Three men haunted by the past . . . A girl haunted by the present . . . And all four on a collision course for Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos, a Texas river synonymous with hell. This chase novel, set in 1886 along the driest stretch of any trail in the West, takes the reader deep inside troubled characters whose fates await on the Pecos.

https://www.tcupress.com/9780875655055/to-hell-or-the-pecos-a-novel/

Praise for To Hell or the Pecos —

"To Hell or the Pecos is a masterful rendering of the vast, uninhabited lands of West Texas and the passage across them of pursuers and pursued. Texas is a vital, fully-realized character here, a pitiless landscape with no hope of rain or mercy. This story--an old one of outraged innocence and heroic revenge against all odds--is fresh, feels fresh, and keeps the reader moving forward, thirsty and keen as the characters themselves."--Mary Hood, author of How Far She Went and Familiar Heat

"Patrick Dearen knows the territory of To Hell or the Pecos. He knows the geography, topography, the history, the loneliness, the lawlessness, the heat, and the weather. Dearen also knows the temper of his characters, their morality or lack thereof, their ethos and egos; characters who must overcome fear, hunger, thirst, a big drought, a big die-off, the blazing sun, and the waterless miles between the Concho River and Horsehead Crossing. "--Robert Flynn, author of In the House of the Lord and the award-winning Echoes of Glory

"In the classic style of Alan Lemay's The Searchers or Elmore Leonard's Only Good Ones, To Hell or the Pecos is a powerful tale of an epic journey by characters leaden with dark pasts and inauspicious futures. Patrick Dearen writes eloquently and delivers a topnotch story worthy of high praise."--Mike Kearby, author of Texas Tales Illustrated and the award-winning A Hundred Miles to Water

 

MORE about Patrick and To Hell or the Pecos:

Review from the TCU Press Student Intern Blog

Author Interview on Writer in the Pines