Dakota by Gilbert Ralston
The first novel in the acclaimed Dakota series, back in print for the first time in nearly fifty years.
Dakota is a half Piegan, half Shoshoni Native American who served as a Marine in Vietnam and afterwards became a cop in New York City. Now he’s moved back to the Sierras to work his family’s ranch, ride the rodeo circuit, and take on cases as a private detective.
Dakota’s old friend Sam Law, a local shopkeeper, asks him to help a woman who believes that her husband was murdered in a Nevada mining town… and that those same killers are now targeting her. Minutes later, Sam and the woman are killed by a car bomb. Dakota won’t stop until he gets justice for the dead… and exposes the secret that three people were brutally slain to protect…even if it could cost him his own life.
This new edition features an introduction by Eric Compton, co-host of the Paperback Warrior podcast.
Books by Gilbert Ralston
Cat Trap
The third book in the hard-charging Dakota series. Dakota is pitted against a deadly assassin who worships, lives and kills based on the teachings of an ancient Egyptian cat goddess.
Murder’s Money
In the fourth adventure, Dakota is hired by a reclusive, crippled millionaire to prove he didn't gun down his brother...who he'd been threatening to kill for years.
Dakota
The first novel in the acclaimed Dakota series. Dakota is a half Piegan, half Shoshoni Native American who served as a Marine in Vietnam and afterwards became a cop in New York City. Now he's moved back to the Sierras to work his family’s ranch, ride the rodeo circuit, and take on cases as a private detective.
Red Revenge
The second adventure in the action-packed Dakota series. The Board of Directors of Grayson Electric have been kidnapped in Lake Tahoe. Dakota is hired to deliver the ransom...and mount a suicidal rescue.
Reviews For Dakota
"I want to be buried with these five novels. They are just that damn good. This 'Dakota' series is absolutely a mandatory read. The amazing aspect of this series is that the five books really make up one long case file. It puts you, the reader, in the dangerous (and coveted) spot of being the scene sleuth piecing it all together. I absolutely love this character. In a lot of ways Dakota is the perfect merger of Craig Johnson’s dedicated sheriff Longmire and his loyal friend Henry Standing Bear."
It reads like a typical 1970s network cop show—picture Robert Forster or Clint Walker as the lead—but it also presents a decent mystery, plenty of action, and quite a body count. The hardbitten hero is easy to root for.
