Mountain Demons: A Classic YA Western Adventure (The McIntyre Adventures Book #9)

Second chances come with a price, and the mountains demand more than survival—they demand the truth.

James “Spud” Thompson has lived by sleight of hand, slick talk, and sharper instincts than most. But when a high-stakes card game at the Last Stop Saloon turns deadly, an unlikely savior intervenes. Dak, a mysterious guardian angel, offers Spud one final chance at redemption…if he has the courage to take it.

Delivered to The Phoenix Inn and Restaurant in Saguache, Colorado, Spud trades cards for chores and deception for decency. For the first time, he finds honest work, unlikely friendships, and even admiration after a heroic act. But peace is a foreign language to a lifelong conman, and the ghosts of Spud’s past whisper louder with every step.

Fearing relapse, Spud and his trusted companion, Will Bennett, set off into the untamed wilds of the San Juan Mountains to forge a new life as mountain men. But in the remote Valley of the Elk, salvation proves just as treacherous as sin…where nature isn’t the only danger, and not all settlers are keen on new neighbors.

Blending fantasy, wilderness survival, and a gritty tale of redemption, Mountain Demons is a raw, action-packed frontier adventure—proving that while men can change, the past is never far behind.

Can a conman truly outrun who he used to be? Or is the wilderness just another kind of trap?