The Coyote Crossing

Heller Thriller #5

by Frank Roderus

A maverick son of the new West, Heller's a man you can turn to when your life's in danger...if you can get him off his butt. Born in the Colorado high country he's a part time rancher and full time drinker who savors a laid-back approach to living. But Heller's also a law school dropout with a head for justice that's that's as hard as the Colorado Rockies with a mile-wide stubborn streak. So he hires out to hopeless cases, hurtling into action when some big guy is putting the squeeze on a little guy - or gal. Whether he's tracking down a murderer, out hustling a high-tech con man, biking in the wilderness or falling for a lady's charms Heller fights hard and plays harder. Wise-talking, quick-thinking, with a body that can absorb and dish out a lot of punishment: that's the combination that's kept Heller alive. So far.

It's cattle country, and not meant to be killing country. Coyotes, the human kind, are making it hell to survive, both those who have lived there, ranched there, raised families there; and those who are fighting to come north for a better life. The hell of it is, some of those are infiltrators, bringing dope, and, God knows, what else.

Each a stand alone action adventure.

163 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1985

About the author

Frank Roderus wrote his first story—it was a western—when he was five. It was really awful, as might be expected, but his mother kept that typed and spell-checked short story tucked away until the day she died.
Later, Frank became a newspaper reporter, thinking that books are written by authors which he most assuredly was not. He kept trying to write though, and eventually did it wrong enough to learn how to get it right. That first sale, a young adult novel published by Independence Press, was more than thirty years and a good many books ago.
As a journalist, the Colorado Press Association awarded Frank Roderus their highest award, the Sweepstakes Award, for the best news story of 1980, and the Western Writers of America has twice named Frank recipient of their prestigious Spur Award. Frank passed away at age 73 in December 2015.

Reviews

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An FR Modern Day Western About Crossing the Border From Mexico to the US

FR ha penned a mystery with a western background with the time in the presence of Coyotes and Crooks. A Young Man pays a Coyote for assistance to cross the border. He is killed after he arrives. The sister asks our intrepid hero if he can locate her brother and determine if he remains alive. This is an excellent read for the genre....DEHS