Black Jack

Black Jack is a classic western action novel by American writer Max Brand.

In this classic western story, the son of a notorious outlaw is adopted into a wealthy, law-abiding family as an infant after his father is killed in an attempted robbery.

The raucous beginning of Brand's Western is traditional. A gunfighter is shot dead in the street. However, when spinster Elizabeth Cornish takes his baby to raise and wagers with her brother that blood will not "will out", that Jack's son will not be a murderer - a fascinating story of nature versus nurture emerges.

Will the son follow in the footsteps of his outlaw father or will his life be guided by the respectable woman who nurtured him to manhood? Another exciting tale by the master of the pulp western, Max Brand.

“The moment he rose out of the chair and faced them, Gainor had stopped short. He was quite capable of fast thinking, and now his glance flickered from Terry to the sheriff and back again. It was plain that he had shrewd suspicions as to the purpose behind that call. The sheriff was merely confused. He flushed as much as his tanned-leather skin permitted. As for Terry, the moment his glance fell on the sheriff he felt his muscles jump into hard ridges, and an almost uncontrollable desire to go at the throat of the other seized him. He quelled that desire and fought it back with a chill of fear.”

Black Jack was first published in 1921. Audiobook read by Richard Kilmer, running time 8 hours and 18 min. Unabridged full version. Also available as E-Book: ePUB, 76,700 words, average reading time 6 hours, 25 min.

Max Brand was the pen name for Frederick Schiller Faust (1892-1944) who was an American author known primarily for his thoughtful and literary Westerns.