Texas 1866: The Devil's Rope
(2026)(The tenth book in the Elias Burrell series)
A novel by Robert Hanlon
A new kind of weapon is carving up Texas. A powerful syndicate is fencing the frontier one deadly strand at a time. And Elias Burrell is about to discover that some enemies cannot be beaten with a faster draw.
When dozens of valuable cattle are slaughtered by newly strung barbed wire stretched across a long-established public grazing corridor, Elias Burrell realizes the attack was never about livestock. Behind the so-called legal survey orders stands Judson Black, a wealthy land syndicate operator who intends to seize the Sabine Valley by turning federal paperwork, corrupt courts, and ruthless intimidation into weapons every bit as deadly as a revolver. As neighboring ranchers lose their livelihoods and good men begin dying in the wire, Burrell finds himself confronting an opponent who hides behind lawyers instead of hired guns.
With Lugo Varela, Delia, Bose, and Boone standing beside him, Burrell must uncover the fraud holding Black's empire together before every independent ranch in East Texas is swallowed by the syndicate's relentless expansion. Each attempt to fight back tightens the legal noose, every courtroom victory for Black strengthens his grip on the valley, and every mile of newly erected fence threatens to claim another innocent victim. In a conflict where the law itself has become the battlefield, knowing when not to pull the trigger may prove more important than ever before.
As the pressure mounts, Burrell is forced to rethink everything that has carried him through a lifetime of dangerous confrontations. Guns can stop a charging outlaw, but they cannot dismantle a machine built on forged surveys, bought officials, and limitless money. To save the people depending on him, he must expose the conspiracy before Black's carefully engineered campaign permanently changes the West and leaves every free rancher trapped behind the Devil's Rope.
Rich with authentic frontier detail, unforgettable characters, relentless suspense, and the classic Western spirit that defines the series, The Devil's Rope is a gripping story of courage, perseverance, and justice in an era when the greatest threat to the frontier no longer rides on horseback—it arrives with a surveyor's chain and a lawyer's signature.
Genre: Western
When dozens of valuable cattle are slaughtered by newly strung barbed wire stretched across a long-established public grazing corridor, Elias Burrell realizes the attack was never about livestock. Behind the so-called legal survey orders stands Judson Black, a wealthy land syndicate operator who intends to seize the Sabine Valley by turning federal paperwork, corrupt courts, and ruthless intimidation into weapons every bit as deadly as a revolver. As neighboring ranchers lose their livelihoods and good men begin dying in the wire, Burrell finds himself confronting an opponent who hides behind lawyers instead of hired guns.
With Lugo Varela, Delia, Bose, and Boone standing beside him, Burrell must uncover the fraud holding Black's empire together before every independent ranch in East Texas is swallowed by the syndicate's relentless expansion. Each attempt to fight back tightens the legal noose, every courtroom victory for Black strengthens his grip on the valley, and every mile of newly erected fence threatens to claim another innocent victim. In a conflict where the law itself has become the battlefield, knowing when not to pull the trigger may prove more important than ever before.
As the pressure mounts, Burrell is forced to rethink everything that has carried him through a lifetime of dangerous confrontations. Guns can stop a charging outlaw, but they cannot dismantle a machine built on forged surveys, bought officials, and limitless money. To save the people depending on him, he must expose the conspiracy before Black's carefully engineered campaign permanently changes the West and leaves every free rancher trapped behind the Devil's Rope.
Rich with authentic frontier detail, unforgettable characters, relentless suspense, and the classic Western spirit that defines the series, The Devil's Rope is a gripping story of courage, perseverance, and justice in an era when the greatest threat to the frontier no longer rides on horseback—it arrives with a surveyor's chain and a lawyer's signature.
Genre: Western
Used availability for Robert Hanlon's Texas 1866: The Devil's Rope