Wrongly kicked out of the Confederate Army for dereliction of duty, JD Thornton sets out to run down Hugh Garrett, the corporal who accused him.

In the middle of his search, he encounters Lucy and Floyd Coulter, who are headed for the Llano River Valley. Lucy is the remarried widow of a Union officer who died at Brown’s Ferry, the battle that involved Thornton’s dishonorable discharge. Thornton can’t help but feel responsible for the couple’s safe passage and vows to escort them to their new home.

Newly bound to ensure the safety of the Coulters, Thornton pursues Garrett into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. He soon finds himself the target of Comanche attacks and repeated attempts on his life until, finally, in the Llano River Valley, he confronts the man who destroyed his reputation.

Kent Conwell grew up in the wide-open Texas Panhandle in the town of Wheeler, population 848. His love for the West came naturally, for at age 14, his grandfather had bull whacked his way from Tennessee to the Panhandle, where he met his future wife.

After moving to Fort Worth, Kent was more at home in the stockyards than at school. Somehow, he managed to earn a B.S. and began teaching. Later, he moved to Port Neches, where he acquired a M.Ed. and Ph.D. In his career as a successful educator, his love for writing about the West, a period in history unique to America, has never waned. He has won awards for short stories, screenplays, mysteries, and westerns.

Llano River Valley is Kent’s thirty-second western for AVALON. He has also written nine mysteries for AVALON.

Avalon Westerns by Kent Conwell:
SHOOTOUT ON THE SABINE
LLANO RIVER VALLEY
GRAVE FOR A DEAD GUNFIGHTER
ATASCOCITA GOLD
JUNCTION FLATS DRIFTER
PROMISE TO A DEAD MAN
BOWIE'S SILVER
ANGELINA SHOWDOWN
GUNFIGHT AT FRIO CANYON
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
A HANGING IN HIDETOWN
THE GAMBLING MAN
RED RIVER CROSSING
A WAGON TRAIN FOR BRIDES
FRIDAY'S STATION
SIDETRIP TO SAND SPRINGS
VALLEY OF GOLD
THE ALAMO TRAIL
PAINTED COMANCHE TREE
THE GHOST OF THE BLUE BONE MESA
BUMPO, BILL, AND THE GIRLS
LAUGHING GIRL CREEK
JIM WELLS
GLITTER OF GOLD
TEXAS ORPHAN TRAIN
BLOOD BROTHERS
THE GOLD OF BLACK MOUNTAIN

Avalon Mysteries by Kent Conwell:
THE RIDDLE OF MYSTERY INN

The Tony Boudreaux Mystery Series
AN UNMARKED GRAVE
THE PUZZLE OF PIRI REIS
THE CRYSTAL SKULL MURDERS
DEATH IN THE FRENCH QUARTER
THE SWAMPS OF BAYOU TECHE
EXTRACURRICULAR MURDER
THE YING ON TRIAD
VICKSBURG
DEATH IN THE DISTILLERY
SKELETONS OF THE ATCHAFALAYA
GALVESTON