Duff MacCallister Books in Order: How to read William W. Johnstone’s series?
A Scotsman in America!
What is the Duff MacCallister series about?
Written by American author William Wallace Johnstone, the MacCallister/The Eagles Legacy series takes us back to the end of the 19th century, in America.
This western series is about a Scotsman-turned-cowboy named Duff MacCallister. He is a man who traveled far and worked hard to start a new life in America. And now, he dispenses his Highland justice to anyone who tries to mess with his dream.
How to read the Duff MacCallister Books in Order?
Every book in the Duff MacCallister series mostly works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.
- The Eagles Legacy (2011)
- The Killing (2011)
- Dry Gulch Ambush (2012)
- Kill Crazy (2014)
- Kingdom Come (2015)
- Ten Guns from Texas (2016)
- Day of Reckoning (2017)
- The Stalking Death (2018)
- Stranglehold (2019)
- Killer Take All (2020)
- Savage Sunday (2021)
- Riding the Nightmare (2022)
What is the plot of the Duff MacCallister novels?
For more information about the books in the Duff MacCallister series by William W. Johnstone, you’ll find below the official synopsis for all the books:
MacCallister – The Scottish Highlands, 1885. Two men, brandishing knives, attack a young woman outside a pub. Duff MacAllister steps in and saves her–killing one of the assailants. Big mistake. The attacker was the sheriff’s son, and now MacAllister is marked for death. His only hope: America.
The Killing – Duff MacCallister fled the Scottish Highlands for a new world in Wyoming Territory. Betrothed to a good woman, Duff has the bad luck to be standing in the Chugwater Bank when a violent robbery explodes around him. With one man dead by Duff’s gun, and another under arrest, a team of bandits swarms outside of town. As witnesses, Duff, a banker, and a beautiful barmaid are whisked into the town’s hotel for safe-keeping as the outlaws threaten the defenseless town with a bloodbath if their fellow bandit isn’t set free.
Dry Gulch Ambush – The Indians around Fort Laramie, Wyoming are peaceful. Or so it has seemed–until killers ambush a detail of U.S. soldiers and an officer’s wife. One man, an ambitious cavalry officer, flees the carnage and lives to tell the story–his own story, an outright lie. When Duff MacCallister and a few brave men go after the attackers, they discover the officer’s wife is very much alive and at the cold merciless hands of the sadistic warrior Yellow Hawk. To free the woman, Duff touches off a fierce battle. And when he finds himself surrounded by the blood-crazed renegades, MacCallister knows there is only one way out–by going after Yellow Hawk himself. . .
Kill Crazy – In a town like Chugwater, Wyoming, you know who your friends are, who your enemies are, and who your kill-crazy maniacs are. For Duff MacCallister, the last category belongs to Johnny Taylor and his gang. Duff has wrestled with this polecat before, and knows that his bite is worse than his smell. But when Taylor’s gang tries to rob a bank – and Duff manages to shoot one and arrest Taylor’s brother – the outraged outlaw raises a stink straight out of hell. First, he begins to randomly slaughter innocent townsfolk one by one. Then, he leaves a note on the bodies warning: “We will kill more of your citizens if you do not let my brother go.” Now, he’s kidnapped a woman as bait – lighting a fuse under Duff MacCallister that’s bound to ignite the biggest, bloodiest showdown in Chugwater history….
Kingdom Come – Like a murderous plague, a band of cutthroats and criminals, led by prison escapees from New Mexico, rages through West Texas. They’re slaughtering everyone in their path: men, women and children. They struck at Saragosa. Now they’ve taken over the town of Boracho. The Dallas newspapers call them the Kingdom Come Gang. In Chugwater, Wyoming, Duff McCallister calls them his enemy. Because one of their victims was family.
Ten Guns From Texas – When Duff MacCallister journeys to Texas to deliver 100 head of angus cattle, he finds a land on fire. Unruly, lawless teams of fence cutters, branded Blue Devils by the locals, are rampaging across grazing land and cutting fences in the name of an eastern land company. The ranchers are fighting back, and Duff joins the fray. But the fight leads to Austin, and into an even deadlier mission.
Day of Reckoning – When Duff MacCallister sees smoke rising from his neighbor’s ranch, he knows that something is very wrong. But he isn’t prepared for what he finds: smoldering buildings, a rancher and his wife brutally slaughtered, and a 14-year-old survivor who could not save her parents. Now, Duff is going after the killers-and his only companion is the headstrong girl who refuses to be left behind.
The Stalking Death – There’s something rotten in Wyoming, and it’s not just the smell of cow pies-the first whiff is coming off the Laramie County Cattlemen. Right off the bat, Duff notices something odd: no small-time ranchers allowed. It’s big-leaguers only. And none are bigger than Brad Houser, owner of the sprawling Twin Peaks ranch. He’s up in arms over the small-timers claiming the unbranded mavericks who escape their herds. Which is perfectly legal. No brand, free cow.
Stranglehold – Here in America, life is full of surprises. Duff never expected to hear from his old friend Charles McGregor, his batallion commander from the Black Watch Regiment of Her Majesty’s army. Turns out McGregor lives in New Mexico now. And he needs Duff’s help. He’s started a new life as the mayor of Antelope Wells-a mining town that’s being targeted by a power-hungry madman Ebenezer Schofield, who wants to declare the whole area an independent principality-and himself as king. He’s already squeezing taxes out of the local businesses and citizens. But no one has the guts to stop him. Because Schofield’s got his own private army of fifty uniformed men, six Mexican revolution cannons-and a traitor working on his side in the heart of Antelope Wells . . .
Killer Take All – The cattle town of Chugwater may not look like much to outsiders. But for Duff MacCallister and the determined settlers who’ve staked their futures here, it’s a land of opportunity. That’s why the whole town is fired up by the latest news. Young railroad developer Jacob Freemantle wants to run a rail line through Chugwater, making it easier to transport cattle. Everyone is on board with the plan-at first. Duff begins to suspect that Freemantle is only after the most valuable land, and he’s using strongarm tactics to force reluctant ranchers to sell. Things only get worse when Freemantle’s hired guns show up-and the violence really begins . . .
Savage Sunday – Thanks to a new line, the railroad has come to Chugwater, Wyoming, bridging the gap between the small town and the larger city of Cheyenne. Now Duff MacCallister can transport his 250 Black Angus cattle herd with ease by Iron Horse instead of enduring a two-day traildrive. But the day after depositing $15,000 in his Cheyenne account, Duff learns that bank president Jeremy Brinks embezzled every cent-totalling $65,000-and then guilt-ridden, committed suicide.
Riding the Nightmare – Duff MacCallister left Scotland to forge a new life in America, raising cattle on the western plains of the growing nation. But keeping his dream alive means facing off against the country’s most violent, bloodthirsty men…
What should you read if you like the Duff MacCallister novels?
If you like reading William W. Johnstone’s Duff MacCallister stories, you may be interested in other of the Johnstone’s series like Last Gunfighter, the Jensen Family, Eagles, and more, but also in the Lonesome Dove books.
