Shadow of the Gun — Joseph A. West

GHOST TOWN

Tam Elliot founded Eden Creek to be a utopia of peace and prosperity. The town achieved neither, and in despair Elliot took his own life. His daughter, Allison, rechristened the town Suicide, blaming the residents for its failure. From her hillside house, she collects property dues from the lost souls unfortunate enough to still live there -- and punishes anyone who attempts to leave.

John McBride came west to start a new life, only to find himself saddled with the moniker "Tenderfoot Kid" after a single gunfight. He purchases a restaurant in Suicide with hopes of putting the past behind him, but with marauding Apaches, vicious outlaws, and rising tensions between the townsfolk and Allison Elliot, Suicide is a powder keg waiting to explode -- and McBride's presence may be enough to light the fuse....