Open Roads

A Modern Western Noir Crime Thriller

A stolen convoy, a cartel death squad, and one lawman who doesn’t follow the rules.

The law stops at the border. Bowen Rhodes doesn’t.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Bowen Rhodes wears a Stetson like a crown and treats the federal code like a set of loose suggestions. He’s a hard-edged lawman with a taste for violence, a past that won’t stay buried, and a name that isn’t his own. In the brutal borderlands of West Texas, Rhodes walks the razor-thin line between justice and vengeance—and he’s starting to enjoy crossing it.

When a brutal massacre at a remote ranch leaves a cattle baron dead and a convoy of armored trucks missing, Rhodes takes the case. The stolen transports carry millions in black-budget military cash, and the thief is Red Kilgore, a rogue private contractor who kills obstacles for sport.

But Rhodes isn’t the only hunter on the trail.

A silent cartel hit squad known as Los Fantasmas, led by the legendary assassin Chato, is closing in, determined to claim the money and erase everyone in their path. Caught in a three-way war between corrupt military officials, mercenary killers, and cartel ghosts, Rhodes must decide how far he’s willing to go—and how many bodies he’s willing to leave behind.

From the diesel-soaked oil fields of the Pecos to the limestone deathtraps of the Diablo Canyon, OPEN ROADS delivers gunfights, double-crosses, and hardboiled justice across the unforgiving Texas badlands.

This gritty neo-western thriller blends modern crime noir with high-stakes action and morally gray characters, perfect for fans of Justified, No Country for Old Men, Hell or High Water, and the hard-edged dialogue of Elmore Leonard and John D. MacDonald.