A Tale Out of Luck: A Novel

Retired Texas Ranger Captain Hank Tomlinson intends to spend the rest of his days raising cattle on his Broken Arrow Ranch, and nurturing his frontier town of Luck, Texas. But when the brutal murder and scalping of a mysterious drifter leads to a clash between cavalry soldiers and a band of Comanche Indians suspected of the killing, a full-scale Indian uprising seems likely. Worse yet, the murder of the drifter bears a disturbing resemblance to a string of killings Hank remembers from his distant and violent past as a Texas Ranger.


Meanwhile, Hank's twenty-year-old son, Jay Blue, and his adoptive brother, Skeeter, find themselves on the trail of a valuable Kentucky mare who vanished under their watch. The trail leads them into the dangerous haunts of outlaws and vengeful Comanche warriors. Now Hank must attempt to keep his sons safe while trying to catch a murderer who he knows will soon strike again. His ace-in-the-hole is beautiful Flora Barlow, the tavern owner with a knack for detective work.


Though rival lawman, Matt Kenyon, and competing rancher, Jack Brennan, complicate Hank's investigation, he and Flora slowly begin to uncover a crooked web of crime, deception, and murder. Dark secrets emerge, and everyone must choose sides as lawmen, outlaws, soldiers, and Indian warriors converge for a final, bloody confrontation.

Willie Nelson was born April 30, 1933 and grew up in Abbott, TX. A country singer/songwriter, he developed his own style of music combining rock and roll, jazz, western swing, and folk. In the 1970s he partnered with Waylon Jennings to form an offshoot genre of country music called "outlaw country." Willie's chart topping songs include "Good Hearted Woman," "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time," "Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," and "On the Road Again."


Mike Blakely is the acclaimed, Spur Award-winning author of several historical western novels. A singer-songwriter with six CDs of his own, he lives in Marble Falls, TX. www.mikeblakely.com