Vickie Britton Libri

Drew Woodson's arch-enemy, Matt Ferris, becomes his new mining partner when Tommy Garth gambles away his share of the Lyra Shay mine in a fateful game of poker. Ferris, wasting no time trying to gain full control of the mine, attempts to sink Drew so deeply in debt that he will be forced to sell out. When Tommy's step-daughter, Marlene, is kidnapped, Drew is forced to borrow heavily against his share to pay the ransom. Tommy, distraught over his step-daughter's kidnapping and insistent that Ferris cheated him, is vowing revenge. Soon, the situation erupts in violence. Drew discovers that Tommy is not who he claims to be but rather is a man with a past--one that includes murder. Just when Drew thought poker was the worst of his troubles, Tommy turns out to be the wild card in an even more dangerous game.

"When Sheriff Jeff McQuede's friend, Barry Dawson, tricks him into attending a Bigfoot convention at the small town of Trails' End, he finds the adventure is only beginning. He is soon invited by the head of the research team, Dr. Adam Kurtz, to hike with them into the isolated mountains below Lost Man's Peak where few people ever venture. McQuede immediately notices friction among the members of the team ‒ love triangles, resentment, and greed. Professor Callahan has obtained special funding for the project because of his claim to have encountered Bigfoot in this area, and Dr. Kurtz intends to call him out for being a fraud. The first night out trouble erupts. Ted Weiss insists that he spotted Bigfoot near his camp and tells them he was almost attacked. Is Bigfoot really out there, or is someone perpetuating a carefully-planned hoax? When murder follows, McQuede must solve the biggest case in his career!"--Back cover

A friendly poker game at the Red Elk Saloon ends with gubernatorial candidate Oren Perley dead at the table. The other three players claim a disguised stranger shot Perley from the doorway and fled. The only clue is a fifth ace found near the dead man's feet. Fierce gunmen swarm into Leland intent on avenging Perley's death. Drew Woodson's mining partner, Tommy Garth, is wrongfully blamed, but the remaining poker players, afraid to tell the truth, are sticking to their fabricated story. Woodson must save Tommy and find the real killer before the witnesses are eliminated one by one or an innocent man is hanged. The vigilantes soon find that Woodson, too, has his reasons for wanting Perley dead. Now that he's saved Tommy, will he be able to save himself from the hangman's noose?

Drew Woodson thinks he's running a lucky streak. First he wins a claim from Blackjack Logan in a poker game, and then it yields a lucky strike. But the feeling turns when his stash of gold and his young partner, Tommy Garth, turn up missing. Drew realizes that Blackjack Logan, who has thrown in with Reno Slade's gang, has taken revenge by capturing Tommy and stealing his gold. In pursuit of the robbers, Drew finds, not Tommy, but one of the bandits hanged, and he must face the possibility that his own partner has betrayed him. Determined to discover the truth, Drew is forced to become a player in the Devil's Game.