A Congregation of Jackals

Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Published 2010

Goodreads 4.28

In 1888 Oswell Danford is living a hard but satisfying life as a rancher in Virginia when he receives an unexpected telegram. A wedding invitation should be cause to celebrate but not when it means he'll have to face past deeds that he's deeply ashamed of.

Now he and his brother, along with their ex-compatriot, an inveterate gambler from New York, will have to travel to Montana Territory to settle an old score they'd nearly forgotten. They will join the expectant congregation at the church for the marriage of their former brother-in-arms. But while everyone else will be wishing a blissful future for the happy couple they will be praying the darkness from their past doesn't devour the entire town. A Congregation of Jackals is an unrelenting tale of betrayal and revenge told with a precision and brutality that will leave you breathless and haunted.

Fans of Zahler's breakout hits Bone Tomahawk and Wraiths of the Broken Land will be floored by this, originally the first installment of his western horror trilogy.

"A thoroughly modern perspective to the familiar archetypal trappings. What happens when gang meets gang...is more horrific than anything we might have imagined."

--Booklist, starred review

"A mature and thoughtful Western that can stand up alongside anything that Cormac McCarthy or Larry McMurtry have written. Its unrepentant violence, intensity, and dark worldview could appeal to fans of crime fiction." --Somebody Dies

"If you have a hankering for a gritty, realistic and downright thrilling Western, S. Craig Zahler is your man." --Jeremy Cesarec, Unbound Nook Blog

Nominated for The Peacemaker award by the Western Fictioneers

Nominated for The Spur award by the Western Writers of America