Feud Valley Showdown by Denis Hughes

When he headed  out on vacation to visit his sister and her husband, he was warned it was a rough town and to watch the sheriff.  He might be crooked.  What he finds is a burned down cabin with a dead man inside.  He figures it's his brother-in-law, the victim has been shot.  But where is Beth?  While he's looking for her, the sheriff shows up and takes him in for murder...

Endeavor Press/Pioneering Press and Net Galley gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It has now been published and you can find a copy on Amazon.

Degard is a federal marshal but he does mention that.  If there's a problem with the sheriff it's just as easy to look him over from the inside than out.  Now if only there wasn't a lynch mob outside!

Degard finds himself in the middle of a valley feud.  The two main landowners maintain the other one is killing their men, stealing cattle, using too much water and anything else that could happen that would antagonize the relationship.  The foremen are gunmen.  Tempers are short.  But somehow Degard knows that there's an outside influence at play.  He tries to play a cool head in hot tempers but it isn't making him friends.

And then there's the counterfeiting going on.  Only a few know about that and the ones that discover it by accident have all been found dead.  The worst part is that he still hasn't found Beth!

One man against the town isn't good odds, but federal marshals don't go down easy.  This was a good read with a touch of romance and it even had a happy ending for the good guys.  Here's a great western for you.