Cole Wright Series

Jerome Miller lies in scorching, gritty sand, staring up out of the rugged ditch. Bleeding and broken. The start of a very bad day, for him. Cole Wright hitches into the town of Gollick, Arizona. Somewhere between Tuscon and Yuma. Looking for a good meal and maybe a bed for the night. Not looking for trouble. Sometimes, though, trouble hides away in those out of the way places. Sometimes trouble just finds him. Sometimes Wright just meets it head on.

The sign at the edge of town announces it as Cooperville, Pop 3516. Small town. Big problems.   Passing through, Cole Wright just wants a meal and to get back on the road.  Always happy to have a nice meal.  Always happy to avoid problems. Sometimes, though, problems just demand attention.

Worn, battered and bruised from years as a cop, Cole Wright wants a moment of peace. But the Spokane locals have other plans for his vacation sabbatical. And Wright just has to stick his nose in, whether wanted or not.

Hitching a ride, Cole Wright finds himself listening to tall tales. He meets some remarkable people on the road.   When the driver suggests a detour to a beautiful overlook, they find more than they expect. People dressed and ready for a ball.   But they have other things on their mind.

Cole Wright sits in a sparkling bright Route 66 themed diner in a small Montana town. Kind of town you could walk side to side in five minutes and leave behind.   In the mountains nearby, Joe Bridger consults his phone.Any moment and he will get the go ahead. A simple job. He can get out of the snow and grab himself a meal.   The two should never meet. No need to. Practically nothing in common.   Wright finds himself on a collision course. Suits him just fine.

Slate Wheels, North Dakota. The edge of winter. A flat landscape dusted with snow. Bound with rough rope, Brett Wilcox struggles to get free. One little mistake put him here. Not even his fault. Not really.   Cole Wright heads for Spokane. A simple trip. Back Roads. Quiet towns.   But Slate Wheels hides secrets in the quiet, and Wright finds himself unable to stand aside.

Startled by an odd noise outside her farmhouse squat, Ruby goes to check it out. What she sees, thows her for a spin.   Visiting Ambrose, a backwater town, Cole Wright enjoys the quiet pace of life.   But the events outside of Ruby's farmhouse set Wright on a collision course. With explosive consequences for everyone involved.   Especially Ruby.   A Cole Wright thriller that cuts to the bone.

Looking over the matted, sodden carpet in a rundown house in suburban Flagstaff, Jenn Fraser knows her old friend Ed is in trouble. Big trouble. Across town, Cole Wright relaxes after a day of exhausting work. Happy to be occupied. Happy to be living a quiet life. When they find themselves on a collision course, Wright and Jenn must confront trust and put everything on the line to protect Ed. With zero kills.

Picked over by birds and coyotes, the body on the riverbank looks days old. When Cole Wright rolls into Pointer, Montana, he figures a few days of quiet before heading on. Maybe Canada. Maybe over the mountains and on through Idaho. Turns out, Pointer holds on to people. In very odd ways. Another Cole Wright thriller filled with deception, twists and turns, and a whole lot of mystery.

The first Cole Wright collection   A surprise in a country field. A strange and dangerous encounter in a state park. An unexpected stop while traveling on a bus. Moments of conflict, moments of desperation, moments of tenderness.   Includes eight short stories and the novella Cold Highway.   Cole Wright. Wrong places. Wrong times. Just as well.

Lieutenant Ione Anders of the Spokane Police Department stares at a blade jutting from one of the tires on her new issue vehicle. Looks like the start of another one of those days. A day that proves full of surprises. A Cole Wright story with a difference, putting him right there in the action as he tags along.

A quiet Spokane diner. A tasty meal. A relaxing break. All Cole Wright wants.   But at another table someone watches him. Intent. Focused. Maybe even a little agitated.   None of Wright's business.   Until trouble arrives.   A story that asks the question, how long should we wait to speak up?

Waiting to make the drop, Gus knows that everything hangs in the balnce. Better not screw this up.   Relaxing on a park bench in a quiet town, Cole Wright watches a nervous guy with a briefcase sitting not too far away. Out of place. Out of his depth. Out of time.   Sometimes circumstances force Wright to step in before things get out of hand.   From the first Cole Wright Short Story Collection No Lack of Courage.

South Dakota. Sunset.  One dark day in July, Brad crashes his busted light plane in a dusty cornfield. Not great for his weekend plans. Not great for anything. Passing by, Cole Wright stops to lend a hand. Which might just plunge them both into something more dangerous than plane wrecks. A standalone Cole Wright story.

A trip north of the border takes Cole Wright into the heart of snowbound Canada. Friendly people, vast distances, tough vehicles, isolation. When a breakdown looms, Wright finds himself caught in the white, compacted landscape. A road thirty feet wide, hemmed in by the piled up ridges left by snowploughs. And an endless forest that could hide just about anything. Unfriendly territory. Dangerous places. A Cole Wright novella that focuses down on a single moment where the slightest error could be his last.

The mugging happens so fast that Marc barely has time to react.   For Marc and Sonia, a trip to Spokane means visiting family, a little shopping and some eating out. Not having someone accost them in the street.   When Cole Wright happens by, things might just take a different turn.

On his way toward Spokane, Cole Wright rides a rickety old bus. Local service. Regular schedule. Few passengers. Small town to small town. Heartland people. Wright plans to pick up the long distance service when the bus reaches the freeway. Plans, though, have a way of getting interrupted. A standalone Cole Wright story that comes right down to good people in tough circumstances.

Sally loves hiking. She knows her way around and knows all the pitfalls and problems. She uses the best equipment.   Caught by surprise, she injures her leg while out alone, forcing her to dig for new strength. To improvise.     When Cole Wright catches up, what he finds makes no sense.     A story of people thrown together in challenging circumstances.

Charlie and Suze just want a quiet, relaxing hike through Crater Top park. A beautiful, tranquil and hidden in the mountains. Helping out with the park's trails, Cole Wright enjoys the change. The chance to do something different. No one expects trouble. Not way out there. But then, trouble has a way of showing up. A standalone Cole Wright short story.

Cole Wright finds too many evenings in his tiny cul-de-sac apartment shattered by rumbling engines and squealing tires. His neighbors miss their sleep. Cole needs to do something about it. Unless someone else does something about it first. A Cole Wright story that asks the question 'can we make a difference?'