Death Rides the Night — Brett Halliday

In a formerly peaceful western valley, a sheriff and his friends battle a corrupt land speculator

Pat, Sam, and Ezra came to Powder Valley together, to tame the West and find a place to settle down. Soon, Pat is the sheriff, and Sam is married, but big, powerful Ezra, with his craggy face and missing eye, remains a loner. This state of affairs usually doesn't get Ezra down, but tonight the big man is too gloomy to eat peach pie. When Ezra can't eat peach pie, something is wrong -- and Pat is certain it has to do with Eustis Harlow.
 
After six months in Powder Valley, Harlow has established himself as the most powerful rancher in the area. Before he came, the locals were content with what they had. Now, half of them are in his debt, and the others have been consumed by greed. With the sheriff and his friends gearing up to quash Harlow's dominance, the rancher sends for an army's worth of gunmen. Powder Valley is about to explode.