In his prime, Marshal Charlie Martell had been the surest shot and toughest lawman in all of Kansas. But his days of gunfighting and keeping the peace ended when he was badly shot up while single-handedly breaking up a bank robbery. The incident left him badly crippled, and he became a drunken derelict. He reached the point of deciding to do himself in when he heard that his ex-partner had been gunned down by three outlaws. Charlie knows he stands no chance of surviving, but if he's going to die, he might as well do it in a final showdown with that outlaw trio in this one final gesture of defiance and personal pride. Patrick E. Andrews was born in Oklahoma in 1936 into a family of pioneers who participated in its growth from the Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory to statehood. His father's family were homesteaders and his mother's cattle ranchers. Consequently, he is among the last generation of American writers who had contacts with those people from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Patrick's wife Julie says he both speaks and writes with an Oklahoma accent.He is an ex-paratrooper, having served in the 82nd Airborne Division in the active army and the 12th Special Forces Group in the army reserves. Patrick began his writing career after leaving the army. He and his better half presently reside in southern California. He has a son Bill, who is an ex-paratrooper and a probation officer, and two grandchildren.
