By the HornsA gritty Australian outback crime thriller of buried secrets, betrayal, and brutal justice(Rocky Barnes PBR Crime Series - Book 1)A buried body. A haunted past. A truth someone will kill to keep hidden. In the scorched heart of outback Queensland, Rocky Barnes is trying to leave his bull-riding days behind. But when the rains expose a decomposed body on his remote cattle station, the past charges back with a vengeance.
The dead man is Cole Maddox, a former rider on the PBR circuit. And his death is no accident. Once a rising star in the U. S. rodeo world, Rocky walked away from the circuit and its betrayals fifteen years ago. Now a solitary cattleman on Moray Downs, he wants nothing more than peace. But the land has other plans. Enter Alice Hart, a fearless investigative journalist with scars of her own. Sent to uncover the truth, she finds herself caught in a web of silence, corruption, and dangerous old alliances.
The deeper she digs, the more perilous it becomes. Someone wants the truth buried, and they'll kill again to keep it that way. Along the way, Rocky hires a sharp-witted jillaroo named Eliza McIntyre, known to most as Bear. What begins as a working partnership soon deepens into something more. Bear becomes not only his lover, but his fiercest ally and the moral compass at the heart of the storm. As loyalties fracture and long-held secrets rise from the dust, Rocky, Alice, and Bear must face what they tried to outrun.
Because justice doesn't wait. And the outback never forgets. By the Horns is a raw and atmospheric rural crime thriller that grips from the first page. Perfect for fans of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, Candice Fox, and Michael Robotham, this is Australian noir where the dust is thick, the stakes are high, and redemption rides hard and fast.
By the HornsA gritty Australian outback crime thriller of buried secrets, betrayal, and brutal justice(Rocky Barnes PBR Crime Series - Book 1)A buried body. A haunted past. A truth someone will kill to keep hidden. In the scorched heart of outback Queensland, Rocky Barnes is trying to leave his bull-riding days behind. But when the rains expose a decomposed body on his remote cattle station, the past charges back with a vengeance.
The dead man is Cole Maddox, a former rider on the PBR circuit. And his death is no accident. Once a rising star in the U. S. rodeo world, Rocky walked away from the circuit and its betrayals fifteen years ago. Now a solitary cattleman on Moray Downs, he wants nothing more than peace. But the land has other plans. Enter Alice Hart, a fearless investigative journalist with scars of her own. Sent to uncover the truth, she finds herself caught in a web of silence, corruption, and dangerous old alliances.
The deeper she digs, the more perilous it becomes. Someone wants the truth buried, and they'll kill again to keep it that way. Along the way, Rocky hires a sharp-witted jillaroo named Eliza McIntyre, known to most as Bear. What begins as a working partnership soon deepens into something more. Bear becomes not only his lover, but his fiercest ally and the moral compass at the heart of the storm. As loyalties fracture and long-held secrets rise from the dust, Rocky, Alice, and Bear must face what they tried to outrun.
Because justice doesn't wait. And the outback never forgets. By the Horns is a raw and atmospheric rural crime thriller that grips from the first page. Perfect for fans of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, Candice Fox, and Michael Robotham, this is Australian noir where the dust is thick, the stakes are high, and redemption rides hard and fast.