The Lonesome Trials of Johnny Riles: A Strattford County Yarn

In this loose sequel to his award-winning novel, East of Denver, author Gregory Hill spins another off-kilter yarn set in fictional Strattford County that is raw, untamed, gritty, bold, fantastic and slightly, wonderfully crazy. Johnny Riles leads a lonesome life on Colorado’s high prairie in 1975. His parents abandoned him to the family ranch after he accidentally shot his father, and his irresponsible younger brother, Kitch, left home to become a star player in the American Basketball Association. With only his livestock and his whiskey to keep him company, Johnny spends his hours wandering the barren landscape looking for arrowheads. But one cold, October evening, Johnny finds a mysterious skull half-buried in the ground. When he ties it to his saddle to bring it home, his horse panics and bolts, leaving Johnny alone in a freak blizzard that suddenly blows in. Unprepared for the freezing night, Johnny tracks his horse through the mounting snow, only to discover that it has been gruesomely killed. So begin Johnny’s trials. He delves beneath stark Western landscapes, both literal and figurative, to unearth the truths behind his nightmares, searching for the mysterious killer, for his brother’s soul, and for a sober reason to live.