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Great Western Detective League #1
Wanted Sam Bass
The Pinkerton Detective Agency had a competitor. Who knew? Sam Bass introduces the Great Western Detective League and a colorful cast of law enforcement professionals operating across the west in the late eighteen hundreds. Sam Bass launches his outlaw career in 1877 with high stakes stage and train robberies. Wells Fargo and Union Pacific want Bass and his gang. Crafty bounty hunter Briscoe Cane takes the case for the league. Pinkerton assigns agent Beau Longstreet. While Cane dogs the gang's trail‚ Longstreet entertains ladies with information on Bass. With a hefty stack of reward money at stake‚ Cane and Longstreet match wits to bring down Bass in a winner-take-all race to a bloody showdown in a dusty Texas town.
215 pages, Hardcover
First published January 21, 2015
About the author
Paul Colt
23 books61 followersPaul Colt’s critically acclaimed historical fiction crackles with authenticity. His analytical insight, investigative research and genuine horse sense bring history to life in dramatizations that entertain and inform. Paul’s Great Western Detective League series does action-adventure western style. Grasshoppers in Summer, and Friends Call Me Bat are Western Writers of America Spur Award honorees. Boots and Saddles: A Call to Glory received the Marilyn Brown Novel Award, presented by Utah Valley University.
Reviewers recognize Paul’s lively, fast paced style, complex plots, and touches of humor. Readers say,
“Pick-up a Paul Colt book, you can’t put it down.”
To learn more visit Facebook @paulcoltauthor
Reviewers recognize Paul’s lively, fast paced style, complex plots, and touches of humor. Readers say,
“Pick-up a Paul Colt book, you can’t put it down.”
To learn more visit Facebook @paulcoltauthor
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 1, 2017
XXX I received this ARC as a gift from the author, Paul Colt. In moving this book from my unsuccessful Giveaway list to my look-for-at-the-library list, I inadvertently gave the book a 2* rating before it was even released. After contacting me about this error, this author very graciously extended a proof copy of his book. Who knew there were such nice folks out there? Thank you, Paul Colt!
Wanted Sam Bass is a quick read, but a beautifully written book. It is true to the voice of the mid 1800's, with meticulous attention to detail, and a story line that keeps you guessing. I love the way the true story of the 1887 robberies covered in this novel evolves through the 1906 interviews with Colonel David J. Crook at the nursing home in Denver. Young Robert Brentwood, intrepid reporter, has found references to this crime spree in the archives of his employer, the Denver Tribune, and he hopes to flesh out the story into a book. It is beautifully done.
This is a book for history buffs, western lore lovers, and there are even a couple of discrete romantic encounters, as well. But for those of us weaned on Zane Grey, it's like coming home. I can't wait for the next one.
Wanted Sam Bass is a quick read, but a beautifully written book. It is true to the voice of the mid 1800's, with meticulous attention to detail, and a story line that keeps you guessing. I love the way the true story of the 1887 robberies covered in this novel evolves through the 1906 interviews with Colonel David J. Crook at the nursing home in Denver. Young Robert Brentwood, intrepid reporter, has found references to this crime spree in the archives of his employer, the Denver Tribune, and he hopes to flesh out the story into a book. It is beautifully done.
This is a book for history buffs, western lore lovers, and there are even a couple of discrete romantic encounters, as well. But for those of us weaned on Zane Grey, it's like coming home. I can't wait for the next one.
December 6, 2017
The Eye That Never Sleeps
The western novel holds a special place in American Literature.
Following in the tradition of Jeff Shaara’s historical dramatizations with Robert B. Parker’s gritty dialogue, Paul Colt’s, Wanted, Sam Bass, captures the distinct essence of a classic western saga.
This story was inspired by true events. Crafty bounty hunter Briscoe Cain is sent in pursuit of outlaw Sam Bass, by The Great Western Detective League. Throughout the story, he crosses trail with Beau Longstreet of the famous Confederate General’s family. Longstreet is employed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency -they of the self-descriptive aphorism, The Eye That Never Sleeps. The two competitors are wary of each other until they find a need for mutual support, in a saloon shoot-out, defending a soiled dove.
Sam Bass was a real outlaw who terrorized the Cheyenne and Deadwood Stage Coach Line in the late 1870’s. He and his gang robbed the Union Pacific Railroad at Big Springs Nebraska making off with sixty thousand in gold coins. Rewards for the Bass Gang stack up.
Using horsemanship and horse sense, Cane and Longstreet track the outlaw through the heat and dust of the vast and pitiless western landscape.
Colt delivers a traditional western whose likeable hero’s display the rough-hewn integrity and self-reliant strength needed to win the day. The villains are nuanced with believable back-stories, plot twists keep the reader guessing, the language is authentic, and there is a dash of romance.
Looking for an adventure you can take from the comfort of your favorite chair? Read Wanted Sam Bass.
The western novel holds a special place in American Literature.
