Lauran Paine Books in Order

Lauran Paine looks back at the era of the mountain men in the American West. This account of frontier history follows the people who lived and worked beyond the expanding settlements.

Kit guides a wagon train through Dakota country, where settlers face dangers they don't fully understand. As armed riders threaten the travelers, his knowledge of the territory becomes essential to keeping the wagons moving.

Bess Benton dismisses Rufe Holt as another arrogant cowboy passing through town. But he has returned to settle old wrongs, avenge the dead and uncover a mystery that others have left unresolved.

Lauran Paine recounts the massacre of settlers at Mountain Meadows, examining a violent episode in the history of the American West. His account focuses on the killings and the Mormon involvement in them.

Lauran Paine traces the settlement of the Pacific Northwest, including Oregon and the conflicts surrounding expansion. This historical account examines the region's transformation and the wars involving Indigenous peoples during the nineteenth century.

Lauran Paine recounts the settlement of Oregon and the wider Pacific Northwest. This historical account follows expansion into the region and the conflicts that accompanied it, including wars involving Indigenous peoples.

Karen Maxwell has grown up in Arizona, but the threat of Apache attacks still frightens her. Will Graham's calm puzzles her, and the danger ahead puts their different responses to fear under pressure.

Lauran Paine examines the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where Custer's troops suffered defeat in June 1876. This nonfiction account focuses on the military confrontation that made the general's final campaign a lasting subject of debate.

After Amos Swift is killed, his son Jason wants revenge while Arty struggles to keep the ranch going. With the sheriff unable to act without witnesses, Jason's pursuit threatens the family's remaining security.

Caleb Mellon sends for his daughter Elizabeth to return from the East. Scout Jess Hardin knows the journey comes at a dangerous time, as unrest along the trail threatens travelers crossing the country.

Union veteran Ryan Shanley heads to Wyoming to build a new life on a land grant. Meeting Sarahlee Gordon offers another possibility, but establishing a ranch proves harder than the fresh start he imagined.

This biography follows Tom Horn's work as a range detective and Pinkerton operative, including his involvement with Wyoming cattle interests. Paine examines a frontier figure whose career crossed the worlds of law enforcement and hired gunmen.

Ben Fairchild joins a cavalry search after a young woman disappears and her parents are found dead. An inexperienced captain leads the rescue, and separation from the soldiers leaves Ben facing cold, hunger and danger.

Deputy marshal Phil Gleeson must protect prisoner Chet Bannister from three brothers intent on killing him. Facing a powerful rancher and her dangerous ramrod, Gleeson struggles to uphold the law against a threatened lynching.

Wounded and pursued by his uncle's gunmen, Frank Tennant finds shelter with Jorge Medina. The elderly man risks his own life and his daughter's safety to protect a stranger from the men hunting him.

Lauran Paine follows the life of Ben Thompson, a gambler and gunman in Texas and the Southwest. The biography examines his encounters with violence and the frontier world in which he made his reputation.

Sheriff Jim Conner arrests a young horse thief whose wealthy uncle is the victim. With a hanging approaching, Conner uncovers evidence that the uncle cheated his nephew, forcing him to question the apparent justice.

Lawyer Andrew McCall travels from New York to California for a lucrative consultation, only to discover his client is a gangster seeking an alibi. Refusing the assignment puts him in danger from the criminal's men.

When Dr. Carleton Spence is found stabbed to death in his study, Inspector Bob Channing searches for a suspect. The doctor's many enemies complicate the investigation, leaving Channing to sort through widespread hostility for answers.

Three bodies buried on an estate in an exclusive San Francisco suburb draw Detective Sergeant Bert Fenwick into an investigation. Identifying the victims is only the beginning of his search for their killer and motive.

Dr. Eric Fenton becomes executor of his patient Basil Potter's estate. When the dead man's heir unexpectedly appears, the doctor is drawn into international intrigue involving assassins and the Central Security Agency, complicating his new responsibility.

Fred Crandal discovers a body floating in a pond and finds himself charged with murder. Detective Sergeant Fenwick believes he's innocent, while Fred's thieving Norwegian elkhound provides an unexpected opening in the investigation.

Three neighbors investigate a mysterious crack in time after medieval objects appear around it. Their nightly watches bring strange sounds and scents, drawing the friends into an unexplained connection with the era of the Crusades.

In a New England village, Doctor Allen and writer Hale Morgan discover an invisible opening in a glade. Passing through leads them into an unfamiliar place whose nature challenges their understanding of the world around them.

After their father dies, Zachary and his brothers must help their mother and sister survive in the Texas Panhandle. Their struggle becomes more dangerous when they face the enemy who once threatened their father's life.

Dick Dennison finds model Marie Moreau dead on his couch and is charged with her murder. With criminal lawyer Mike Foreman's help and Inspector Bert Wheeler's belief in his innocence, he faces a search for the killer.

Lauran Paine examines the sexual accusations surrounding witchcraft and its prosecution, including alleged encounters with demons and obscene rituals. He considers the fascination these claims held for participants in witch trials and the confessions extracted through torture.

Lauran Paine traces the idea of hell from its ancient pagan roots into Christian theology. He examines a concept shaped over thousands of years, exploring how earlier beliefs became part of Christianity’s account of punishment after death.

Lauran Paine explores witchcraft’s ancient origins and its place in cultures around the world. He examines how Christianity’s campaign against paganism shaped European ideas about witches, and considers the persistence of those beliefs into the twentieth century.

Lauran Paine follows Captain John Smith’s adventures before and during his leadership of Jamestown. He examines the controversial explorer’s reputation, considering why accounts of his life were doubted and how historians have reassessed his claims.

Lauran Paine examines the life of British general John Burgoyne, whose surrender at Saratoga overshadowed his reputation. The biography revisits the judgments of historians and contemporaries, questioning how responsibility for his military defeat was assigned.

Inspector Merritt offers Galloway an unusual deal: travel to America and recover paintings stolen from a London gallery. Keeping the money depends on outwitting both American police and the gangsters holding the missing works.