Rawhide Jake: Learning the Ropes (1) (The Life and Times of Detective Jonas V. Brighton)

Convict. Detective. Lawman. On the wild American frontier, no man's path is straight and narrow, and Jonas V. Brighton's is no exception. Like many Western lawmen-even those with names like Earp and Hickock-he hails from hardscrabble roots and does what he has to in order to survive... even if it means breaking the rules from time to time. When he lands in a Kansas prison due to two horse-theiving friends, though, he has plenty of time to think about his future.

Following his release, Brighton encounters Jennie Hudson, a beautiful and feisty young private detective working for the local police. Sparks fly, and they soon embark on a wild and wooly partnership as both detectives and lovers. Their cases together make national headlines, only not the kind that are good for business. Mired in controversy, they go their separate ways.

Armed with his newfound experience, Brighton strikes out on his own. He ends up in Texas, where his reputation for undercover work and accuracy with a gun lands him a new job as a stock detective. Teamed with an old hand named Wes Wilson to learn the ropes, they're a duo tougher than boot leather, ridin' high and ridin' proud, ridin' down rustlers and pulling each other from the jaws of death more times than you can shake a stick at.

A gritty Western tale inspired by the real-life adventures of the lawman who would go on to shout down infamous outlaw Ike Clanton of Tombstone fame, Rawhide Jake: Learning the Ropes is as real and authentic as you can get.

Back in the day, when Jeff Arnold was a kid, he watched plenty of westerns on TV, read a few books and always wanted to be a rancher. As it turned out, he never got there. Instead, he is a veteran combat Army aviator, former deputy sheriff and death investigator, and longtime CPA. Now he sort of lives a rancher's life vicariously through the books he writes. After the Rawhide Jake trilogy, there is more to come with the novels Paradise Creek, Sticker Joe Spurlock, and a family saga set north of the Mogollon Rim in Arizona. Jeff lives by the polo fields in Indio, California, with Diane, his wife of half a century, and Sofie, their canine love. His children and grandchildren reside in the next county over to the west. He wishes peace to everyone, everywhere.