Book 2

Hard Winter

by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone

Published 26 June 2024
National bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone return to Cutthroat County, Montana and the bold multigenerational saga of two ranch family dynasties fightiing to build and maintain their legacies, told in alternating timelines across 132 years, from 1891 through 2023.

Two Families. Two Dynasties. Two Centuries.
A Saga of Montana.


NOW:  As winter descends upon Cutthroat County, rancher Ashton Maddox has to rely on a skeleton crew to keep his cattle from succumbing to the dangers of the cold winter months. County Sheriff John T. Drew has his hands full this time of year heading up search and rescue missions for adventurous snowborders and skiers tempting fate on nearby Always Winter mountain range. When an unexpected blizzard covers the region, Drew finds himself babysitting a vicious gang of prisoners stranded in town. And as the storm triggers avalanches, Drew and Maddox learn their son and daughter are trapped on the mountain—and that the gang’s leader has escaped from custody . . .


THEN:  This isn’t the first Montana blizzard that the Drew and Maddox families have faced. Back in 1894, Murdo Maddox lost his livestock—and nearly his entire cowboy crew—braving a treacherous storm that ravaged the countryside. Sheriff Napoleon Drew pursued a mad dog killer across the unforgiving snow and ice. Both men risked their lives to save others, fighting the most devastating weather conjured by nature—and the worst in human nature . . .

Montana

by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone

Published 23 January 2024
Two families. Nine generations. One stretch of land under the Big Sky of Montana Territory.

From national bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, a bold new saga of the American West centuries in the making, from the brave ranchers who staked their claims in the spring of 1842, to the lawmen who risked their lives to keep them, and the descendants who carried their dreams into the 21st century…


Bordered by the Blackfeet Reservation to the north and mountain ranges to the east and west, Cutthroat County is seven-hundred glorious square miles of Big Sky grandeur. For generations, the Maddox and Drew families have ruled the county—often at odds with each other. Today, Ashton Maddox runs the biggest Black Angus ranch in the country, while County Sheriff John T. Drew upholds the law like his forefathers did over a century ago. A lot has changed since the county was established in 1891. But some things feel straight out of the 1800s. Especially when cows start disappearing from the ranches. . .

Residents and news media still recall a gun-blazing tale of the land-grabbing battles fought by Maddox’s and Drew’s ancestors. Meanwhile, their present-day descendants face a new kind of war that’s every bit as bloody. Sheriff Drew’s girlfriend/deputy is shot and seriously wounded in what appears to be a routine traffic stop. When Ashton Maddox’s rival rancher’s foreman is found murdered and a modern-day vigilante group hires a hard-drinking, publicity-hungry retired Texas Ranger to investigate, Drew and Maddox decide to do what their forefathers did so many years ago: join forces against a common enemy. Risk their skins against all odds. And keep the dream of Montana alive for generations to come . . .