Lawman Books In Order

Publication Order of The Lawman Books

The Lawman is a series of westerns books by American author Michael Newton. Michael began his Lawman series in 2007, and the series ran eleven books concluding in 2014 with Trackdown. The main character is Jack Slade, a lawman maintaining the thin line between justice and lawlessness. He is pretty similar to “Man with no name” the main character in A Fistful of Dollars novel by Clint Eastwood. He is a man of few words, a skilled gunslinger and manages to deal with the bad guys in the wrong way.

The Lawman

The first book in The Lawman series introduces us to Jack Slade, the main character in the series. He is a man pulled up his roots years back to living his day as his last and risking at gambling rooms across the west. Considered as a disappointment to his family, Jack left home and has been estranged from them for years. But they say blood is thicker than water, and that’s exactly what Jack proves to the reader after he receives news of his brother’s death under mysterious circumstances in Lawton, Oklahoma.

It’s been half a decade since he saw his brother, the man who made Jack a prominent rancher. In addition to large pieces of land and herds of cattle, his brother also left behind a fiancé who’s been rejecting offers on her property as well as fighting cattle rustler.

The mysterious thin lines behind Jim’s death are becoming clear. And when fate sees Jack given a badge, he soon finds himself walking in the thin line between justice and vengeance. Mike Newton has done a fantastic job in creating a fast-paced, action-packed series debut novel. It’s to be noted that most westerns books have been a primary defining genre of the American book and film industry, an evocative tribute to the early days of the untamed American frontier. They are one of the oldest, flexible and most enduring genres. The popularity of westerns (both books and films) has waxed and diminished over the years. However, their most thriving era was in the 20th century between 1930s-1960s and in the ’90s, and they appear to be making a slow but steady comeback in both books and on the TV screen.

This indigenous form of art emphasizes on the frontier that existed in N. America, and most of them are set on the American frontier in the late 19th century, usually between 1865-1900 a geographically western setting with rugged rural terrains or romantic, idyllic frontier landscapes. However, this genre also extends back to the time of America colonial period or forward to the mid 20th century. Most of the books in this genre often depict the conquest and subordination of nature, and specific settings include ranch houses, isolated forts, jail, small-town main streets, or small frontier towns.

Usually, the main plot of the western novel is the classic and simple goal of maintaining law and order in a fast-paced action story, and that’s precisely what happens in Mike Newton Lawman series. These novels are normally rooted in a standard conflict between good vs. evil, lawman vs. gunslingers, humanity vs. nature, and so much more. The typical elements in the books include hostile elements, guns and gunfights, horses, trains, runaway stagecoaches, outlaws and sheriffs, cattle rustling and cattle drives, breathtaking settings and distinctive western clothing.

Like in Lawmen series, western books and films feature heroes who are often local enforcement officers or lawmen, army officers, ranchers, territorial marshals, cowboys or skilled gunfighters. The heroes are normally energetic, principled persons- courageous, tough, solid, unusual characters with independent and honorable attitude. They are men capable of facing the dangers associated with the forces of lawlessness with an expert display of physical skills such as gun-play, roping, pioneering, and horse-handling and other abilities.

Helltown

Hell does truly exist. U.S. Deputy Marshal Jack can confirm to that, and it’s in Gehenna, Oklahoma. On any given day, there is someone bound to break the law. Now two honchos are fighting over the place, and all the good people in town have to pray for their lives. And the thing is, the two tycoons want Jack to side with them not knowing that the lawman works for no one and in this battle, it’s impossible to know who’s side anyone’s on truly. And Jack must be prepared or else lose the battle.

The second in the series revolves around two rich men fighting to take control over the town of Gehenna. Buck Bjornson and Baron Cartwright are two wealthy and powerful men running the town, spooking the townspeople of their property and stealing their lands and at times killing them. The town’s citizens are too scared to do anything about it, and even the parson of the local church is also scared to open his mouth because of the generous tithes he receives from the tycoons.

Deputy Marshall Jack is sent to Gehenna to restore peace and order and also gather evidence against the tycoons. Helltown plot revolves around the ensuing tension as Jack Slade duels the tycoon as they become increasingly desperate to get rid of him and each other. There is plenty of action and bits of romance in this intriguing page-turner from first to the last page.

Massacre Trail

In Massacre Trail, Jack Slade is called to investigate a series of homesteading murders of an entire homestead outside the small town of Paradise in Oklahoma. They are unusual murders, and the locals have their theories about the person responsible for the killings. Jack will have to dig deeper and get to the bottom of the murders and not rely on any conclusion from anyone.

Massacre Trail is set in the late 1890’s post-Spanish-American War and Civil War and during the Open Enrollment period in Oklahoma. Lyle Brandt writing gives a sufficient amount of historical accuracy when he details the daily living and law enforcement tactics during that era, especially in Oklahoma. If you like reading westerns books featuring lawmen against lawbreakers, Mike Newton’s Lawman series is highly recommended.