Following in the tradition of Jeff Shaara’s historical dramatizations with Robert B. Parker’s gritty dialogue, Paul Colt’s, Wanted, Sam Bass, captures the distinct essence of a classic western saga.
This story was inspired by true events. Crafty bounty hunter Briscoe Cain is sent in pursuit of outlaw Sam Bass, by The Great Western Detective League. Throughout the story, he crosses trail with Beau Longstreet of the famous Confederate General’s family. Longstreet is employed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency -they of the self-descriptive aphorism, The Eye That Never Sleeps. The two competitors are wary of each other until they find a need for mutual support, in a saloon shoot-out, defending a soiled dove.
Sam Bass was a real outlaw who terrorized the Cheyenne and Deadwood Stage Coach Line in the late 1870’s. He and his gang robbed the Union Pacific Railroad at Big Springs Nebraska making off with sixty thousand in gold coins. Rewards for the Bass Gang stack up.
Using horsemanship and horse sense, Cane and Longstreet track the outlaw through the heat and dust of the vast and pitiless western landscape.
Colt delivers a traditional western whose likeable hero’s display the rough-hewn integrity and self-reliant strength needed to win the day. The villains are nuanced with believable back-stories, plot twists keep the reader guessing, the language is authentic, and there is a dash of romance.
Looking for an adventure you can take from the comfort of your favorite chair? Read Wanted Sam Bass.
August 15, 2025
This is entertaining historical fiction combining the western genre with detective and light romance. The characters are interesting, including the minor characters. The author’s nice descriptive writing is not excessive and the dialogue between characters is realistic.
Reading this story is like watching a tv western from the late 1950s-early 1960s. I look forward to reading more in this series.
Reading this story is like watching a tv western from the late 1950s-early 1960s. I look forward to reading more in this series.
May 8, 2017
I enjoyed this one. Good enough to make me want to read more from the author and more from this series.
May 3, 2018
Completely adequate story telling, mostly true to history, mostly interesting characters, thrilling and romantic themes, lacking the connection to real people that would get my sympathy.
Read
March 28, 2022Q10
January 9, 2026
A good western
March 19, 2015
XXX I received this ARC as a gift from the author, Paul Colt. In moving this book from my unsuccessful Giveaway list to my look-for-at-the-library list, I inadvertently gave the book a 2* rating before it was even released. After contacting me about this error, this author very graciously extended a proof copy of his book. Who knew there were such nice folks out there? Thank you, Paul Colt!
Wanted Sam Bass is a quick read, but a beautifully written book. It is true to the voice of the mid 1800's, with meticulous attention to detail, and a story line that keeps you guessing. I love the way the true story of the 1887 robberies covered in this novel evolves through the 1906 interviews with Colonel David J. Crook at the nursing home in Denver. Young Robert Brentwood, intrepid reporter, has found references to this crime spree in the archives of his employer, the Denver Tribune, and he hopes to flesh out the story into a book. It is beautifully done.
This is a book for history buffs, western lore lovers, and there are even a couple of discrete romantic encounters, as well. But for those of us weaned on Zane Grey, it's like coming home. I can't wait for the next one.
Wanted Sam Bass is a quick read, but a beautifully written book. It is true to the voice of the mid 1800's, with meticulous attention to detail, and a story line that keeps you guessing. I love the way the true story of the 1887 robberies covered in this novel evolves through the 1906 interviews with Colonel David J. Crook at the nursing home in Denver. Young Robert Brentwood, intrepid reporter, has found references to this crime spree in the archives of his employer, the Denver Tribune, and he hopes to flesh out the story into a book. It is beautifully done.
This is a book for history buffs, western lore lovers, and there are even a couple of discrete romantic encounters, as well. But for those of us weaned on Zane Grey, it's like coming home. I can't wait for the next one.
February 27, 2016
Westerns aren't my preferred genre, but my reading project this year to select titles I wouldn't normally choose. It was a pretty good story, and the characters were interesting. While the flashbacks were all engaging, I did get a bit tired of the flashforwards (the bits set in the "modern" time of the story). I still enjoyed it, though.
March 16, 2015
Great characters, many plucked from history. Story moves at a good pace. Looking forward to more from Brentwood's meetings with Colonel Crook and his stories of the Great Western Detective League. Thanks Paul Colt!
March 17, 2015
Excellent Read
This is hopefully the first book of a series. The author develops great characters and the story moves at a good pace and never lost my interest. I would rate this author as highly as any other current western writers.
This is hopefully the first book of a series. The author develops great characters and the story moves at a good pace and never lost my interest. I would rate this author as highly as any other current western writers.
January 6, 2016
A little different treatment where a story is related to the author who writes it (supposedly). Nevertheless, it is very well done. I enjoyed it immensely. The author even encounters a little romance along the way.
May 10, 2015
This was my first Paul Colt novel and I enjoyed the read about outlaw Sam Bass and The Great Western Detective Agency. Look forward to reading series as it comes out.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews