Badland Bones
(2026)(Book 11 in the Murphy: U.S. Marshal Western Adventure series)
A novel by Clem Mariotte and Paul L Thompson
A murdered teamster. A canyon full of stolen government gold. And a U.S. Marshal racing a blizzard to stop a conspiracy buried beneath the Montana badlands.
When Murphy rides into a lonely cabin under siege, he expects trouble. What he finds instead is a trail leading to a federal survey operation that has become the perfect cover for something far more dangerous. A young freight driver is dead, scientific shipments are moving under armed guard, and somewhere beyond the chalk canyons of eastern Montana, stolen government bullion is being hidden in plain sight.
Joined by Hester Ross, a determined woman whose brother paid for the truth with his life, Murphy follows the trail into a labyrinth of badlands, fossil beds, and isolated survey camps where every clue points toward a growing criminal enterprise protected by powerful men and ruthless enforcers. With a winter storm closing in and the conspirators preparing to erase the evidence forever, the investigation becomes a desperate race against both time and the unforgiving frontier.
As ambushes, cave-ins, blizzards, and deadly pursuits force them deeper into hostile country, Murphy discovers that recovering the stolen gold may be the easiest part of the job. The real challenge lies in securing the records that connect the thefts to the men responsible, because without proof, the architects of the scheme will simply disappear behind their wealth, influence, and carefully constructed lies.
Packed with relentless action, frontier intrigue, dangerous terrain, and the hard-earned justice that defines the Murphy series, Badland Bones delivers a gripping Western adventure where the truth is worth killing for and the cost of uncovering it grows higher with every mile.
Genre: Western
When Murphy rides into a lonely cabin under siege, he expects trouble. What he finds instead is a trail leading to a federal survey operation that has become the perfect cover for something far more dangerous. A young freight driver is dead, scientific shipments are moving under armed guard, and somewhere beyond the chalk canyons of eastern Montana, stolen government bullion is being hidden in plain sight.
Joined by Hester Ross, a determined woman whose brother paid for the truth with his life, Murphy follows the trail into a labyrinth of badlands, fossil beds, and isolated survey camps where every clue points toward a growing criminal enterprise protected by powerful men and ruthless enforcers. With a winter storm closing in and the conspirators preparing to erase the evidence forever, the investigation becomes a desperate race against both time and the unforgiving frontier.
As ambushes, cave-ins, blizzards, and deadly pursuits force them deeper into hostile country, Murphy discovers that recovering the stolen gold may be the easiest part of the job. The real challenge lies in securing the records that connect the thefts to the men responsible, because without proof, the architects of the scheme will simply disappear behind their wealth, influence, and carefully constructed lies.
Packed with relentless action, frontier intrigue, dangerous terrain, and the hard-earned justice that defines the Murphy series, Badland Bones delivers a gripping Western adventure where the truth is worth killing for and the cost of uncovering it grows higher with every mile.
Genre: Western
Used availability for Clem Mariotte's Badland Bones