a conflict that threatens the future he hoped to build.

During a fugitive arrest, U.S. Marshal Danny Coogan discovers a body connected to someone he knows. His unofficial investigation leads toward stolen millions, further deaths and an adversary determined to resist capture at any cost.

These stories explore rural western life through difficult choices made on ranches, along fence lines and around kitchen tables. Financial pressure, dangerous weather and unsettled histories test people trying to act fairly in circumstances that rarely offer simple answers.

A violent escape sends U.S. Marshal Danny Coogan after a fugitive in Montana’s remote wilderness. As whiteout conditions close in, the pursuit becomes a contest of endurance against a killer who understands the dangerous landscape as well as Danny does.

A routine eviction leads U.S. Marshal Danny Coogan into an investigation involving disappearances and bodies. A powerful enemy from his past obstructs the search, while threatened witnesses and buried secrets make each new discovery more dangerous.

A collection of short crime stories follows deputies, ranchers, drifters and other ordinary people confronting sudden trouble on America’s back roads. Missing weapons, late-night encounters and seemingly small favors lead to choices with lasting consequences.

Ben Perkins retreats to an Indiana farm, hoping beekeeping will keep his military past and failed marriage at a distance. An attempt to shoot him in his own field destroys that quiet plan and pulls him into a world of deception and violence.