Creature Of The Night by Charles Ray & Jerry Underhill

Enrico DaSilva, second son of a wealthy Mexican family in California, loses out to his older brother who is slated to inherit their father’s wealth and property. Rather than stay and play second fiddle, Enrico takes his meager share of the inheritance and moves to Twin Forks in the Dakotas to start his own ranch. There, he makes friends with Hoby Dawkins, the town sheriff, but no one else in town accepts him. Then cattle start dying and soon after some of the people who have treated Enrico badly die as well—in a most gruesome manner.

The locals suspect Enrico of the deaths of the humans but Hoby refuses to believe it, first, because Enrico is his friend, and he’s loyal to his friends, and secondly, because he doesn’t think that a human could have inflicted the damage he saw on the bodies, especially the cattle.

Hoby wonders what he’s got plaguing his town, and Enrico remembers a secret that might hold the key. But can he get anyone to believe him?