Books by Hanes Segler
Spoils of the Desert | Published in 2003
Spoils begins with an innocent business trip to Laredo by import shop owner Mike Conner. He wants to buy a new line of ceramic goods for his El Paso shop, but unbeknownst to him, the brand he seeks has a special feature - some of the pieces contain cocaine. When the warehouse manager sells Mike a batch of the goods intended for drug kingpin Reynaldo Gomez, Mike’s troubles begin.
Accompanied by his girlfriend, Sandra, Mike faces danger from all sides—the law, the drug lord and his henchmen, wild animals, and perhaps the toughest adversary of all, the Chihuahuan Desert. For several harrowing days and nights, the pair fights to stay alive and ahead of the men who want them dead. In the process, they learn plenty about the drug business and survival among its players, but even more about themselves and their own fragile relationship.
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Patriot | Published in 2004
Never before in history has the population of a country suffered more than during the Mexican Revolution. For over a decade, the poor of that country carried on a struggle against the government, the rich landowners, and even the Catholic Church.
Benito, a young man wishing to become a true revolutionary patriot, joins the forces of Pancho Villa, only to find that his duties make him little more than a horse thief! When he is saved from a government death squad by wealthy Mexican-American rancher Alejandro Guerra, he decides to change his occupation, using his skills with livestock to repay his newfound benefactor.
However, Benito soon learns, along with Guerra, that “La Revolución” is bent on drawing everything and everyone into the bloody conflict. Along the way, both men find the war’s treacherous combatants and ever-shifting alliances will shape life—and death—for years to come.
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The Paradise Key | Published in 2005
Steve Elliot and Danny Ortega, two unlucky men incarcerated in a South Texas prison, plan to escape and start life anew. Getting out was the easy part; after that, the hapless pair face obstacles they didn’t envision while sitting in their cells. After enlisting the help of Danny’s younger brother Ray, they head for Mexico, where they hope to make their way to California undetected by U. S. authorities.
The moment they cross the border, their real troubles begin. Kidnapped by a gang of thugs, they are briefly held captive with an attractive woman and three shadowy Mexican “businessmen” who deftly engineer a daring escape for the entire group. After evading imprisonment for the second time in as many days, the duo finds they are now in bigger trouble. It appears their newfound traveling companions are not what they purported to be. To complicate matters, Steve falls for the woman…who has her own mysterious agenda.
As their true identities and purpose unfold, Steve and Danny are caught up in a horrendous terrorism plot. Forced by circumstances—and guns—to go along with the invaders, it finally comes down to making the right choice—something that has always proven difficult for Steve and Danny.
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Always Unfaithful | Published in 2006
Sheriff Paul Gimble doesn’t think Hale Slayton’s disappearance is anything to worry about; the wealthy old rancher is well known for overcoming everything he’s encountered in eight decades of life. But when he turns up brutally murdered, the sheriff finds himself investigating the biggest crime of his career, complicated by the victim’s history of womanizing, questionable energy leases, illegal alien abuse, and conflicts with everyone in the county, including his own children.
With the help of four young deputies, Paul plows ahead, secure in the knowledge that he is doing the right thing for the victim, his family, and the community. His thoroughness and dedication to the job earn him high marks with everyone except his girlfriend, who sees the time-consuming investigation as an example of his misplaced priorities. Adding to his difficulties, Paul is stymied by false leads and long-held misperceptions about the gruff old Texan that make the list of suspects longer than a well rope.
Always Unfaithful is a tale of rumors, deceit, and outright lies that lead—not very directly—to the reason for Hale Slayton’s untimely death. Along the way, Sheriff Gimble finds that almost nothing is what is seems, and everything, including his own personal life, is subject to a closer look.
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A Lie Told Often | "Carlton Westerfield Series" | Published in 2008
By day, Carlton Westerfield delivers cars for a leasing company, earning a modest living and arousing no suspicion. But at night, his true talent is revealed, a talent that involves murder. Carlton is a hired killer, a cautious, no-nonsense guy that crime kingpin Randall “Big Mo” Morris calls when the job has to be done right, no hitches.
Carlton’s neat little world is shaken when he reads of Big Mo’s death over morning coffee, but that’s the least of his worries. A phone call and a visit from a mysterious woman who is somehow connected to Mo’s death threatens to unravel things completely. The woman, Paula Hendricks, informs Carlton that she saw Big Mo murdered after being tortured into revealing the names of the hit team hired to kill drug cartel boss Gregorio Molina. The names? Carlton Westerfield and Paula Hendricks.
Carlton immediately goes into escape mode, heading to the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas to avoid the wrath of the cartel. Against his better judgment, he takes Paula with him. The resulting adventure puts Carlton in the uncomfortable position of learning who he can trust and who he can’t, a tall order for someone with the social skills of a rattlesnake.
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Becomes the Truth | "Carlton Westerfield Series" | Published in 2013
Carlton Westerfield, murderer-for-hire, has come home to Texas. After a year’s wandering around the Caribbean, he believes that Faustino Perez and Gregorio Molina, competing drug lords, have eliminated each other, making it safe for him to return to San Antonio.
While delaying his return by spending a few days in Galveston, two Drug Enforcement Agency types materialize at his hotel and inform him that his homecoming will not be going exactly as planned. Perez and Molina are alive and well, they tell him, and they want Carlton to work for them as an informant in order to put his old adversaries away for good. Carlton first laughs at their offer, but agrees to take on the task when the agents remind him that he might get to find out about his former lover-turned-enemy, the mysterious Paula Hendricks. It seems that she has become involved up to her pretty neck with the investigation and everyone surrounding it.
Curious to learn the truth about her, he takes the job, but soon learns that the truth about anything, especially Paula Hendricks, is more elusive than he dreamed possible.
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New Book Release
The Truth, Very Rare
Published 2022
Months after retiring from his long career as a murderer-for-hire, Carlton Westerfield faces the most baffling situation of his life: murders in and around San Antonio are being committed by someone who uses a combination of techniques he employed in the past, including the intentional maiming wounds he inflicted on the killer of his friend, Tino Perez.
The FBI, commonly the investigator of serial killings, has formed a joint task force with the local DEA office to investigate the similar murders and, unfortunately for Carlton, certain members from the force are bent on hanging the mysterious killings him. Despite the absence of motive or any hard evidence, two of the agents continue their crusade against Carlton because of his unfortunate proximity to each murder scene, plus his past methods, especially in the shooting of Tino's killer.
Flimsy as their tunnel-vision reasoning is, Carlton is unable to shake their relentless pursuit, so he calls on his well-connected friend Reynaldo Gomez for help in unraveling the mystery. Reynaldo's new assistant, an attractive computer whiz, sets forth to uncover the reasons for the unjustified focus on the retired hitman. But her efforts are fruitless, and as the bodies stack up, the heat on Carlton intensifies, It seems no amount of digital sleuthing can solve the problem, and the noose is tightening around his neck.
Once again, Carlton Westerfield find himself wishing he'd pursued a different career path, but it's too late now. As usual, Carlton feels the resolution for any dilemma can be found by looking in the mirror, so he sets out to save himself from indictment for crimes he didn't commit---or a retirement on the run.
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