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DOYLE TRENT: A Western Fiction Checklist
by Steve Lewis I haven’t found very much biographical information about Doyle Trent. He doesn’t have an entry in Twentieth-Century Western Writers, for example, even though he had a fairly prolific writing career in the 1980s through the mid-1990s, especially once he hooked up with Zebra in 1985. Taken from Gambler’s Gold, however, his only book in hardcover (Walker, 1983) is the following: Doyle Trent
grew up in Hutchinson, Kansas, and was a cowboy for ten
years in New Mexico. Later, he completed his education in
Colorado and became a newspaperman. Mr. Trent moved to Woodland
Park, Colorado, where he spends his free time prowling the National
Forests on horseback.
As the brief snippets of story description should indicate, Trent’s western fiction tended to be in the traditional vein. I’d welcome any further statement about his story-telling techniques and abilities from anyone who’s read his work more recently than I. At the present time, take this only for what it is, a checklist of all of his western fiction. Any additions or corrections to that end are also most certainly welcome. Unless noted otherwise, all books below are paperback originals. The ● designator means only that I have a copy. Claim Jumper. Leisure 938, 1981. Gambler’s Gold. Walker, hardcover, 1983; ● Signet 15720, December 1988.  Young cowpoke J.B. Watts, beaten,
jailed, and almost hanged for murder after he finds a lost cache of
gold, joins forces with Shine Crandall, niece of the man he allegedly
killed, to unravel the mystery of the town of El Rey.
● Squaw Mountain Massacre. Zebra 01635, July 1985. He was on the run – until he rode
into the crossfire of a Squaw Mountain Massacre.
San Lomah Shootout. Zebra 01853, June 1986.  Attacks by a gang of four
gunfighters force Jim Kinslow to borrow a gun, face his pursuers, and
determine why they are after him.
Tombstone Lode. Zebra 01915, October 1986.  James Alexander, a Pinkerton
agent, investigates the death of Buckshot Dobbs, an old prospector
whose gold mine has attracted a number of strangers claiming to...
Treachery Town. Zebra 02071, May 1987.  Shadow of the Gallows. Zebra 02194, October 1987.  Tom Shannon, a Civil War veteran,
must prove that he is not the outlaw gang member who ambushed Scott
Wheeler.
● Rustler’s Trail. Zebra 02263, January 1988. Winchester Law. Zebra 02382, June 1988.  Bill Williams wasn’t looking for
trouble when he trailherded 150 head
to the eastern plains of Colorado Territory. All he wanted was to graze
his beeves on the free range. But a conglomerate of Eastern investors
owned a half-million acres of the rangeland, or so they said, and
they’d payrolled a bunch of sidewinders to back their claim...
Cheyenne Brother. Zebra 02534, November 1988.  Colorado Desperadoes. Zebra 02629, April 1989. When a small group of Colorado
homesteaders take up arms to protect their holdings from a crooked
lawyer and his hired gunmen, alcoholic ex-Texas Ranger Ben McCagg
attempts to fight for the settlers’ cause.
The Rawhider. Zebra 02739, July 1989. ● Dodge City Trail. Zebra 03124, September 1990. Shotgun Canyon. Zebra 03229, October 1990. ● Apache Creek Ambush. Zebra 03318, February 1991.  Jim Waggoner returns to Apache
Creek, a newly built prairie cowtown that marks the spot where his
parents were killed when he was a boy, and finds the place as violent
and treacherous as when he left.
● Dead Man’s Badge. Zebra 03529, October 1991. When the sheriff is shot and
killed, deputy Bill Walker gets an instant promotion and must suddenly
contend with cattle rustling, stickups, and bushwhacking.
● Night Rider. Zebra 03695, March 1992. When a gang of cutthroats hangs
his brother, gunfighter Ace Bailey, an outlaw who had killed thirteen
men before he turned twenty-one, heads home and into a confrontation
with destiny.
● Texas Trackers. Zebra 03850, August 1992. With a common mission in mind,
Charles Manderville – a graduate of Columbia University in New York –
and Billy Johnson – a young, barely literate cowpoke – set out together
to track down a swindler.
Rawhide Ransom. Zebra 03997, December 1992. Determined to have the five
thousand dollar reward offered in return for a kidnapped woman, cattle
driver Lem Pettigrew tracks down the kidnappers and becomes involved in
a bloody battle for justice.
● Gambler’s Guns. Zebra 04095, March 1993.  When his sister is reported
missing, Johnny Vorhes follows a hunch and heads back to Colorado,
taking care not to run into the sons of the man he killed years...
● Fire and Gunsmoke. Zebra 04191, June 1993. Settling in Maxwell Land Grant,
Wild Bill Watson and Pegleg Peterson find themselves in the middle of a
bloody war over land and attacked by a gang of nightriders.
● Devil’s Disciple. Zebra 04403, December 1993.  After being convicted of a murder
he did not commit, Jim Casey escapes from the Rutledge jail in order to
protect his ranch and clear his name.
● Gunpowder Legacy. Zebra 04500, March 1994. In a land where killing is a way
of life, young Clay Allison, named after the deadliest gunfighter in
the New Mexico territory, can hold his ground against any man – even
Black Jack Ketchum.
● Fear Town. Zebra 04596, June 1994 Tired of the wandering life,
Martin Mossman comes to Vega, Colorado, to visit his brother, Ray, and
becomes caught up in the battle to rid the frontier town of...
● Outlaw Justice. Zebra 04822, January 1995. Justin Taylor finds himself on
the wrong side of the law as he pursues vicious, cold-blooded killer
Amos Harding, the leader of an outlaw band that had murdered his
parents.
● Mountain Marauders. Zebra 04942, June 1995. When former soldier Sam Collins
joins Lighthorse Jones, a Ute scout, on a perilous journey through the
mountains to New Mexico, the two friends find themselves embroiled with
a beautiful woman, a quest for a fortune in gold, hostile Apache, and
vicious claim jumpers.
YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME.
Copyright © 2008 by Steve Lewis. All rights reserved to
contributors.
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