Buck Stops Here

Here’s Jack’s latest book. 

Book three in the series A Buck Ledbetter Novel

In 1878, Columbia, Missouri is a growing university town, restless, divided, and simmering with change. When veteran lawman Buck Ledbetter arrives to take the newly created post of City Marshal, he expects a quieter life than Dodge City or Kansas City ever offered him. But cities have a way of revealing trouble, even where the streets look peaceful.

With his young deputy Jack Ledbetter at his side, Buck faces a tangle of student mischief, political tension, and the sharp line dividing the town’s Black district from the rest of Columbia. Their work deepens when the sheriff’s office clashes with the Marshal’s authority, a college student turns up dead, and old alliances crack open under the pressure of truth.

Meanwhile, Buck’s niece Annie Baxter, a determined university student and budding journalist, finds herself in the center of the storm. Her articles, honest, bold, and too close to the bone, begin shaping public opinion faster than bullets ever could. But truth comes at a price, and Annie must decide how much she’s willing to risk.

As Columbia faces riots, robberies, and the rising heat of an election year, Buck finds his past catching up to him and his future threatened from all sides. Duty, loyalty, and the burden of justice weigh heavier than any badge he’s worn before.

Gritty, heartfelt, and rich with real history, Buck Stops Here weaves fictional lives with the pulse of a changing America, where the law is young, danger rides fast, and one man’s resolve can decide the fate of an entire town.

Justice has a new frontier.

And it starts where Buck stands his ground.

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