Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massacre at Whiskey Flats | 2008 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 2 | Sidewinders | 2008 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 3 | Cutthroat Canyon | 2009 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 4 | Mankiller, Colorado | 2010 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 5 | Deadwood Gulch | 2011 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 6 | Texas Bloodshed | 2012 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 7 | The Butcher of Bear Creek | 2013 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
| 8 | Bleeding Texas | 2014 | J.A. Johnstone | Buy |
The Sidewinders series is an eight-book Western built around the friendship between Bo Creel and Scratch Morton, two drifters who have been wandering the frontier together for most of their lives. Bo is the cautious one who tries to think his way out of trouble. Scratch is the one who’d rather shoot his way out. Together they stumble into one dangerous situation after another, from massacres to mining camp wars.
Running from 2008 to 2014, the series opens with Massacre at Whiskey Flats and covers a lot of territory across its run. The books take Bo and Scratch from Colorado to Texas to the Black Hills, with titles like Cutthroat Canyon, Mankiller, Colorado, and Deadwood Gulch giving a sense of the rough places they end up. J.A. Johnstone used the buddy-Western format to keep things loose and fun, even when the bullets are flying. The dynamic between the two leads carries the series, and eight books gives it enough room to develop without overstaying its welcome.