Showing results by narrator "Michael Messner" in All Categories

Old ways and new clash in head-on confrontation: When journeyman hit man Ray Dylan agrees to look in on Sami Bloom, former mistress of a deceased Canadian crime financier, he realizes he must keep his profession a secret. What he doesn’t realize is how difficult that is now that he has fallen for this warm-hearted beauty. While he struggles with the idea of confiding to her about his secret past, Dylan learns that Sami Bloom has some secrets of her own—and her secrets reach into the upper echelons of the very organization he works for.

Colter Farrow was just a skinny cow-puncher when the men came to Sapinero Valley and murdered his best friend, whose past as a gunfighter had caught up with him. Now, Cole must strap on his Remington revolver, deliver some justice, and make a reputation of his own.

Cotton Pickens got where he is by virtue of a quick draw and slow wit. He knows the difference between lawbreakers you have to lock up...and the kind you might as well just let go. Deputy Rusty Irons, though, ain't the sharpest tool in the shed. Someone kidnapped Rusty's mail order brides. They were probably doing Irons a favor, but a deputy in love is blind.

Thrust into an unexpected odyssey, Tanner finds himself inexplicably transported from the mundane world of school year preparations to a fantastical realm shrouded in forgotten magic. Mistaken for one of a long-lost lineage of mages, he must navigate the world, master lost magic, and unravel the mysteries surrounding both his arrival and the disappearance of those who came before him.

The last time the racist dictator known as the Archon came to Arcadia, he mistook X for an old nemesis and beat him to within an inch of his life. Now the Archon is back, along with his actual nemesis, a mysterious figure called the Mark--and their ancient battle threatens to tear Arcadia to the ground! Even if X can halt a superpowered grudge match, can he rescue his beloved city from the scars it leaves?

X's former accomplice Leigh Ferguson is shocked to learn that her high school friend has become the latest victim of "the Skin Traders," a mysterious gang of surgically modified thugs stealing slices of flesh from their abductees. Only the resilient vigilante X can stand up to the demented plastic surgeon who leads this "patchwork" crew. Scalpels clash with swords in a bloody hospital showdown! This latest volume of Dark Horse's edgy superhero series is a perfect starting point for new listeners, but it's also packed with Easter egg references for longtime fans.

Tango’s gang was a handful, but the Archon and his army, the Chosen, are more powerful than any enemy X has ever faced! Betrayed or abandoned by his allies, X must face Arcadia’s newest threat the old-fashioned way: alone!

Arcadia descends into chaos as old villains return to town and new ones are born! While X faces down suicidal psychos, superstitious mobsters, and thrill-junkie assassins, Leigh uncovers the secrets of his past . . . before he locked on his mask and became X!

When X attacks the notoriously corrupt narcotics squad known as "The Dogs of War," the manipulative Lt. Setter fights back by pitting him against the last few honest cops in Arcadia... and X's battle escalates into a war for the soul of the city!

When Chicago hitman Ray Dylan started out he was one more young professional struggling to get ahead of the pack. But he knows his world is about to change quickly when he takes on a job for high-level KGB elitist Leonid (The Professor) Volkov, founder of a unique Cuban-Russian spy community operating out of southern Florida. After Volkov double-crosses him and tries to have him killed, Dylan must take on the entire criminal spy operation even as a wild hurricane named Dennis ravages its way up the heart of the Florida peninsula.

Hank Fallon knows what it’s like to rot behind bars. To wallow in the filth of a rat-infested cell. To smell the pent-up rage of cutthroat killers and thieves. Fallon earned his freedom the hard way. He saved the lives of four guards, got released early, and became a detective. Then he went undercover, infiltrated a prison gang plotting to bust out — and barely made it out alive. Now they’re sending him back. Behind the iron. Straight to hell.

A cruel, hated man collects a fortune, then disappears in the desert. The Texas Rangers think it's murder and put one of their best on the job - but he'll need help. There's evil here that no one suspects.

Original story published in Lariat story magazine - July 1947.

Julia's daddy was the judge in town. He used to be fair, but recently it seemed that had changed. What cost to regular folks would there be?

Wayne D. Overholser, winner of three Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, weaves a magic spell in this story with his consistent skill in presenting vibrant characters and his uncommon sensitivity to the depths of human personality.

Honest presentation is only one characteristic of Frazee’s well-crafted tales. He tells a convincing, satisfying, and unusual story even when employing stock Western situations. A major strength is his understanding of the nuances of character, of how people are motivated, of the good and bad within each person, and of the conflicts between man and his environment. Drawing upon his years in the mountains of Colorado, he can vividly and realistically depict a variety of Western settings and do so in such a way that the settings assume a character of their own.

A classic tale that features all the beloved subjects and icons - stagecoaches, gold rush towns, and whiskey bars - that represent the romance and excitement of America's frontier.

In 30 years of prospecting, old Jim had never discovered Amber's Mirage - a shining cliff above a spring that ran heavy with gold. But his young sidekick took up the search to find the gold - a search that would cost him two years away from wild Ruby, the woman he loved.

The deadly White Wizards of Fairhaven, wielding the forces of chaos, threaten the ancient matriarchy of Sarronnyn, the last bastion of order in Candar. When Sarronnyn falls despite the assistance of the Black Order mages, Justen, a young Black Engineer, must escape the city and master forbidden technology that harness chaos itself. Even so, it may not be enough to halt conquest of the White Wizards.

Seven centuries in the future, the sport of American football has never been bigger, never been faster, never been more lethal. Trillions of fans from all over the galaxy watch six unique races battle in contests so violent that deaths are part of the stat sheet. Star quarterback Quentin Barnes has led his beloved Ionath Krakens to glory on the gridiron and become the most-recognized individual in history, but it is off the field where his world crumbles around him.